"Run them down!" A thundering voice was heard as the sound of clopping was gradually getting louder.

Screams of terror were heard all around, the scenes of a family's house being burned down while fleeing villagers were seen running as their heads are being chopped off by passing cavalry. A bold figure, donned in a golden-plated armor, riding their steed with six legs, accompanied by a squad of cavalry that donned a black-plated armor, and engraved on their breastplate a mix between a lion and a horse holding a crown surveys the land as the bold figure removes his helmet and reveals a sinister grin as he looks around the horror befell on the village.

"Slaughter them all" the bold figured says as the squad of cavalry rushes upfront following his command, leaving only screams being heard all over the darkness.

"Stop!" Jon screams as he wakes up from the nightmare. "Stop the killing please!"

Jon's screams can be heard by all the villagers that live nearby the orphanage. Panic. Vernack, one of the orphanage's caretakers, rushed into Jon's room along with other caretakers that was woken up by Jon's screaming.

"Hey, Jon what happened?" Vernack softly says, as he calmly approaches Jon.

"They are coming!" Jon looked at Vernack straight in the eye as tears are seen falling from his eyes. "Meadow Cross and all of us are going to die!"

Shaken by Jon's words, Vernack looks back to the other people inside the room, he sees the panic from the orphans and the worried look from the caretakers. He could also feel the annoyance that the neighbors probably exude after hearing Jon's scream in the middle of the night.

"Jon. no one is coming to kill us" Vernack said, caressing the back of his head while giving him the look of assurance.

"No! It's real, I just know it’s real!" Jon pushes Vernack back and attempts to jumps off his bed attempting to run straight to the bedroom window.

"Jon get back here!" Vernack barely grabbed on to Jon's leg causing Jon to trip as he was about to jump hitting his head on the hard-wood floor.

"Verna! Be careful with Jon!" A female caretaker rushes up to Jon and lifts him off the floor and placing him back to his bed. "He may be ten, but that does not mean you should be rough with him"

"Then how else was I supposed to stop him from jumping from his bed huh?"

"Enough you two!" An old caretaker steps in between the two and sits beside Jon, worry all over her face. "Please, calm the others now and usher them back to their quarters"

"Yes grandmother" the two caretakers then ushered other children and caretakers out of the room and took care of the complaints of the neighbors that can be heard as a number of them came up to the doors of the orphanage.

While everything outside the room was quiet, Jon's room was still lit and sniffling could be heard from the inside.

"But, grama Bliss it felt so real" Jon chokes on his words as visions from the nightmare still shook him.

"All nightmares feel real, dear boy. These are things that cannot harm us because they are only our imagination." Bliss softly said, she continues to wipe the tears off of Jon while hugging him. "Although those were nightmares, always remember that your grandmother and all the other caretakers in this orphanage are here to protect you, we will never allow any of you to be harmed in any sort of way"

Grandmother Bliss' words warmed up Jon's heart, feeling assured that the nightmare was never real and that he felt safe around his grandmother.

"Grama, promise you will never leave us?" Jon said, looking at Bliss' eye.

"Oh dear, if even that old hunter that lives near the creek can live for over a hundred years and outlive numerous predators, compared to me that is chained to this orphanage with no predators on sight I will be able to live long enough for you to see you off your journey to wherever you go." Bliss happily said, embracing Jon tighter.

Feeling assured by the grandmother's words, he returned the embrace and went back to sleep after. However, his mind is still shaken by his nightmare which made it hard for him to go back to sleep. Bliss puts out the candle light and glances at Jon before leaving his room.

****

At the break of dawn, as farmers and some others rose from their beds to prepare themselves to work back in their fields, a loguard rushes to the bell tower that would normally be rang by the village chief as a sign of a waking call to everyone in the village. The loguard rang the bell as fast as he could, as his face drenched in sweat and his complexion worsening by the moment.

The village chief rushes out his home towards the bell tower, his clothes barely clung to him, it was evident that he dressed in a hurry.

"Loguard Mane, what is the meaning of this?" Greylo, the village chief, approaches the loguard concern seen all over his face.

"Get everyone out of here!" Mane calls out as he wheezes after every word. "The Supriars are coming!"

Hearing the words of the loguard, murmurings were heard around the bell tower. Greylo looks around him and sees the panic in the eyes of his kinsmen.

'Did not the Supriars sign a treaty with Lord Cristos, why are their army here?" He mutters, as he stares blankly at the entrance of Meadow Cross.

"Chief, what must we do?" A villager's panicky voice was heard behind him.

"Get every person in Meadow Cross to immediately cross the southern creek and head off to Baron Slies' border castle!"

The bell continued to be rang as the people of Meadow Cross hurriedly pack their things and hurtled towards the southern creek.

****

In a distance from Meadow Cross on a hill, a hundred of cavalry whose breastplates have an engraved symbol of a mix between a lion and a horse holding a crown were slowly moving towards the village.

