The Gray King

The Gray King had been sleeping a deep, long and dreamless slumber. A long time had passed since he had roamed the earth and a lot had changed since the last time he had opened his eyes.
This is a short story set in a mystic fantasy world. Or is it?

Phil Strahl is the author of a number of short stories mainly situated in the gloomy field of weird fiction, with fragments of science fiction scattered towards the horizon. He publishes those few stories he deems worthy enough to share with prudent and open-minded readers and is grateful for each review or line of feedback.
Among his admired influences are the usual suspects, H. P. Lovecraft and E. A. Poe, but also the philosophic Soviet sci-fi parables by the Strugatsky Brothers.
Being a native Austrian he lives and writes in Salzburg where he enjoys to visit the preppy city and trips to the surrounding dark forests alike.