Fantasy, Mini Story, Photo Prompt, Writing Prompts

Guardian Of The Thrones

Nancy's Notes 🖊️♬

Written for Crimson’s Creative Challenge.
I’ve selected two photos for my story.
Here’s where the images took me.

© Crispina Kemp

Deep in the old wood, where bluebells pushed through leaf-rot and moss claimed every slow thing for itself, two great oaks had finally fallen.

But falling wasn’t the end.

A woodcarver came and shaped the stumps into thrones. Rough, kingly things. One for a giant, one for something smaller but no less important.

Then, further down the path, he found the third tree.

© Crispina Kemp

This one, the carver thought, wants to be something else entirely.

And so the dragon emerged. Not conjured …. revealed. He’d always been in the grain of that wood, just waiting for someone patient enough to find him.

Now he guards the thrones.

Locals say if you sit uninvited, you’ll hear a low sound …. somewhere between a creak and a growl …. drifting up the path.

They know not to sit uninvited.

NAR©2026

This is “I See Fire” by Ed Sheeran

Crimson’s Creative Challenge #085

Everything on The Elephant’s Trunk was created by me, unless otherwise indicated. Thanks for your consideration. NAR©2017-present.

23 thoughts on “Guardian Of The Thrones”

  9. Oh my gosh–so clever! There was a lot for sale down the street from me. Someone had carved a fallen oak tree into a bear. It was a sad day when the bear was gone, only to be replaced by a crew of workers ready to build a house. I would have kept the bear just to keep on eye on things. 🐻

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    1. Thanks so much, Lois. Everywhere I turn there’s some sort of construction. There is a house two doors down from us that’s being remodeled and the construction crew has been there for over a year! I don’t know what they’re doing, but it sure is taking a long time. Now I noticed they cut down a big old tree in the backyard and there are huge piles of stumps and limbs that the young guy next door is chopping up for firewood. Where’s a bear when you need one?

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