User:Theaquaduct

There was once an aqueduct, that spanned a wide gorge and carried crystal clear and rejuvenating water to the people of the small town that lay on the hillside beneath it. The source of the water was located deep within a mountain side and was held to have miraculous powers. The reputation of this spring spread far and wide and people travelled to stay in the town and partake of its reputed life extending qualities. As a result of these pilgrimages the townspeople benefited and grew wealthy through tourism and, as some of the visitors decided to settle, the town grew in size and importance. The aqueduct, tall and strong, oversaw all of this and became swollen with smugness. 'Look at what I have bestowed upon these simple folk, I am indeed a wonder of the age!'. The aqueduct's bricks became so puffed up with pride that the mortar between them was crushed into dust and there was nothing left holding them together. One night, oblivious to its present vulnerability, the aqueduct was musing on it's own greatness when a strong wind rose up and began to push against its tall columns. The severely weakened aqueduct was no match for the gale which hit it again and again. The townspeople were woken by a deafening roar from above and, rushing from their houses, looked up into the night sky to see the dark silhouette of the aqueduct come crashing down onto the buildings below. The spring water gushed forth unchecked down the hillside weakening the roots of trees, the foundations of buildings, flooding the streets between them and eventually, caused a landslide which plunged the terrified townspeople into chaos. When day broke there was nothing left of the aqueduct but the stumps of its columns. The clear spring water, which had been the lifeblood of the regions well-being, was now a series of muddied rivulets that met at the bottom of the gorge. And where the town had been there was now a bath of churning mud and floating corpses.