Picture Prompt Thread: Week 3

Limadim was a dark land. It was full of decay, with hardly any life in it. One would think that there isn't anything strong or stupid enough to live in this chaotic land. But, there was a small town that struggled to survive in this dark place and Apagsa was its name. Many lands used to inhabit the country of Limadim, but they soon fell due to an unnatural force sucking the life of anything near it. Apagsa Village was the only one remaining within miles, its neighboring towns have succumbed ages ago.

Perope the Elf called this small village her home. She ran the town's small library with her trusted familiars Ferdinand the Princely Frog and Cherrybomb the Dugong. Her job was fairly boring, and not that in demand in the small town. Most of the books were missing pages and the bindings were falling off. The state of the library itself was even worse, with holes in the ceiling and walls, and the eastern side practically inhabitable. But Perope managed. She had to, for there was no where else to go.

Perope wanted to help her village and its people in anyway she can. Sadly, she was physically weak and couldn't help with the more in demand jobs like farming. She was well versed in magic, though, and for the past few years, she had been researching non stop to find a way to stop the magic circles from appearing and sucking out the life of Limadim.

"You're still at it, love?" asked Cherrybomb. The Dugong took a seat in a stack of books, taking a bite out of the Firefuit in her hands.

"Of course I am, Cher! I'm the only magic specialist in miles! I have to do something to stop this evil thing from further eating our lands!" Perope took out a large book from one of the shelves and slamming it on the table. This outbalanced Cherrybomb, almost causing her to drop her snack.

"But you've been at it for years now! Surely you have exhausted this library's resources ten times over!" Ferdinand said from his perch on top of one of the shelves. He hopped down gracefully and helped Cherrybomb back into some semblance of balance.

"I'm not gonna give up now that I found this!" Perope gestured to the strange green book with a face. The eyes were closed, as if the book was sleeping. It had a large nose, and from it's slightly open mouth peeked out sharp teeth.

"What is that? It looks ugly!" Ferdinand turned his face away snobbishly. Even after the Frog Kingdom fell, and Perope rescued the Prince, he still couldn't let go of his arrogance and hurtful words.

"Watch your words, amphibian fool, or I you will find yourself inside my jaws!" the book had awakened and it snapped at Ferdinand.

"W-w-what is that, dearie?!" Cherrybomb did not expect this. She dropped her Firefruit in surprise, and now she looked at it with lament.

"This, my dear friends, is Yle. He's a living book! I never knew I'd find one, after the capital's library was destroyed!" Perope was extremely giddy. Her red hair was flying every which way as she jumped up and down.

"Where did you find this...Yle?" Ferdinand was wary of the book, yes, but his pride refused to back down. He still looked at the book with disdain. Yle just looked at the Prince with dismissive eyes, as if the frog was nothing more than a dot on the many sentences inside him.

"Lady Perope found me struggling by myself in the Evergreen Woodlands. She graciously brought me back here. I can't thank you enough for taking me out of that dreadful place, milady." Yle bowed like a noble. It was strange, seeing a book bow, but Living Books were a strange thing already.

"Think nothing of it, Yle! You can help me, right? So we can call it even!" Perope's eyes just twinkled with joy.

"Yes. I might be able to offer my assistance, milady. It is nothing compared to you rescuing my life."

Ferdinand was skeptical. Cherrybomb had a hopeful look in her eyes. Perope just beamed even more. Things were finally looking up.