“I am not sure I am ready for this,” Albian whispered.
Beyond the glow of the fire, passed the sheet of glass looking out, the world was changing, and he could do nothing to stop it. Brittle leaves, dying grass, and darker sunsets proved the ending of one season and the beginning of another. The burnt copper sky slowly gave way to the illumination of stars and cooler air, as the blinking butts of bugs sparked here and there fusing one day into the next.
He could feel it coming...
The lively noises of the village were coming to a close. The bustle of playing children, the closing of local shops, and the nesting of frolicsome animals traded the outdoors for something more comfortable. Each group, gathers their loved ones, making their way to their nightly destinations. Families headed home, travelers made their way to the pubs, and riff-raff took up space in dark walkways and shadowed places.
Although this was a daily routine, the air was thick with anticipation.
Something was amiss yet nobody knew what. It was evident in the quickened paces of those who called Forrest Keep home and the early gathering of provisions of the foraging animals.
Just this side of the windowpane, more than the season was changing.
Time was slipping away.
Dark hair turned to light as brown faded to gray. Tight skin grew slack with each passing day and firm toned muscles gathered more and more softness. Towering strength grew weaker as the seasons came and went as bones went from healthy to brittle.
Yes, many things had changed in the thirty years Albian had been here and still, he knew more changes were coming. Ones that carried the heartache of pain and death. Changes to more than just the world, but to the souls living in it. Changes that would shape the future...changes, the world and Albian Keystone was not ready for.
“We must enjoy it while we can, Foxfire.” Albian mused.
The cold nose of his four-pawed companion helped his feet shuffle a bit faster as he went from room to room gathering supplies for his journey. For the past Thirty years, the two of them had awoken and enjoyed many sunrises and breakfasts together.
"I'm going as fast as I can, my friend." Albian said, patting Foxfire's head, "This will be difficult for all of us."
She had been his companion and best friend. Her height alone kept most smart humans away, as Foxfire could stand and stare at an irregularly tall man eye to eye while standing on all fours. She stood taller than most horses, therefore the Forrest Keepers kept their distance out of fear. Of course, her massive wings did nothing to quell their anxiety over having such a beast so close to town.
It couldn’t be helped, they needed to hide, and Forest Keep was the best place to do that. She had been the pet and experiment of an alchemist who loved to play and practice on things closest to him. Foxfire had been his pet of choice that day, and many months to come.
It was Albian who had found her, half-dead, from lack of nourishment and extreme experimentation. That had been his last day as an apprentice to that alchemist as he fled the moment he found Foxfire and never looked back. Those early years, on the run, had been a long hard journey, adjusting to so many changes back then.
It was the thought of those tough years that gave him hope about the changes facing them now and the task that lay at his feet.
Leaving peace and stepping into war.
As he looked about the two-room shack, he scratched his head in wonder. Thirty years of stacking things here and there, how would he ever find all he needs in this mess? Bookshelves, counters, and tables were covered with open books strewn about. Pages of parchment, some rolled up nice and neat while others lay scattered here and there, blew in the light breeze. There was so much knowledge and research just lying about how would he condense into one small pack, plus food, water, and a bedroll.
Urgency wouldn’t allow him to linger, war was coming, and with it...death.
The Army of Darkness had been making their way through the land, setting it ablaze, leaving nothing behind. Albian knew the one behind it all would also be there, directing and choreographing every moment of destruction.
"I hope we find her first, Foxfire, or all is lost" he murmured before turning his thoughts back to the task at hand.
How will I ever get through this in time? Albian thought as he moved from one stack of books and parchment to another. Trying to decide what would be helpful and what could be left behind. Slowly he searched snippets upon pages, scanning for pertinent information that would settle the important vs unimportant battle.
As he found books and letters, he thought he would need, he stacked them in the center of his dining table. Soon his table spawned a landscape of leather bounds and scrolls as he feverishly worked through his dilemma.
It seemed as though he raced the day.
The sun had changed positions in the sky, letting him know his time was running out. He felt the weight of it bearing down on him. Time was a killer of peace when chaos approached with the speed of an oncoming storm.
“No!” he yelled.
Albian dropped the scrolls in his hands when that familiar distant bone-chilling sound rang out. A long high-pitched screech from above echoed in the air, promising death and destruction. The one that set your hair on end and had your skin trying to escape your bones. He gasped when he realized just how close they were. Foxfire let out a growl.
“They’re here!”
Recovering, he quickly snapped into gear, “Foxfire, fetch my saddlebags. We must hurry.”
He quickened his pace, as he hastily gathered what he could carry, shoving it into the bags Foxfire brought. He darted from one spot to another, snatching up water cans, dried food, and a half-haphazardly folded bedroll, doing his best to make it all fit into two small packs.
As he rushed out the door, he was slammed with the acrid smoke of burning death in the air and it stopped him dead in his tracks. Fear had grabbed hold and frozen him into place. The day was upon them...and sooner than Albian had expected.
He prayed it wasn’t too late, but he knew reality would show a different picture.
