The Ashen Kingdom: Blessed be the Peacemakers

Prologue

Sweat beads down Amber's face, her silky blonde hair plastered against her rosy cheeks as she presses her back against the brick wall. Everything is red, everything as she knows it is lost. Her hands press against the cold wall, shaking uncontrollably from the sight. The city is burning, the buildings are crashing, they are here. The stomps of the cavalry, the screams of the civilians, the sharp noise of blade being unsheathed ring throughout her skull like a sick melody.

I have to get to them. I have to get to him. Her mind echoes, snapping back to her senses and the gravity of the situation. She launches herself from the wall, sprinting through the burning bloodstained fields, crops burning all around her as she makes a break for home, praying it is not too late.

She runs for what seems like an eternity, her ears pounding with noise, her sides begin to burn and ache, but she does not dare to stop sprinting, knowing fully well that she does not have long left, as much as her mind tries to ignore it. Embers singe her long hair, sparks flying from the crumbling barn houses and fences.

She tosses her hands out in front of her face, blocking the small goblets of fire rampaging the air, slowing her pace down slightly to avoid the crashing and burning wood. As the flames burn bright around her, everything seems to become quieter and slower, as if she is watching from behind a glass window.

Her paces and breathing seems to be nonexistent, her body numb as her shoes pound the grainy soil. He has to be there. The prophecy demands it, I can't lose him. Not now. Not ever. Amber freezes, hearing the stamping and shouting behind her. "Round up everyone in the fields and kill them! Nobody shall be left alive!" The gruff voices shout, sending Amber into a panic. She tosses her head around, frantically glancing around, hoping it isn't too late to hide.

Smoke and fog cloud the fields, rendering her completely blinded from danger. Two small globes of fire flicker through the smoke, slowly getting larger and larger. "Over here!" Three armored horses emerge from the thick fog, each carrying one armor-clad rider, kitted out with long and blood-spattered longswords, gleaming from the reflections of the fire. The figures get closer and closer, their dark eyes fixated on Amber.

Swiftly, Amber tosses herself away from the horses, slamming herself against the soil. She feels a sharp burning sensation on her calf, sending a ripple of agony throughout her body. She tries to get to her feet in a frenzy, frantic to get away from the threat before falling on her mud-caked hands, unable to stand. She turns on her back, facing where she last saw the men. Her eyes come to meet the terrifyingly soulless eyes of a knight perched atop his horse, his blade dripping with dark red blood.

She feels the sharp pain again, forcing herself to look down at her leg before making the connection between the blood and the pain. It was her blood. A cruel and wide smile is carved onto her calf, bubbling with deep red blood. She screams to no avail, her cries for help blended with the ensuing anarchy, leaving her pleas unanswered.

Amber grabs anything she can find near her, pebbles, sticks, stray arrows, anything to fight off the bloodthirsty warrior. Rocks and arrows clang against his steel chest plate, doing virtually nothing to affect him. He calmly unsaddles his horse, not even acknowledging her attempts to hurt him.

His soulless eyes fixated on her, slowly approaching her with his blade to finish what he started. Knowing her demise awaits her, she tries to stall, yelling at him, hoping to buy enough time to figure out a solution. "W-wait! You don't have to do this- nobody will notice if you let me go, please!" The figure ignores her, still making his way towards her crawling frame, only a mere yard away from her.

"Hey-! L-look, my name is Amber! I'm a mother of one, we can- we can talk this out!!" She shouts, hoping to arouse empathy from her assailant. The man stops in his tracks, staring daggers at her. Her chest beats in fear, the figure towering over her. His arms begin to twitch, his sword jittering in his palms, his shoulders shaking uncontrollably. Bewildered and frozen, she watches the stranger carefully, sweat trickling down her palms. Then she hears it... the faint sound of hysterical laughter, gradually getting louder and louder until the man is manically cackling, sending shivers down Amber's spine.

The man composes himself, wiping his blade with his glove while silently tittering to himself, turning the sword over and pointing it towards her. "That's rich. You think you can escape this, you think you have a chance, you think you matter. You think I care about your name, your life, your child? It's too late to leave once I arrive. Funny how you thought you could worm out of this." The hardened warrior scoffs, moving closer and closer until his blade is touching her chest, the cold point digging into her torso, leaving a small poke in her skin.

Amber stammers, panicked and defeated, looking for anything to prolong the inevitable. "W-wait! Don't you want to hear my last words?! I- I-" A long moment passes, leaving them both in silence before the man responds. "I just did. Glory to The Legion."

He lifts his blade, holding it above her with both hands, the blade gleaming menacingly above her. He brings it down in a swift and experienced motion, plunging it into Amber's rib cage, her body flaming and radiating with agony and pain. She weakly hits her fists against the long sword, struggling to breathe and think as blood pours from her chest, covering the floor around her in a twisted coat of dark red. The man digs the sword in deeper, glaring into her eyes as the blade pushes deeper into her, fire reflecting from his empty eyes, void of emotion. The world around her gets darker, her vision blurred. I failed him.. I'm sorry my love.. stay strong. His eyes stare into her soul as the rest of her reality collapses. The last thing Amber ever saw was his face twisting into a sick expression of glee before she was thrown into darkness.