Chapter One:
The giant beast sat there, his back to a sandstone wall; his eyes fading as he dreamt peacefully. His warm fur waving in the wind, brushing against his bits and pieces of stone armor. His bent legs led down into hooves, which twitched slightly as he slept. He felt a slight tremble on his shoulder, stirring his eyes back to light. He turned his head to see a small flock of birds resting on his shoulder. He lifted his immense hand and ever so slightly ran a finger along the top of the bird, petting it gently. The colossus looked up, realizing the sun had moved, causing him to be trapped in cold shade.
Something felt…different today. There was an odd presence in the valley, but the beast dismissed it as nothing. The ground shook as the colossus stood up, the birds flying off their perch and instead circled his head. The creature lifted up a large club forged out of stone; many intricate patterns had been masterfully carved into the weapon. The beast took a few steps forward through his small domain; it was no more than two large canyons connecting to each other. Through the opening in the canyon wall, the beast looked out on the entire valley. The tower that rested peacefully in the center had a strange beam of light emanating from it, piercing the nebulous clouds.
As the colossus continued his stride over to the other end of his canyon, a small creature climbed up from the opening in the canyon wall. The colossus looked at the small, unfamiliar being. It had only a small patch of red fur on the top of what appeared to be its head. The creature had on a strange set of armor; it looked as though it was made from different colored leaves. A wooden stick hung from his side, and he held another stick; this one bent, with a spider's web strung from the two ends. In the creature's hand was yet another small stick, this one resting both on the spider web and the bent stick. The colossus ignored the small creature, and continued walking towards the sunny end of his canyon, to continue his nap.
Suddenly, a small pain pierced the colossus' shoulder. The beast turned its head to see a small stick protruding from his shoulder. He looked down at the small being, who had another small twig loaded in his spider web. Another shot fired from the creature, and it latched and released two more arrows afterwards. The colossus twitched as the bolts buried themselves in his flesh.
What is this creature? The colossus thought to himself. This being, only as small as his palm, was trying to defeat him? The colossus leaned back, throwing his strength into his club and lifted it into the air, then began bringing it down, aiming at the small thing clad in leaves. The being looked up at the beast, then began running toward it very fast, hanging his stick and string over his shoulder, and pulled a piece of shining rock from the stick on his hip. The colossus' club smashed the ground hard, but the creature had outrun the blow. The ground shook violently and crumbled under the force of the blow, causing the small creature to stumble and fall to the ground.
The colossus laughed to himself at the weakness of this small being. This was no threat! This was merely some small bug. The colossus relaxed, no longer tense from fear. The colossus stomped the ground near the being to watch him stagger and trip. The colossus threw up his head and bellowed heartily at the fun this creature was providing him.
The beast looked down, but the being was gone. He looked around, searching for the small, unfamiliar creature, but found nothing. It seems this...thing is faster than I thought... the colossus thinks to himself, and begins walking toward another end of his canyon. Suddenly, an immensely sharp pain struck through the colossus' left leg, causing him to stumble and curl over in agony. The great beast took another step, and another bolt of unbelievable pain launched through his entire being, causing him to fall. The colossus shot his hands in front of him to break his landing. He stayed on his hands and knees for a few moments before standing back on his hooves. What...what is this thing?
As the colossus regained his composure and balance, he felt something pulling on the hair along his back. It must be the creature! Is he...no, how could he know? The colossus began violently shaking his torso in an attempt of removing the alien menace. The beast stopped momentarily as the world spun around his dizziness. There was a moment of silence, then he felt pressure on his shoulder. He frantically shook his shoulders in an attempt to rid himself of the creature once and for all, but it was no good; he could still feel the being's grip on his fur.
The pulling fur crept closer and closer ever still to the top of his head, until it abruptly stopped. The pause seemed to drag on for hours to the terrified colossus, he wondered if the small intruder had fallen off. Then, without any warning, an unbelievable pain splintered its way through his skull. He shrieked in agony and threw his head back as a last desperate attempt to throw the creature off his head, but it was to no avail. Another wave of pain flowed through him, and he began to feel the world around him warping and darkening.
Then it was over.
One final blast of pain entered his head, and everything faded. The giant colossus fell to the ground, causing the rock to shake and crumble underneath the weight. The small creature climbed down the body of the fallen beast as the corpse began wrapping itself in darkness, strange tendrils emerging from the lifeless shell. The tendrils flew through the air and impaled the tiny victor, entering his body. The small creature took a step, then fell to the ground.
From atop a small hole in the cliffside, a smaller colossus, resembling a lion, watched teh entire scene unfold. He clawed the ground in disgust as the giant minotuar fell. This...this can't be! The colossus quickly turned around, and dashed back out of the canyon wall from where he came.
Fifteen colossi remain.