At this point he quickly got up and used Mana Sight to observe where the bird was. The large eagle like bird made circles, getting higher and higher up with each passing moment, and he could see it’s mana signature shrinking in size the further away it got and the mana of the pray it carried in it’s talons starting to fade, as life left the poor unfortunate soul. In two minutes he no longer saw it.

"I think it’s gone, let’s move close to the trees and slowly go back. We can’t stay here." Septimus whispered while his little brother woke up and started to cry and Petra tried to calm him down.

His grandfather and father went ahead and started slowly moving forward their gazes observing the heavens and surrounding area. He was sure there was nothing dangerous in the vicinity, only trees and small critters, but it was better to stay vigilant. Maybe the skill had blind spots he didn’t know about. His grandmother took over Leo, while mother picked up Aurelia and both women clutched the children near.

Aurelia had her green eyes wide open, her small form shivering, yet she didn’t release a sound. Rona turned Leo’s face towards her bosom and gently covered him with a small blanket they brought with them, all the while she whispered sweet nothings for the little boy to go to sleep. He urged his mother and grandmother to move next and the distraught women obeyed immediately. He took the last spot in the column, but that only lasted for a moment as more people started to follow behind them. Everything they brought with them that day was left behind on the ground.

As they slowly made their way through the bushes and trees he had a sudden urge to find a weapon, something to use in case that beast returned. He grabbed a straight enough branch from the ground, but it was too heavy for him so he ran ahead and gave it to his father. For himself he took a small stone in each hand, because it occurred to him that against aerial enemies it was better to have a ranged attack. Many followed his suite after they observed his actions.

The sun was just going near the mountains leaving them about two hours of daylight. If they went on the road in a straight line it would have taken them 20 minutes tops to get back but now they needed cover and the road had none. Following the river and it’s tree growth would make the path longer yet safer and if they could manage to keep this tempo they should be able to get to Nurium in an hour.

His heartbeat rose in his chest and he almost forgot to slow down, his skill allowing him to get ahead of everyone else even with his meagre height of just under 1.5m. The scene that he witnessed a few minutes before replayed in his head, the blood, the screams, the easy way that that bird took a life... it all passed through his head over and over again.

He could barely focus enough to use Mana Sight to check his surroundings. His family at the head and eleven people that followed them kept quiet and never stopped to rest, moving at a fast walking pace at all times while taking a good look at the environment.

Somewhere above another piercing cry came and made them stop on the spot. People were whimpering and making muffled sounds and some started to sniff, their eyes wet with tears. Tercius kept his eyes up, but the same thing that gave them cover also obstructed him from having a better view. All plant life had a light green tint in his Mana Sight vision, while living and breathing animals and humans had a red one and now that he had a chance to stay in one spot and observe he saw them. Three small red dots way up high colliding with each other.

Are those things fighting? he thought. This gave hope of a successful return. Now is the time to move then.

"Father let’s move, don’t stop now." he said in a low voice. More cries came from above each sending shivers down his spine, yet he made sure that his legs kept going. Every now and then he brought his head up to where he last saw them, but they were moving fast, one moment there another a large distance away, their speed lightning fast.

He was now sure that two dots were hunting after the one that appeared previously, and he made some sense of this whole thing. Those birds almost never leave their mountains, but if the mountain got another king, what would the previous do? Obviously escape this way. At least that was the theory he came up with.

If those things were occupied with each other then they had the chance to cross the distance of open terrain from where the trees were cut to the town walls. Some 300m of no cover was ideal for them to swoop down and collect an unlucky snack. He only hoped that someone was manning the walls and that they had an answer to these beasts.

"Grandpa over here! Hey! Grandma needs help!" he said in low voice when he saw his grandmother was starting to slow down. The older man saw at what he was indicating and took little Leo from her. "Just a little more my love." he said to her as he took her hand and pulled her with him.

Most of those following them were winded by this point, yet their sense of survival told them that if they stopped now, they would lose their little life. So they persevered.

He could see humans in uniforms on the walls all standing still and observing the skies. The main gate was closed but he could see the smaller one to the side open, waiting for them to come in. That simple act gave him and many of those around him the second wind they needed. The last leg of their run was essentially a sprint and people shoved their way in that small space.

He and his family stayed back until everyone else went through the metal reinforced wooden door, while he observed the battling giants in the skies who were now visible with naked eyes. Two smaller birds used their talons and beaks to assault the big white and brown one, taking flesh and feather with each attack. Yet he didn’t go down easily, making them pay the price of their assault.

