Lareth

Synopsis

Story · 9 min

A monster that offers protection and benefits for a community in exchange for tribute. But as the monster grows, so does the tribute and the returns and the protection. The community grows fond of their newfound opulence relative to other communities in the land. Eventually, the monster has grown so powerful and large, that tribute is not enough, it begins consuming from neighboring communities, and as it does so, the neighboring communities want to retaliate, so the community needs the monsters protection now more than ever. The community, unwilling to give up their way of life, conjure all manner of explanations to justify the consumption of the monster, before finally, it begins to require sacrifice from the community itself. Yet the relationship with the monster continues, because the community is unwilling to give up the protection and gains that have enabled their opulent life style. Eventually the monster consumes the neighboring communities, the community itself, and with nothing left to feed on, the monster dies.