Into Battle (Rework in Progress)

Chapter 1 - All That We Lost (New)

Alin soldiers crowded the streets of Meningral, the humans last stronghold. These soldiers wore finely crafted leather with ornate gold engravings in them, things that were too pretty for a battlefield. Blood covered the streets from all those who had been slain, turning it as red as the night sky. Fires blazed all around the city, burning the buildings and corpses away to ash. The battle had been brutal leaving few survivors on the humans' side. The elven soldiers had killed anyone in their sights, showing all that there was no mercy here. A trim young man, armored from head to toe with thick steel, moved silently through the streets avoiding the soldiers and the burning fires that filled the skies with smoke. His piercing ice blue eyes were searching for something as he scanned the city. His dark brown hair that had once been kept back had fallen into his face. Much of it now rested on his shoulders. Buildings had fallen over leaving behind their stone skeletons, the wood long since burned away. There wasn't much left of the once great city, the blaze had seen to that. The young man knew his way around this place, this is where he had lived and trained for several years. And he was fighting to keep it safe, or at least he had been. The fight had been lost and many good people had died trying to defend their city. However, the invasion had not taken him and his people by surprise. They had known this battle was coming; yet they had no time to prepare. Right away they'd known that they wouldn't fare well against an army of this caliber. The only thing that protected them from the invading force was the thick stone wall and heavy wooden doors of the Outer Gate. The Outer Gate had protected them for centuries, its height and density made it a difficult task to breach. But the gateways themselves were not as fortified.

The young man searched the buildings trying to figure out where he was amidst the fire and destruction. His eyes only stayed in one spot long enough to determine if what he searched for was there. He was a noble of House Langston and he had been tasked with protecting his prince and long time friend. He had been separated from them when the attack began. He closed his eyes for a second breathing deeply, he was worried for his friends. He had heard that the royal family was being rounded up, and now the city was in shambles. No one was able to stop the elves, there wasn't enough people left to fight them. He opened his eyes once again and studied his surroundings, his thoughts would have to wait. He crept along the ruble, his armor hardly making a sound as he did so. The dark of night aiding his stealth but still he stuck to the shadows. He could not be spotted or else he would be slaughtered like so many had been. The Alin soldiers were not in the mood for looking for survivors but if they found anyone, they were as good as dead.

A scream pierced his ears as he peered around the corner of a crumbling foundation. He pressed himself flat against the wall and slowed his breathing, the scream had been close. At the moment he was unable to see anything, the smoke was too heavy. He heard laughter and some more muffled screaming. As the smoke cleared he took in the landscape searching for the source of the screams; that's when he spotted it. An Alin soldier dragged a woman out of her hiding place by her hair. The soldiers laughed as they threw her around.

"The kings ordered us to kill anyone in our way. Guess who's in our way now?" One soldier said as he tossed the women to the soldier next to him.

"Please, no!" she screamed. The other soldiers snickered at her comment as they continued their game. The young man swallowed thickly, there was no way for her to get away now, and nothing he could do for her. He could only watch as they continued to toy with her and hope that that was all they did. He noticed movement from where the soldiers had pulled the women from. All his focus was drained into the small hole in the ruble. His breath hitched when he saw what it was, there amongst the smoldering wood was a small child. He cursed under his breath, he couldn't just sit by now. Not even with a mission of his own. He immediately began to sneak his way over to where he had seen the small child.