"Lord Volux, Slies' village is ahead." An officer donned in a black-plated armor moves beside an imposing figure in golden armor

"Tell the others that in a moment we will charge in." Confidence in his voice, Volux stares off at the escaping villagers heading to a nearby creek. "Do tell Yorum to take his men and slaughter the panicking ants"

The officer bowed and shortly rushes back to the army, yelling out orders by the golden-plated Count.

****

In the orphanage, the children were rushed out with their caretakers, some being carried and some on foot. Jon woke up to the sound of stomping and the constant ringing of the bell, he could feel the panic that the people inside the orphanage are feeling. He senses that in a few seconds someone will barge into his room so he immediately chased for the door.

"Jon wake up we need to leave--" As Vernack just opened the door to his room he notices Jon on the floor. "Okay, what just happened?"

"I was about to open the door." He replies as he slowly stands back up.

"Oh, apologies for that. We need to hurry Jon, the neighboring kingdom is about to burn this village to the ground" Vernack helps Jon dust off and immediately grabs his wrist to bring him out of the orphanage.

By the entrance of Meadow Cross the village chief is seen standing beside a squad of loguards and a gray horse. Jon remembers the nightmare he had a few hours ago he felt that this event is what happened in his nightmare.

Seconds later, the sound of clopping is heard from a distance and the ground shook as if it was about to burst. Greylo and the loguards braced themselves seemingly prepared, but their complexion says otherwise.

"Lord Supriar, the moment you step inside this village, I swear that your kingdom will suffer even more than your ancestors did hundreds of years ago!" Greylo yells the moment he sees the charging cavalry.

"Charge!" Volux and his cavalry hastens in reply.

"Chief Greylo, leave while you still can, we will hold them off." Loguard Mane said, giving Greylo the reins to his horse. "Leave and guide the others to Baron Slies"

Greylo hesitates at first but as he sees the panic of his people he then takes the lead and immediately lead towards the southern creek.

"Jon do not stop, we have to move fast!" Vernack once again grabs Jon's wrist dragging him along with him.

"Ahh--" Screams were heard by the southern creek as well as the sound of clopping was heard coming from the southern creek as well.

Jon and Vernack stopped in their track as soon as they heard the cries. Bliss and the other caretakers halted as well, slowly moving backwards as they continue to hear screams getting louder as well as the sound of clopping.

"Ramus, Nali, Mandi, Pylo, Verna, and Gless get the children and scatter, stay away from the open areas I tell you!" Bliss yells as she carries two baby orphans on her back. "We must reunite at the creek's end southwest from here, you will know it is the end once you see a pond and nearby should be a small abandoned cave"

Seeing the worried faces on her fellow caretakers, she groups them up and chants a simple magic that covers everyone in a thin sheet of an invisible barrier. Everyone was confused and hesitant at first, but seeing that their grandmother showed no distress they grabbed as much children as they can and ran off towards random directions, away from the sound of clopping.

"Jon over here" Vernack tightly gripped Jon arm and carried another child with them, heading off towards the back of the orphanage which directly leads to the forest.

When the three were about to reach the orphanage, a vision enters Jon's mind hinting that if they went to the orphanage they will be blocked by one of the cavalry and kill them in an instant.

"Verna, let us not go there!" Jon anxiously pulls Vernack's arm toward a different direction, but Vernack was physically stronger as he was older than him by eight years. "We will die if we go there!"

"They will not be able to find us there, trust me, I know a secret passage there" Vernack confidently said, although his head is clouded with a lot of negative thoughts he felt responsible if he were not able to even save these two children.

The three entered the orphanage, thinking that they would be able to cover themselves from the sight of the pillagers. Although outside of the orphanage was chaotic with houses being burnt down and people being beheaded, inside the orphanage felt unusually calm as a bit of the rising sun peeks through the eastern windows.

"Jon, stay close and never lift stand up, just crawl" Vernack said, crouching beside the walls they slowly move towards the back entrance of the orphanage.

Moments later, halfway through the orphanage a bolt of fire forcibly broke through the western windows, setting fire to the wooden orphanage. Panic, the three rushed towards the back entrance and just as they were about to open the door they were pushed back by an explosion from the other side of the door.

"Burn down this place as well!" An officer from the Supriars is seen outside the orphanage along with two subordinates that are constantly casting firebolts towards the orphanage.

"Ugh--” Vernack struggles to move as one of the wooden beams toppled over him after the explosion.

"Brim, are you okay?" He tries to move the child on the side of his chest, but to no response.

Vernack placed his left hand by the neck of Brim to check for any pulse, but later on to only notice that he could not feel anything on his left arm. He then looked for Jon, last he remembered was Jon pulling his right arm moving him a bit to the right.

