This Red Sky

Chapter Thirty-One

The explosion shook the ground, throwing chunks of rocks, ashes and fire into the air.  The sound rang through the hills like a shockwave.

The horse spooked, rearing and tossing its head as it pranced on the mountain path. Nakt stroked its neck. His eyebrows were furrowed in concern. Sonia looked up at the red in the sky in shock, her arms wrapped tightly around his waist from behind. The rocking of the horse had almost lulled her into sleep as they climbed the hills towards Cordath, but now she was very awake. Ashes began to float down to the ground, dusting the red soil in grey like snow.

There was a long silence, except for the cawing of frightened birds racing up towards the sky. It was the part of night where light was just beginning to glow over the horizon, but these first rays of sunlight were concealed by the billowing pillar of smoke.

"Well," Nakt swallowed before continuing. "Not so hidden anymore, I guess."

Sonia's arms tightened around him.

"If only a dragon's fire can destroy the artifacts, then—the we have to go on," she said softly. "They'll still be there, somewhere."

Nakt turned to look back at her.

"You're not giving up on this, are you?" he asked bluntly.

Sonia shook her head.

"Let's go," she said finally. "It—it can't be any worse than what we've already seen, can it?"

Nakt looked ahead, sighing. He urged the horse forward, and it pranced nervously up the slope on its way.

The trees were seared and ash-streaked after twenty minutes of riding, and as they continued they turned to blackened stumps and broken branches. The horse made slow progress over the path littered with debris, ash floating up around its hooves. They eventually dismounted, picking their way over the chunks of charred wood and smouldering clay. The ground was hot through Sonia's shoes.

Once the forest ended, it was a moment before they realized that they were in the village. Cordath was destroyed. The houses were flattened, doors and roofs blown off, bricks scattered over the ground. Only a few lonesome clay walls still stood, hollow shells of the dwellings they once formed. Wooden logs lay about, still crackling with flames, and the foundations of the longhouses and stable smouldered. Ashes were fallen more heavily now, and they left deep footprints as they took a few tentative steps towards the devastation. Embers smouldered and the air was thick with smoke.

Sonia's eyes scanned the ground, seeing a few buried shapes that did not resemble chunks of wood or clay. The human bodies were broken and charred beyond recognition. In the utter silence, Sonia felt her mouth go dry. Were there no survivors?

"What the fuck happened?" Nakt breathed.

He blinked and shook his head, tying the horse to the nearest remnant of a wall. It snuffled nervously at the ground. Ashes were settling on the young man's face, and he brushed them off, leaving his skin streaked with grey. They rested in his black hair as well. Sonia could smell them in her own.

With a shaking hand, Sonia picked up the nearest burning branch, holding it out like a torch as she took a few steps further into the village. It's light glowed through the cloud of falling ash and smoke. She had no idea where to look for the artifacts, and somehow doubted they had survived, even with Galand's reassurance that they could weather any human attempts at destruction.

The leather cover of a book lay at her feet, the edges glowing red with heat. Sonia bent to pick it up, shaking off the ash. The title was written in the runes of the Faithful, but she could make out the words Healing Herbs. She dropped the cover, wiping her hand in her leggings.