The War of Four

Prologue

The orange sun continued to rise in the early morning sky. It's light seeped through the window of a small house in the cold and quiet Northland of Kahiit, waking a young girl from her slumber.
Zora stirred in her bed. She stretched and twisted and her eyes fluttered open. She blinked a few times to adjust her vision to the morning light that poured in through the open window above her bed. Zora jumped up suddenly and bounced a few times on her bed before hitting her feet against the soft, fur-covered bedroom floor with a thud. A wide, giddy smile was spread across her face as she rushed out of her room, still in her over-sized nightgown. She only took a step out the door before racing back towards her bed. She leaped on to the mattress and snatched her small stuffed bear that laid by her pillow. She hugged it close to her chest then ran out of her room again, swinging the door closed behind her. She skipped across the hall and flung the door that led to her parents room open.

"Ma! Pa!" She called. Zora jumped onto their bed and they woke with a start. She hopped up and down, shaking them from sleep. They moaned groggily.

"The sun has only just awoken Chipmunk, go back to sleep." Ma mumbled

"The sun has been up for hours now Ma, it's time to get up." Zora protested.

"Just a few more minutes Chipmunk." Pa said, turning over on his side.

"But you promised we'd gather berries together, and make a special breakfast." Zora whined.

"But it is so early..."

"Please!" She pleaded. Her father smiled and sighed, giving in.

"Alright cutie, go outside and wait for us. We'll be out soon. Just stay by the house."

"OK Papa."

Zora climbed down from their bed and held her bear by it's arm. Leaving her parents door open she raced down the hall toward the front door. She bent down to slide her leather sandals on her feet. Stands of her light auburn hair fell over her eyes and she pushed them back. Her hands brushed against her warm, rosy cheeks flecked with freckles. Zora was unusually tall for the mere age of six but her childish face and fair skin showed her youth like a bright torch in the night. She opened the door and ran outside. The wet, dew-covered grass tickled the sides of her feet that showed from the openings in her sandals. A cool morning breeze rushed by and filled her lungs with sweet fresh air. She stayed by the sides of her home like her Pa had instructed. Zora threw her bear up into the air over and over, catching it in her arms and tossing it up again. Pa and Ma had built the humble wooden home themselves. Cutting down trees and stacking them over the course of several days. Furs Ma had bought from traders littered the floor and torches lit what the daylight didn't touch. They lived by the Northern cities of Kahiit. The population here was low, especially in the area they called home. Neighbors were at the very least an hours walk away. Their house sat atop a grassy clearing beside a tall forest. Ma and Pa had always told Zora that the woods was their protector from the dangers beyond. Every time Zora asked them to elaborate they would go silent. So eventually she had stopped asking and agreed obediently to never venture passed the shadow filled forests.

Zora paced back and forth, growing quite impatient.

"MA! PA! Come on!" She shouted at the front door that had not yet been re-opened. She slouched against the wooden walls and sat down. She took her bear's arms in her hands and moved them up and down, making it seem like he was dancing. She looked up after a few minutes and gazed around. Suddenly a tiny speck of pink caught her eye. She stood up and squinted. She spotted a small berry bush behind a few trees in the woods. She looked at the front door then back at the berry bush, rich with plump, bright pink berries practically begging to be picked. She started to walk over to them.