King of Days: The Veiled Guardians

Prologue

It was a dark and stormy night, back in the year 3042 it was one of those nights when the wind sounded like a poorly played flute. The squalid night was interrupted by a horse drawn carriage careening down an open field, while a somber bell tolls in the distance. Inside the bumbling carriage sits a middle aged man, dressed in a crimson red suit, and a young woman garbed in black who is carrying her bundled child. The woman looked down at her child, oddly enough he was fast asleep. "Do you think we are clear of them?" she whispered.

The man swallowed hard,  "I don't think so, they won't give up that easily". He saw the worry mount on her face, he cleared his throat, he was equally uncomfortable "Let me check," he said  "maybe they are gone." He opened the side window and looked out. From a distance he saw flickering flames dancing in the black and stormy night. They looked like lost souls, or vengeful spirits, he really wished that they were lost souls instead. He pulled himself back in, and closed the window. He looked at the woman, who was now softly crying anticipating his bad news. He formulated in his mind a lie, or something that he hoped would make her feel better. But as he opened his mouth there was a crash, the carriage shook violently, the driver put out a scream, the man and the mother clutching her child were sent tumbling around inside the carriage. It then slowly landed on the side. Dazed the two gathered themselves, the mother analyzed her child, who was now crying.
"Are you hurt, how is he?" groaned the man as he scrambled to his feet.

She looked over her baby then with a sigh of relief looked at the man. "He is fine, just scared."

The man grabbed the woman by the shoulders and locked eyes with her. "Listen to me very carefully, we will need to run, do not look back, that will only slow you down."

She whimpered, "But where am I to run, I have no idea where I am going!" protested the woman.

He looked at her, but the emotionless expression sent chills down her spine. "There are worse things than men with weapons. You keep going until you know you are safe. I will find you later."

The flickering lights drew near the carriage. A dozen men on horseback came riding up. They were armed with a sword or spear and held a torch in their other hand.

One man pointed to the overturned carriage. "Sir over there, there is the carriage." The men surrounded the vehicle. Two men dismounted and walked around the carriage. One climbed on top as the other inspected the front.

The one man on top of the carriage opened the door and looked in "Sir there is no one here, not even bodies."

"The driver is dead, and the horse is gone." Responded the other.

The one who was in charge called out his orders. "Look for tracks, they couldn't have gotten far."

The men looked around and another spoke up. "Sir there are two sets of human footprints, but they go opposite directions. And one is followed by..." The man paused trying to get a better look at the tracks. "Different types of animals, at least four different kinds."

The captain grunted. "Split up, follow both sets, we need people or bodies." The pursuers seperated into the darkness, never to see the sun again.

Panting and coughing the woman was running through the thick of the woods. Ever once and a while she wiped her face from the rain that was now falling in a torrent. She came to a large hill and stopped. The hill was partially clear from trees, but was steep, and had a small stream nearby. It would be difficult to descend down from, even without a child in hand or rain making things worse. She looked at her baby with concern, and was returned with a gentle coo from her son. 'You are so weird, how are you calm?' She thought. She gently rocked her son a bit then looked up. "Now how am I going to get down this steep..!" As she stepped forward the leaves under her caused her to slip and fall down the hill. As she began to fall she turned so that her back would hit the ground. She slid headlong down the hill, sideswiped a small tree with her left shoulder, which caused her to spin around and to let go of her baby. She stopped at the bottom disoriented and dazed. With rain falling on her face she was brought to by the crying of her child. She tried to get up, but was forced back down with the pain in her left shoulder. Rolling over she managed to get to her knees. Crawling over to the sound of her child she found him floating in the stream, caught between a rock, which had prevented him from being swept away. She drew the child from the water to herself, he was well, apart from being soaked and having a few scratches on his face. She looked around and saw an elephant ear plant nearby. It had peculiarly large leaves, but were good for keeping one dry. She plucked the large leaf, took the child's clothes off and wrapped him in the leaf. She pulled him to herself and rocked him "At least you won't be wet." She got to her feet and continued walking, albeit slowly and in pain. She came to a clearing, looking out she saw a black void, which was occasionally enlightened from above by strikes of lightning. She saw a large open field and a small cabin in the center. Looking around she stumbled toward it. She saw it again by another strike of lightning and by a faint red glow through the window. She knew in her heart, if she got there, she and her baby would be safe.