Lux

Prologue; The Fall of Yarrow

   Wind struck Fritz's face like lashes from an icy whip as he raced through the crowded street. Ignoring the grueling sensation of his body numbing with frost, he shoved his way through the numerous bodies of people blocking his path. His gut wrenched with fear as he was oppressively aware he didn't have much time left.
    After what seemed like hours of hurtling through town, Fritz finally halted before a mound of rubble.
    "NO!" he cried, and bolted to the crest of the wreckage.
    Throwing himself to his knees on top of scorching metal and felled beams, Fritz began digging frantically. After only minutes of digging, he caught a glimpse of a warm light that seemed to be emitted from the rubble.
    Shifting a charred plank, Fritz discovered that the light was shining from a small metal trinket laying on the ground. He huffed and dismissively pocketed the ominous object.
    Fritz's search continued on. Finally, his clothes were scorched from lingering embers and his hands battered from incessant digging; he could bear to go no further.
    Fritz conceded to cataclysm. Collapsing to the ground, the dam repressing his tears became a burden too heavy to bear. Then without warning, a soft voice rang out behind him: "Fritz?"
    Fritz's tears and heart stopped simultaneously. He wanted nothing more than to turn his body and gaze upon her face, but he knew it must have just been his mind playing tricks on him in his state of immense grief.
    "Fritz? Are you alright?" The voice questioned once more, this time with a note of worry.
    Fritz's eyed widened and his body tensed as he started to wonder.
"Lavender?" He finally gasped as he spun to face his little sister.
    Lavender's eyes glistened with apparent delight as she began leaping toward her brother, a jubilant grin on her face.
    Fritz overflowed with solace. He opened his arms as tears once again began rolling down his face.
    After only two fervent steps, Fritz detected a loud noise: CRACK! The seared body of what had formerly been a wooden beam collapsed and plummeted from the top of a building.
    Lavender halted mid-step and craned her neck upward with an expression of mortal trepidation. She was crushed beneath the fallen beam without another word.
    Fritz felt as if time itself had stopped. Incapacitated by shock, he lacked control over his own body. A deafening ringing arose in his ears, and he felt like collapsing and never rising again. It's likely he would have done precisely that had he not been woken from his sickly trance.
    Suddenly, a thunderous shriek upsurged and rang throughout the smoke filled air. The ground shook vigorously, collapsing ramshackle buildings and knocking civilians to the ground. Then, for a few moments, all was still.
    Then, out of the silence, rang a second horrible shriek, this time accompanied by a pitch black wave of darkness. As the wave washed over the town, everything and everyone in its path was obliterated.
    Not a single living thing or structure survived the destruction of the once grand city; all that was left was scorched earth and smoke.
    However, despite the absolute decimation of the city, one was still left standing.
    Fritz thanked the heavens for giving him the instinct to run. As he raced through the dim forest, he looked back only once. Panting, he turned and saw it: the bringer of the chaos, the producer of the immense darkness. Fritz's feeling of shock at seeing the creature in its great horribleness was equivalent to the shock of his sister's death; in all of his days, he would never live it down.