A Whisper of Night

10.2 || ASTNORDEN 💫

           

Astna's men stirred. Silence gathered in the air, thick and heavy, a thousand souls holding their breath as one.

    Astna saw the arrow before it hit.

    A flame blossomed atop one of the houses. Another followed, and another -

    The yells of men and the screams of women and the wails of children pierced the air, each one stabbing her like a million arrows. This is the price of war, she thought, trying to shut out the heartwrenching cacophony. This is the price of war.

    From the East Gate came the sound of steel, shrieks of desperation and shouts of pain. The fire was spreading rapidly - far too rapidly. Its crimson jaws roared hungrily, consuming men and mud alike, painting the city a demonic red.

    The Lion Queen burned your father alive, whispered a voice. How are you any different?

    No, no, no. She could not doubt herself - she could not doubt herself now. From the West came the shouts and screams of men, the clash of metal on metal.

    And then men began to swarm towards the North Gate, swords and knives and clubs in hand. Amongst them were a few women, some clutching their children, others supporting the elderly.

    "They're here!" Astna screamed. Her voice sounded unearthly, demonic. "Take them!"

    Her men echoed her with yells of their own, sprinting down the hillside, naked swords in hand. She forced herself to look as the men of Nyclein fell, as the women of Nyclein wailed, as behind them, the city of Nyclein burned....

    A guttural shout came from the East - Ellac's men were riding towards her, their faces caught in hellish contortions. The East side of the city was entirely ablaze. Glass shattered and wood cracked.

    "For the Queen!" came a yell. Lady West's men came surging from the west.

    It's over, Astna realized. She stared in disbelief as Nyclein's force of six-thousand fell to an army a third of their size. It's over....

    "The Queen!" echoed another shout. Lord Nurtanden's force emerged from the south, but there was almost nothing left for them to do.

    Slowly, the battle puttered out. The fire did not, however - the entire city was now burning, a pyre of gold and scarlet. Jagged lines of light danced in Astna's vision, scaring the back of her eyelids.

    The survivors were being rounded up. Although she couldn't be certain of the exact number, most of Nyclein's inhabitants seemed to be standing.

    When the last of the men were bound, Astna rode her stallion to the top of the hill.

    "Men of Nyclein!" she called. "Women and children of Nyclein!" Her throat was dry, her mind racing. She had no clue what to say. "I - I - " apologize? Apologize to the mother with the child in her arms, apologize to the man with the arrow in his leg, apologize to the crone with a blind eye and crippled leg? Apologize to the burned ruins of their homes, apologize to the charred remains of their men, apologize to the shattered dreams of their city?

    " - I know you have no reason to love me," she stammered. Pull yourself together! You sound like Elsking. "You have every reason to hate me. And I would hate me too. Although nothing I do can give back your lost family, your lost loves, your lost homes and memories, I will do my best to build a better future for you. I will build a city greater and kinder than Nyclein, a realm more prosperous and beautiful than the Lion Queen's. I took your city with fire and blood, and – and with fire and blood I shall rebuild it. All the women, children, and elderly will be given great care, and all the injured shall have their wounds tended to first."