The gentle crackling of a dying fire. The moist, suffocating scent of blood and ash. Distant sounds, soldiers calling out.
Luenor felt his body standing still, knowing he was not really there
Everything was hazy, blurry. But the more he looked, the more real it became.
A small hut.
An unhealthy flickering flame barely trying to fend off the cold.
And two figures.
He almost gasped when he recognized his mother.
Rhea Sieaha Sureva, still in her battle tooled cloak. Her hands shook as she pressed the bandage after bandage on the broken mangled body of a man lying on the floor. The man's face was pale, he breathed in shallow wet respites, and blood mixed with mana ooze leaked from war torn lacerations of his ribs, neck, and arms.
Luenor suddenly felt his throat constrict.
Hunter Gardan.
His father's most loyal knight.
Luenor couldn't believe what he was witnessing.
It was unlike anything he had seen a human in before.
If we were in the modern age, trained professionals like doctors and nurses would have fled the scene or would be vomit on the spot. Flesh gone, bones visible, veins corrupted and darken with mana poisoning.
Yet, he was still alive.
Barely.
The silence broke with Hunter grunting a low, weak chuckle.
"Still... breathing... god damn it," Hunter said, raspy like sandpaper on rock.
Rhea shook her head, trying to hold back tears, focusing only on slowing down the mana poisoning from Hunter's wounds.
"You're alive... and that's what matters," she murmured.
Hunter wheezed, his head fell slightly closer towards her. "....You should have left me.... Rhea. You should have run."
Rhea pressed harder on his wounds, ignoring the tears pooling in her eyes."I can't… not without knowing they're safe."
Hunter coughed, a spatter of blood hitting the floor."Richard… has them… he'll take them… to Fort Gelran."He smiled faintly. "They've likely… already run into the… Forest Tribe…"
Rhea paused, her breath catching.
But before she could respond, Hunter stiffened, clutching his chest. His body began to tremble as the mana poisoning surged, glowing faintly beneath his skin. His veins darkened further, pulsing violently.
Rhea grabbed him, panic breaking through her composure."Hunter…!"
Hunter gasped, forcing the words through clenched teeth. "A… Gate… it's opening… in the Frostwood…"
Rhea's face went pale. "No… Not now… Not when they're still—"
Hunter has left a hold on her sleeve as he tried to muster all his strength.
"You need to move," he said. "I want you heading for Campbell's territory... closer to Ruthenia's edge... it's safer there... "
Before Rhea spoke again, there was a blindingly bright flash of white light that engulfed the whole scene.
Luenor gasped and jolted awake.
His skin was coated in cold sweat, and struggled to catch his breath. For a moment, he couldn't comprehend where he was.
"Luenor!"
He turned to find Hera shaking him as she expressed fear.
"You're awake," she huffed. "Thank the spirits... we need to get out of here."
Luenor sat up, trying to gain his bearings. "I had... I had a dream. Mother... Hunter... they are alive..."
Hera's eyes widened, and her mouth was agape. "They are alive?"
Luenor nodded, still processing the resonating visuals, "I saw them... Hunter was wounded. Badly. But he warned mother... about a Gate... opening..."
Hera's skin went pale.
"This is why I woke you." She gulped. "The elves just verified a Gate has been opened in the middle of Frostwood. Fort Gelran... this place... won't be safe much longer."
Luenor's heart dropped.
They hurriedly collected their cloaks and exited the hut.
The whole village was in crisis.
Elves were scurrying, arming themselves, throwing on leather, grabbing weapons and supplies. Others were piling small crates, loading supplies onto beasts of burden. Warriors were bellowing orders and quietly loading the children and elders towards hidden passageways below the fortress.
Faren, taking note of them exiting the hut, muttered a curse under his breath.
"So you've heard," he said adjusting the bow on his back.
Luenor nodded, still shaken. "Is it true?"
Faren glanced toward the darkened sky beyond the treetops. The faintest shimmer of violet light flickered through the forest's upper reaches—a sickly glow of unstable mana, barely visible to the untrained eye.
"It's true," Faren confirmed grimly. "A Gate has opened. And with it… the beast waves will soon follow."
He glanced back toward them, his expression darkening.
"And where there are beasts… humans will follow."