This was not how she had imagined her day would go. Here, in her favorite place of peace and serenity when the days got stressful and hard. Tall trees offered shade from the blistering sun, and the cool wind cooling the skin and calming the soul.No, today it would be none of those things.This day, her sanctuary showed a revelation she knew was possible. A reality no one ever believed would come to pass. Perhaps it was unrealistic for a town of such peace to assume they were safe from chaos. Today's reality proves, no one can escape the oncoming war.War had come and chaos took over.Evrah stood, shaking, from head to toe, in a white-hot rage at the scene before her. Here, in the view of the eagle eye's nest atop Karlear Mountain. She was trapped with no way to stop the destruction in front of her.Forrest Keep, a once busy town so full of peace, but no longer.A place of vibrant villagers turned to nothing but scattering ants, running and screaming for their lives. Death upon wings
Albian had arrived just in time to see the smoke, hear the cries of the people, and taste the Dragon Fear. He watched as the daylight was slowly blotted out by huge wings, balls of fire, and a dark fog. It was almost dark as night, though sunset was still a few hours off.As he stood atop that hill, he cried at the scene before him knowing any aid he might have offered would never be enough.“I've come too late...” He cried.A wicked deep voice echoed from behind him.“Nonsense, Albian...”Albian turned, the wicked voice alive with laughter and glee. A hooded figure stood before him, completely covered. His skeletal hands and burning balls of hatred from beneath his hood were all that could be seen. He advanced like smoke upon a lake; slowly and effortlessly, coming to devour you. His voice, low and purposeful, triggered chills up your spine.“You're just in time. The festivities are just beginning.”Albian hated this voice.It was the one sound in all the world that made his blood bo
Evrah descended the final few feet and landed on the outer edge of the bank of the Keepers River. Flames danced along the waves, prancing from one piece of debris to another until a single flame and fire became one. It was building in heat and intensity.She stood, staring, calculating a way through the gauntlet of liquid inferno and waves. Each time she found a way through, the wind brought more debris and complications.Tracing the water's edge, she paced, looking for a way into the village that wasn't burning. Her need to get to her family and this obstruction was getting worse by the second, as was her frustration.Her last thought before jumping in. This just may be how I die..so be it.She stayed underwater as much as she could, bobbing up every few feet to see where she was. It was a slow task, but she focused on the progress to steady her nerves. She kept her head low, as the winged destroyers flew overhead, still blasting flames at anything untouched or moving.She ducked int
Finally, she made her way inside the main part of Forrest Keep, less clothes and skin, but she had conquered the flaming waves and the gauntlet of soldiers. For the briefest of moments, she leaned against a tree, catching her breath, preparing for more. She scanned the dark skies, but the dragons seemed to stay higher up than before.The armored vigilantes, relaxed and unbridled by fear of the people, wandered here and there pillaging the dead. It was disgusting and made her skin crawl, but it also gave her the freedom to move within the smoke and shadows unnoticed.It was slow going, as every few feet, she had to step over limp frames, wooden blockades, and uprooted cobblestones. Shattered frames of windows, carts, and wagons, upturned and implanted unnaturally throughout the area, made her journey to her family estate all that much harder.She slipped behind what used to be the top Forrest Keep's worship house, to avoid being caught by a patrolling soldier, and tripped over the body
The soldiers dropped to their knees, the captives quieted, and the dragons returned and took up a position around the village. Evrah inched closer, putting her face against the wood, trying to see what had caused everything to stop. A deep voice spoke. The kind that caresses flesh, as it slowly spreads poison against the skin.Smooth and venomous.Evrah could not see the body the voice belonged to, but his words found her ears just fine.“Where is she?” the voice demanded.A soldier, just outside the wagon, stood and spoke in her language.“We did not find her, Master. She must have been warned and fled before we arrived. We have checked everyone...alive. She is not here.”She didn't see what happened, but she watched the man's dead body fall, shaking her hiding place, as it bounced off and landed on the ground. The light through the hole, flashed as a dark robe swished, scraping the wooden wagon as it went by, shouting.“Find her! She is here...or she is close...What of her family? H
Evrah finally crawled from her hiding place once the sounds of departing dragons, heavy wagons moving out, and the trampling footfalls fell to silence. She had sat there at first, waiting to hear the robed figure speak, or the shouts of the soldiers, or even the screeching of dragons, yet for a long period, none of that sounded around her.Her eyes and face burned from the smoke, and she was glad she could no longer taste or smell the things around her. The air was thick, making it hard to draw breath, and for a brief second, Evrah thought it might take her. This Hell might pull her into the dark void that had taken her village and end the agony it left behind.It didn't.She stayed until she felt it was safe. With blade in hand, she had finally emerged from the confines of her hiding place. As she stood, her gaze went around the area, and she thanked The Almighty it was dark and hid the gruesomeness of what she knew was there. With her heart and head hanging, she limped her way throu
Evrah looked around, they were completely alone. Even the night creatures had quieted and stilled. She had no intention of entertaining this old man, as she was in no mood for parlor tricks today.She assumed he must have been one of the many travelers and swindlers who came to town predicting they knew the future. They were all fools, and those who bought into it were bigger ones. They always drew a crowd, foretelling of woes with one hand and robbing folks blind with the other. She had never paid much attention to any of them, and she wasn't going to pay attention to this fool either.“Death would a great favor at the present. Go away and leave me be.”She dropped back into a sitting position only to be dragged back onto her feet, the old man's voice worried in her ear.“Not now. We have no time. You must come with me now. You have about four seconds before the choice is made for you.”She had planned to object but just then the old man pointed off into the dark, and she thought she
Albian, stood scratching his head a moment, staring at the girl face down in the debris. He didn't have to see the matted hair, the tear streaks on her face, or the ripped and tattered wet clothes clinging to her slender frame to know just how much she had been through.Mud and ash smeared all over, let him know she had indeed been in Forrest Keep during the chaos. He knew by looking at her, she must have been on Karlear Mountian when it began because the only way she would have been soaked to the bone was if she crossed the Keepers River.His heart broke for the pain and suffering she had to endure watching death devour her village, but he was immensely proud that she had somehow survived it. Also, It showed she had what she needed to survive and what was in store for her going forward.This was going to be a very hard journey...for all of them.It would be the hardest for her, but none would escape the trials this war would bring. The chaos so far