A Heart Of A Warrior Book 1: Revolution

Chapter 7- Ghosts of the Desert

Sutrein Desert, The Kingdom of Aselia- After barely escaping Twilight City with their lives, Talvi led the group as she guided them through the rough snow-covered mountain trails of the Dovista Mountains as the sharp autumn mountain air whipping around them was choked with smoke from burning towns or cities the Imperials put to the torch as they continued north towards Aselia. As they were almost to the Imperial border, they came across the smoldering ruins of what used to be a Dresien border town and slowly entered it. At the same time, they walked past the bodies of Imperials and Civilians alike as death hung thick in the air. Aegeus felt Misty's trembling body push up against his legs as she whimpered in fear and said, shielding her eyes, "Close your eyes, little one. You don't want to see this." At the same time, they walked past the severed bodies of Imperial and Dresien warriors as vultures picked at them and then said, "How can the empire be so ruthless to its people." 

Sayaka said, almost gagging at the grizzly sight, "I don't know Aegeus, but I feel like I'm going to be sick looking at this and seeing the only home I have ever known in my twenty-five years of life reduced to nothing. We of Clan Adara of the Silver Sands Tribe were always the largest and most loyal branch to the empire with thousands of members swearing fielty to the Adara, why would they turn on us? Half of the Empire ranks come from our very tribe." Talvi sadly said as she looked down at a young pup who lay in a pool of her blood, and her chest was stained red with blood next to her now dead mother and father, "They didn't even spare the littlest of lives."

Suddenly, Talvi heard Aegeus gasp, followed by the sound of Sayaka and one of Arjun's guards retching into a bush, which caused her to look up and look at the horror in front of her as she said, "Oh my, Deities." In front of them were the gutted bodies of the town elders and town guard as they were strung up with vines by their necks, and their paws bound together with thick vines in a burnt-out tree in the central square. There were obvious signs of torture as many of the guards bore scars, broken legs, and missing paws or limbs. Aegeus choked out, trembling in fear as he looked at the hanging bodies, "Do you know any of them." Sayaka said mournfully, looking at one of the town elders and two younger wolves beside him, "Yes, My Grandfather and older Brothers."

Arjun's lead guard Janis, who was next to Talvi, then quickly said as a young and bloodied pup stumbled into the clearing, tripping over a rock, and hit the ground sobbing as he curled into a ball as she bolted for the pup, "My liege, we got a survivor over here," as she protectively wrapped around him as her life magic flowed into his wounds and said comforting the pup as she licked his head, "Shh, shh, your safe now little one." Sayaka cried out, "Tahi!" as all eyes quickly turned towards the pup and bolted towards him and the guard that had protectively wrapped around him. Sayaka gently nosed Tahi as she lowered herself to the ground and said as he nuzzled into her chest fur, "Sayaka's here, little one." 

Aegeus carefully walked up alongside Sayaka as he looked down at the tiny pup, "You know him?" Sayaka said as she licked him soothingly, "I do. He is my oldest brother Cressen's youngest pup," then looked up at the hanging body of her oldest brother as she said, "Tahi here was his parent's everything, but we almost lost him and his mother, Natana. She had fallen very ill with a fever, which caused her to go into labor early. It was long and arduous with how weak she was, and he was born frail but a fighter. They both were on death's door when we managed to stabilize him, but she was a different story. The birth and fever had taken a toll on her body, and she started to crash from the amount of blood she had lost to a point where we nearly lost any hope of saving her. Thankfully, Aušra was watching out over us that day as she had appeared to us and used her powerful magic to save her life and stabilize her. Since then, Tahi here has been our little living miracle." Talvi said as she looked at Tahi, "Poor little thing, how old is he, Sayaka?" She replied, looking down at him sadly as he slowly relaxed and stopped crying, "He's just barely over seven months old, Talvi."