A weight fell of his shoulders, once he was past the door and saw them close, the birds still going at each other. It was easier to breathe for a moment. It’s done, we are safe. he repeated to himself as soldiers lead them away from the gate and started asking question. His mind just kept forcing him to see that scene again and again, with each cry from above. His heart was racing in his chest. He heard it’s beat in his ears and felt it at the back of his head. He felt the eyes of the soldiers on them and he got the glimpse of that single eye seeing everything. Every scrap of his being wished to just disappear, to hide away.

Run away! a thought appeared and he went off full speed, no one near him able to catch up. He didn’t care who saw, he had to get away from this place, where one minute you mind your own business and the next your guts and brain are out in the open, food for some overgrown bird. Behind him he heard someone shout his name, but he didn’t care, he had to go. He ran in no particular direction, simply avoiding any obstacles, never caring for where he moved. Left. Right. It didn’t matter. I need to get away from here! he kept repeating in his mind to the scenes of carnage he witnessed an hour ago.

***

There were many times in Septimus’s life that he was scared. When he was a child his father’s belt was the scariest of them all. When they travelled on that fucking boat and it almost got under. When he met Petra and spent months courting her but no matter what he did she would not fall for him. When Rala came in his house where his family resided, before he knew that someone still had his back. And now. Those where he was scared for himself paled in comparison for what he felt when his family was in danger.

Observing that beast he knew there would be no reasoning with it, he knew he had no way to kill the thing other than maybe a lucky shot and then looking at his family next to him he felt despair that was gut wrenching. Some wounds he took while still in service were easier to stomach. Septimus had heard stories like this one that was about to happen many times, where a Beast enters the territory of the Empire and kills and kills until a strong enough force assembles to put it down or it leaves of it’s own accord. Septimus heard those stories then and never dreamt of the same happening to him and his, somehow they seemed so far away. That was how most people thought, at least in his opinion. Now that exact scenario was staring him in the face and he imagined his family in one of those stories people talked about in shops and markets. Small drops of water came down his back Septimus almost thought it started raining, but no, those drops were just his reaction to all of this.

"Everyone don’t move a finger! They hunt based on movement." then his eldest son said in a voice that was just over a whisper, and they listened immediately. The boy had read so many books over the years at that book store, they believed him on his word without doubt. Septimuses eyes drifted over to the boy and he saw him there on the ground calm and collected, with steel in his small eyes, so much like his mothers. He could almost feel a plan hatching in his brilliant brain, and how could he as the boys father do anything less? There was a time for panic, but it was not now. Now was a time for a plan of action.

"I think it’s gone, let’s move close to the trees and slowly go back. We can’t stay here." as soon as he didn’t hear the beat of those monstrous wings he started to observe his surroundings and put all those feelings behind. Immediately he went to see if the path forward was passable and Ciron joined him. Little Tercius snapped Petra and Rona from their thoughts and made them come after with children in tow.

It was honestly one of the longest hours of his life, where every minute was filled with anxiety about what would happen and it lasted up until his family went through that door and he closed them behind. Only then did he remember to take a breath.

Immediately soldiers started asking questions about what they knew and what happened, what they saw... Septimus checked on his family and saw relief on all their faces except for one. Tercius. The boy looked ill his face red, like the evening sun sometimes tended to be, his eyes darting about at every sound. His breaths came long and laboured and as he extended his hand to pat the boy on the back, he darted away with such speed he thought impossible.

All of the soldiers started screaming at him, making Petra’s and his voice lost in the cacophony and when he started after him the soldiers took him and shoved him back. "That’s my son, I need to go get him!" he screamed at one man that held him back by his arm.

No matter how much he shoved and screamed these blockheads would not listen. Septimus saw Tercius run in a straight line to the main street, outpacing soldiers two meters high in a contest of speed with ease. Then he went around the corner and he saw him no more.

"LET ME GO!" he roared and threw away the git that held him back, almost knocking back his wife in the process. But it was useless, they were surrounded and there was no way he could leave here without an explanation. "TERCIUUUS! COME BACK!" he gave a holler as the noose of men tightened around them.

What is going on? Why did the boy run? he kept asking himself over and over again. Panic. the answer came. It waited for Tercius to be safe and then it all came to him at once. When did the boy got so fast? Did he get a skill? as his hot head started cooling down questions about what he saw started to appear. Why didn’t he tell me? Did he tell anyone?

