Beyond the Rabbit Hole

The Dwindling Embers of War

 "Stay here, Ash!" Morgyn turned and darted out the door.

"Morgyn, wait!" Alyss failed to grab his arm as he passed by. She shot to her feet. "Damn it!"

"Alyss, wait what's going on? Why are you two suddenly on edge?" Ashreya stood up from her bed and glanced out the open window.

Alyss held up her hand. "Stay here, Ash."

"Will you tell me what's going on?" The bubbling frustration began to leak from Ashreya's voice.

"I can't- I can't tell you how or why, but. . . a lot of people are about to die." Alyss averted her gaze for a moment. "Many people are probably going to die. So, please stay here – whatever you do, do not leave this room, you should probably lock it as well – otherwise, you may be one of them."

Ash opened her mouth to object, but as the conflicting thoughts pounded in the back of her head, she shifted her eyes downward and gave a silent nod instead.

"Thank you," Alyss muttered as she ran out after Morgyn.

Ash listened as the footsteps drifted off down the stairs and she was once again left alone with her thoughts. She slowly walked up to the door and reached for its handle – paused. . . she let out a light sigh and locked the door instead. She closed the window, and the curtains, and laid back down on the bed.

Morgyn dashed through the palace courtyard. Where are all the Talonguards? Have they already left? If so, then I need to hurry. Morgyn sprinted across the bridge until he was out of breath. That surge- that flux of souls – I can feel it all the way here. Hundreds, no thousands of souls each preparing for battle. They still haven't met yet, it seems, but if they do. . . If they do? Morgyn came to a stop at the other end of the bridge. Many will die. Of that, I am certain. This is war after all. War. . . I have never interfered in it before. It is a natural occurrence for humans, a species that competes for so much more than just resources. All of the pain and grief it brings to the souls involved – I remember all of it, but have I always hated it? I don't recall feeling anything about it before, so why do I feel so strongly about it now? Have I. . . changed? Have I evolved like Alyss – am I becoming more human as well? A flood of inseparable, indecipherable emotions surges through his body, filling him with a slight sense of warmth.

"Morgyn!" Alyss called out to him as she crossed the bridge. "What's wrong? Why did you stop all of a sudden?"

"It's nothing," Morgyn shook his head. "Let's keep going. We need to catch up to Sanele and the other prisoners before they engage with Isaaik's forces."

"So, this is between the prisoners from Eer and the Talonguards, huh?" Alyss sighed and shook her head. "Let's hope we aren't too late."

As Alyss and Morgyn ran through the darkened streets, they witnessed small patches of Talonguards all coaxing civilians to head home – some escorted, some not. All the while, the symphony of souls grew closer and more restless. A few people were working on the lanterns, trying to figure out why they weren't turning on. The reapers cut through several alleys to shorten the distance. Upon leaving the alley, the army came into view – a horde of unarmed, unarmored prisoners of the Eerie kingdom moving swiftly through the nights. There were almost two thousand prisoners in total, clumped together, weaving through the cluttered streets of the marketplace. There were no civilians caught in their escape, the Talonguards protected most of them, but none engaged with the prisoners – they all simply watched as they passed through.

Alyss and Morgyn cut through more alleys to try and intercept them. With only two people, they were able to easily outpace the horde. After they got ahead of the prisoners, Alyss jumped out first.