Titan

Trenor reached the turn on the mountain path and came to a halt, taking a much needed break to lighten the load on his back and get some water back in his system. It was a long and arduous hike, but it was one that he enjoyed making from time to time. There were never very many travelers on the trail, especially the further along he got. There were very few people who had the time, strength, or willpower to take a hike like this one. The trail was narrow, with nothing to protect oneself from falling down the mountain side, inevitably ending in one's death from the sheer distance alone, not to count the number of jagged rocky edges and trees one would hit on the way down. At a massive twenty miles one direction, it could not be easily covered in a weekend, much less used as a day hike, and the altitude gain was immense.

But for views like the one Trenor now witnessed, it was hard to argue becoming possible to complete. And once having seen such a sight, it was difficult not to want to return from time to time, if for no other reason than to assure one's self it had not been a dream.

Across from his own mountain stood another, hidden away among a circle of mountains and extending well above the clouds, which he now stood above as well. And from the top of those clouds extended what could only be considered the impossible - the massive skeleton of a titan killed long ago, whose flesh and muscles had long since corroded and been torn away, leaving only the bone behind, and the blade that had pierced its chest and killed it still stuck in the stony pillar. Even from a distance, it was easy to see that time had not been kind to that titan - its bones had corroded as well, and were breaking away thanks to the icy weather of winter that was setting it.

It was hard to say just how long it had been since the titan had been slain. Titans had not been seen on Earth for as long as the history books could recall, though there were a religious few who still believed that once their home had been inhabited by such creatures larger than anything mankind had ever known. Very few were lucky enough as Trenor was to have seen proof that such monsters had once existed. And seeing the craftsmanship of the killing weapon, it was humorous to him to see just how similarly the two races had advanced in terms of craftsmanship.

He had yet to see a living titan. He was not sure if he ever would. But seeing this skeleton gave him an odd sense of peace and satisfaction, which was why he chose to return every few months, just to be sure that he hadn't just been losing his mind from the altitude. But again and again he witnessed the long forgotten corpse. And he knew that there was more to life on their planet than anyone could imagine.