Once again he had to calm his strong emotions. Those didn’t matter now, the answers would have to wait. He had to first deal with these idiots first, as fast as he could because who knows where the boy might go in the midst of panic.

One thing was certain, they had to find him as soon as possible.

***

Tercius didn’t know where he was. He remembered that he entered the city gates and then... blank. How he came here? Blank. Where were him siblings, parents and grandparents? Blank. His back and ass were resting against wooden surfaces and over him, like a tent, was a plank. He took a peek through the side that was left open on his right and saw a mess. It was dark, tonight the moons didn’t reflect much light, so it took him a moment to figure out what he saw.

Wooden beams broken in half, one side resting where it should the other in the middle of the room. The whole roof collapsed inside with large piles of debris and trash in every corner. He slowly left his shelter and started checking things out from the only window left. Nothing looked remotely familiar, the houses that he saw were made of wood, with broken down doors and windows, hell some walls were missing whole. A ruin.

He didn’t see anyone around, it looked undisturbed as a graveyard at night, so he climbed and jumped through the window. The streets between the houses were just dirt that was walked over so many times, no grass managed to grow. Ah, I must be in the old slums. he made the connection when he saw the wall in the distance. But how did I get here?

He made a run for it, jumping over barely visible holes on the path, many times he tripped on the ones he didn’t see and with his speed he and the relatively straight path it took him under 10 minutes to get near it. Then he went left, along the wall.

"HALT! Who goes there?" a voice boomed somewhere above him, making him stop.

"Um..." What should I say? he thought. "...It’s me..." FUCK! What am I saying? Think things through first. He raised both of his hands above his head and stepped away from the wall so that the one above could see him. When he spotted the man he saw that an arrow was knocked aimed right at him, and from this distance of maybe 10 meters, the guard would probably not miss.

"Please don’t shoot! I am Tercius, son of Septimus and Petra. I live here! In the town! I live in the town!" he hurried to explain himself, because the man looked ready to release that arrow. He knew that there were some monsters out there that took on the likeness of what they killed. He knew that those monsters could not talk, the question now was, did this man know this too? There was silence for a few moments as the man in the metal helmet contemplated his words and fate.

"Go slowly to your left, there is a gate some distance away. If you run I will shoot, make no mistake. Go!" he finally decided and Tercius obeyed as he watched the man follow him with the arrow still pointed to his back. They passed a few more guards that got a brief explanation of what was going on and they all moved one place to the right to cover the gap left by his wall companion. The gate was well lit by torches and he saw it and the guards as soon as the wall straightened enough.

"Stay there! Marrin go alert someone at the gate that there is a small boy down there..." he proceeded to repeat what Tercius told to him about who he was etcetera.

As he waited for someone to come for him, his thoughts turned inwards, to try do remember how he came to be here. He closed his eyes and went over the last few scenes inscribed in his memory. The run to the wall, the gate, it closing behind them and then... He could see some fragments with soldiers in them... Then him... running away... using Running in front of all those people. I really made a mess there. I have some explaining to do. While he contemplated his actions a man approached him.

"Yes this is him!" he turned and shouted back towards the guards that had stood guard in front of the gate. The ones on the wall lowered their weapons and went back to patrol. "What the hell was going on through your head boy? Why did you run?" he asked as he came closer. An older man, his large nose particularly visible in the late night shadows. "Do you know what a mess you made? The Commander made all the soldiers present there go for a week of additional training. Most of them just came back. Haha haha." he laughed in some way that made it difficult to pinpoint if the sound came from the mouth or nose. "They must hate your guts."

"I honestly don't remember what happened... One moment I was entering through the gates and the next I was back there." he answered with truth, while pointing with his thumb at the ruins. "I ran to the wall and one of your men saw me and got me here in front of you."

"Yes... Come boy let's get you inside." he placed an arm around his shoulders and Tercius jerked for a moment, his body ready to leap back. He had to suppress it and let himself be walked to the gate. "I heard what happened today... To see such a thing, it leaves a mark, that’s for sure."

"I was ordered to wait at this gate in case you came back, the guards saw you ran out you see, a search is in progress. Only now that you are here I have to take you to my Commander. Those are the orders." he explained seeming apologetic near the end.

Great. An interrogation awaits. Well at least I have some more time before I go home...