The sky over Riverbrook lets forth a torrent of rain as if weeping in anticipation of the carnage that was soon to be unleased upon the once quiet village. Amongst the deluge of rain and wind a golden hawk soars peering down at the village with its golden eyes seeking and searching for those that wish ill towards its master. The village was situated next to a large stream that flowed around one edge of the town. In the centre of Riverbrook stands the town hall, a large two storey stone building, with men running for shelter towards it in hopes of avoiding the sudden down pour. Around the town hall others seek shelter where they can in the surrounding wooden cabins and cottages. A shadow in the shape of a man stalks the outskirts of the village obscured by the rain in the dim morning light, it weaves its way through the buildings of Riverbrook.

In its wake only silence is left as memories of its visit. Inside one such building that the shadow was entering, a group of twenty soldiers hurry to dry themselves and their weapons. Soldiers can be heard complaining while standing around a hearth in the centre of the cabin. They complain of the cold and wet which they wish to be rid of, but soon such complaints are replaced by silent terror as their new found shelter turns into a nightmare when a shadow quietly enters the cabin through the main door.

An unfortunate soldier by the entrance finds that his head seems to have been detached from his neck and silently drops to the floor, blood gushing from his neck. Before anyone in the room can do any more than gape in horror, the shadow leaps over the newly decapitated body and two thin silver spears burst out from within its murky depths. The silver spears race towards two soldiers who are swiftly impaled in the neck, their bodies dropping to the floor wheezing and coughing, while the silver spears evaporate into mist.

The remaining soldiers rush to draw their weapons, finally recovering from their momentary shock.

“We are under attack! FORM UP ON ME!” screams a soldier.

Recovering from its landing the shadow dashes at the group of soldiers around the hearth who are now in a defensive spear formation. More silver spears radiate out of the shadow and impale four more men as the shadow closes in.

“ARGGHHHH!”

A man in the back of the formation screams as he is lifted into the air and torn in half by an unseen force, his insides spilling to the floor while his two halves are smashed into his comrades. As the shadow arrives in front of the men, it pulls back its right arm as if about to swing a sword as it does so a silver blade appears in its hands. With a horizontal swing the blade rends those in reach in two, as the sword reaches the ends of its swing it dissolves into mist. Then with its left hand the shadow reaches forward palm open, three men in front of the shadow find that their skin has started to erupt with puss filled boils, their eyes weeping tears of blood and their hands rotting away.

The remaining men stab and slash madly at the shadow as their swords and spears cause the shadow to ripple where they make contact, as if the shadow was an ocean of black ink. More men are crushed or ripped apart by the unseen force, while the shadow continues its dance of death with flashes of silver. With the dance complete the shadow wraps the room in darkness and the remains of the soldiers are pulled into its black depths, leaving no trace of the finished performance.

The shadow continues on its way through the town performing its dance for all those it meets. Until finally only the town hall remains. The shadow leaps onto the rain slicked roof of the hall and perches itself next to a window that looks into the interior. As the shadow carefully observes the inhabitants of the hall, a golden hawk swoops down and places itself next to the window away from preying eyes.

Lillianna

Breathing heavily I try and regain my composure, while peering into the hall below me. Through the window I observe a dozen knights outfitted the same as the ones I had previously encountered, there were scattered throughout the large stone hall. A group of fifty or so imprisoned towns folk are at the front of the hall, huddling together for warmth and comfort. Two of the knights stood guard by the large wooden doors that open out into the centre of Riverbrook, oblivious to the deaths of their fellow soldiers in the surrounding buildings. While the other knights sit around the various tables in the hall eating and making conversation with each other.

*It doesn’t look like they are aware of what’s going on.*

The rain and wind masked my actions and muffled the cries of the now dead soldiers. If the whole town had been alerted to my attack, I do not think it would have gone as smoothly as it had. I was almost at my limit, with fatigue weighing on my body and dulling my senses. There had been more soldiers than I had anticipated, forcing me to exert myself to near exhaustion.

“Nat, are there any soldiers that I missed outside this hall?” I whisper to the golden hawk perched next to me.

~No master, only those left in the hall remain~

*I should probably take some captive for interrogation*

~Nin I need you to incapacitate some of them. They need to be able to talk so don’t overdo it.~

~Not a problem master~ the usual happy voice of Nin replies in my mind.

~Cormon, kill the two guarding the door~

~Yes Master~ a low deep voice rubbles through my mind.

With my commands given I burst through the window showering glass into the hall bellow me. As I am falling I summon two silver spears and eject them from my shadowy figure at two knights who had their backs turned to me, piercing them in the back of their heads. As I hit the floor I roll forward to soften my fall and upon recovering expel two more silver spears at the two men who had previously been in conversation with the men I just killed, impaling them in their chests.

“Defend yourselves!” a knight across the hall roars.

With that commend the remaining knights in the hall draw their weapons. As the two knights by the entrance ready their great swords from their backs, they crash into each other. The way two dolls would behave if a child had picked them up and smashed them together with all his might, their intertwined bodies dropping to the ground in a bloody heap.

After witnessing that Cormon had done as instructed, I race forward to meet the remaining six knights who were closing in on me with weapons and shields at the ready. Two of the knights come within range and I summon a silver blade into my right hand, with a swift horizontal slash the knights are decapitated, leaving their bodies momentarily still before limply falling to the ground.