"Jon, are you okay?" His breathy yet soft voice echoes around the burning orphanage. "Jon!"

Vernack then hears loud thumping and metal clattering by the entrance of the orphanage. He sees a one of the cavalry men on foot entering the burning orphanage carrying along him a short sword surveying the orphanage.

"I swear I heard a voice in here." The cavalryman mutters to himself, stays inside for a bit checking the rubbles for a certain amount of time. Suddenly he hears heavy breathing behind a broken wooden beam and sees Vernack in wheezing loudly. "Found the little bugger"

Just as the cavalryman about to reach Vernack preparing himself to stab Vernack, a burning stick was thrown at the cavalryman's helmet. The cavalryman snapped his neck towards the direction of the stick and glares at a small child, half of his right leg and his left shoulder seen with burn marks.

"Tch. Children." The cavalryman runs towards Jon readying his blade to slice Jon in half.

Almost as if knowing where the cavalryman will strike him, Jon easily dodges the attack and jumps out of the area where the cavalryman attempted to slice him.

"Cunning" The cavalryman snaps his body racing towards Jon, but before he could even make another step the burning roof above him breaks off and collapse towards him. "Arghh--"

While the cavalryman was struggling to push off the collapsed roof above him, Jon rushes beside Vernack and help him push the collapsed beam on him and Brim. After multiple tries and braving the heat of the flames, Jon and Vernack were able to move the collapsed beam enough for Vernack and Brim to get off the beam.

"We... have to move fast" Jon said, exhaustion overcoming him because of the heat.

Without hesitation, even though he could not feel anything from his left arm or even being able to check if Brim was okay, he carries the exhausted Jon on his right shoulder and charged towards the exit. As soon as Vernack reaches outside, he sees a warhorse with no rider waiting outside and immediately tries to steal it. Placing Brim and Jon's body on the back of the horse, he attempts to ride the horse but luckily the horse did not throw them off.

With little experience of riding horses, Vernack managed to lead the horse directly into the forest behind the orphanage.

"Grama..." Countless thoughts ran on his mind, but he knew he had a responsibility and steered the warhorse to the direction of the creek's end.

****

An hour has passed since the pillage on Meadow Cross, the sun has rose luminating the land of Wesout, the peacefulness heard from the slow blowing wind, the flowing water along the creek, and the singing birds was calming for the exhausted Vernack. As he was leading the warhorse onwards, he could see a pond at the end of the forest.

'I am finally here!' Vernack hastens the steed, though his complexion were pale his eyes brimming with excitement. 'Grama, brothers and sisters, I have finally arrived!'

As he broke through the forest, the joy in his face gradually dissipated tightening his grip on the horse's rein and slowly pulling it back. Tears fell on the side of his cheek, he felt all sorts of emotions; anger, grief, doubts and so on.

On the opposite side of Vernack, a lot of dead bodies can be seen, heads chopped off, upper body separated to its lower body, and a thick blood trail from the inside of the cave leading towards the pond. He sees a floating head flowing towards him, and to his horror he pulled the reins of the warhorse and rushed into the bloody cave.

The image of the beheaded person continued to flash in his mind, he did not want to believe in what he saw immediately, he wanted to believe that person is still alive inside the cave, he did not care if that person was unconscious, sick, injured or whatever, he only cared to see if she is still alive.

Alas, the truth was far from his expectations, inside the cave he sees the piled dead bodies of many members from the orphanage, even the headless body of grandmother Bliss. Vernack stepped down from the warhorse and painfully approached the piled lifeless bodies of his once living family.

Many emotions entered his mind, but on the outside it was blank. If eyes could speak, he could have spoken thousands of words, all in rage for the disrespect done onto his family. However, minutes later, he slowly stood up and checked on both Brim and Jon. With Jon he could still feel him breathing, but with Brim his body only felt cold.

He slowly lifts Brim's lifeless body and places it beside grandmother Bliss, then he went out of the cave and collected all of the dismembered bodies and gently placed it all beside the pile of dead bodies.

'O Great Ansi, lead their spirits to Solvana, your realm, in peace' He knelt in front of the bodies of his family praying to the ruler of the spirits, Ansi. Moments later he collected dry leaves around the cave and placed some on top of the bodies and some in between the bodies and torched the dry leaves he has placed.

He knew that the leaves were not enough to cremate all of them, but the grief in him overcame his sense of logic in that moment. As he pulls the reins of the horse towards the outside of the cave, he glances at the unconscious body of Jon, drank a bit of water from the bloodied pond and gave some to the unconscious child, and rode the horse directly south from the cave.

****

Deep into the abyss of his dreams, Jon could see the passing of time and the number of wars that the land of Wesout will face in the years to come.

"..." He tries to speak but nothing would come out of his mouth.

Then a flash of light luminates the abyss and the last he sees is a distant figure, standing atop a mountain and staring into the horizon.