The last four knights seeing their comrades fall before them continue their advance with shields raised in a defensive posture. I thrust out my left hand palm open and feel Nin’s power flow through me, coalescing in my hand. Directing Nin’s power towards the four knights, I see their legs give way as if a great weight had been placed on them, forcing them to kneel before me. Cries of pain ring out from them as I steady my breathing and close in on the now disabled knights. Once again I will Nin’s power through my left hand and place it on the closes knights forehead, forcing him to fall unconscious. The three remaining knights struggle in vain to raise their swords as I turn my attention towards them. After rendering them unconscious I inspect the hall to make sure I did not miss any stragglers or hidden opponents. Satisfied that the hall was now secure I make my way to the front of the hall towards the captive villagers.

While walking towards the huddling villagers, the shadow that is enveloping me slowly recedes, making its way to the black cloak around my shoulders. Having returned to my normal appearance and standing in front of the group, I command Cormon to remove their shackles. The villages look towards in fear, some beg for their lives while others try to hide their children from my gaze, as the chains binding them crumble to the floor.

Lillianna

“Is anyone seriously injured?” I ask in a calming voice.

The villagers fall silent at my words, while parents try and hush their crying children.

“I mean you no harm. I am a mage and I came across some of your fellow villagers on the road south of town. They asked me to liberate this village”

*Let’s hope they don’t think I want to eat their children*

“T…th… thank you” an elderly man in the group stutters.

“So let me ask again, are there any of you who are seriously injured?”

“Please save my child. They beat her when she would not stop crying, she hasn’t moved since” a crying woman pleads as she holds the limp body of her young daughter.

I reach out my hand and place it on the child’s head, infusing her with Nin’s energy. Luckily the girl was still alive but had suffered a fractured skull. If she had not been healed, the girl would have most likely died in the next few days.

*These so called knights even beat children, how disgusting*

“She is just sleeping now and will wake up soon, there is no need to worry” I reassure the weeping mother.

“Is there anyone else?”

A few more people requested healing for broken limbs and bloody wounds, but none were seriously life threatening. Once again I heal the injured villagers one by one at their request.

“Now that everyone is healed, it would be best if you returned to your homes for the time being. I will need to have a talk with the surviving knights and it would be best if you did not have to witness my actions”

I hear murmurs of understanding and agreement from the crowd.

“There is also a small group of villagers on the road south of town, someone will need to go inform them that the village is now safe to return to. Once that is done I would like for those who speak for the village to assemble back here. I will not take long with my interrogation”

I turn around as the group of villagers disperses out of the town hall, the rain and wind rushing through the open doors, before being closed by the last of the villagers. Focusing my attention back to the knights laying on the floor at the centre of the hall I make my way towards them. Walking up to the four knights and waking them up using Nin’s abilities I look down at them with a impassive face. They roll onto their kneels with grunts of pain and look up at me with anger blazing in their eyes.

“What have you done to us you witch!” one of the knights yells.

I swiftly kick the man that spoke in the gut, causing him to spit and cough as he doubled over onto his head, his limp arms unable to brace his fall.

“I will be the one asking questions here”

“We have nothing to say to you bitch” another knight hisses at me.

“If you do not answer my questions you will die. It will not be pleasant, I can assure you that much”

I point at the man I had previously kicked.

~Cormon, crush his skull… slowly~

“ARGHHH!”

The three other men watch as their companion has his head slowly crushed by a force they cannot see. The man’s head slowly compresses, blood dripping from his eyes and ears, his bones slowly breaking and giving off sickening cracking sounds. Until finally his skull gives way and implodes, causing his eyes to burst from their sockets, blood and pieces of his brain splatter around the room.

“Now tell me, why did you attack this village, are they not subjects of Count Ramuse?”

“Their elders ignored a decree to send a levy of men for Count Ramuse’s army” a frightened knight answers.

“Silence you, coward!” one of the knights barked.

I point my finger at the barking knight and like the previous man his head slowly compresses and implodes. I motion for the talkative knight to continue with my hands. As the other still silent knight watching on in silent terror.

“We were ordered to bring the men in by force and to sell the rest into slavery as an example to those that might defy the decree”

“Where did you come from and how long did it take you to get here?”

“We are from the provincial capital Fornall it is seven days march from here”

*That means it will take some time before they become suspicion that their men haven’t returned*

“Why does the Count need levies for his army?”

“The Pa-ghan Empire is amassing an army on our western borders, the King has ordered all Counts and Lords to ready their men”

*So the Pa-ghans are about to start an invasion, this town might still have a chance if the Count has to focus his attention elsewhere*

“Has the Count found any other towns resisting this decree?”

“We were the first group sent to enforce the decree, the Count may have sent more since but I do not know. Please you have to believe me” The previously silent knight replies.

*Hmmm that gives me an idea*

“One last question… do you have any last words?” I say as my mouth contorts into a sinister smile.

“No… please… we have answered all your questions, mercy ple…”

*Did any of you scum show mercy when nearly you beat a child to death?*

My right hand swings in a horizontal arc as I grip a silver blade that is forming in my hand. Before the pleading man can finish his cries for mercy, I decapitate the two remaining knights, their bodies falling to the floor, blood gushing from their necks.

~Enenra, please clean up the mess in the hall~

~Yes Master, thank you for the feast~

My black clock erupts into a shadow that envelopes the large hall, slowly swallowing up the remains of the once proud knights, before contracting back into the cloak that adorns my shoulders. I make my way to the entrance of the town hall and open the doors to gaze open the town that I had saved.

*I need a warm bath*