"What on Gaia happened here!" Enkerai whispered, horrified.

Where the large town gates should have stood was a huge, char-rimmed, gaping hole. All that was left of the thick wooden structure hung limply from the scorched hinges, blackened, splintered and shredded. Enkerai raced past Oré through the opening and into the main street beyond.

The gate wasn't the only casualty of whatever had hit Bitpos. Buildings across the city also lay victim; their structures were torn open, innards spilling out into the streets. Some buildings were little more than heaps of rubble, sad reminders of the grand stories Ore had told him. The people were not much better off. While the odd person or cat could be seen going about their daily business, the city for its most part seemed bereft of life. Upon closer inspection at the buildings Enkerai noticed that eyes could be seen peering through the gaps in curtains, ever scanning, as if danger could pounce on them at any minute. Enkerai saw the route to the Communication Tower ahead of him and ran onwards, Ore followed.

"Enkerai, this town doesn't look so good..." Oré muttered as he caught up with his friend who had come to a stop near the town centre.

"Yeah, and it looks like the tower got hit the worst," Enkerai said pointing to the scrap heap before him that had been the communication office. The building had been completely blown apart, along with a section at the base of the tower behind it. It appeared that with a section missing, the tower had begun to buckle and bend.

"Oh no," Oré said despondently, "What happened here?"

Oré turned to a random passer-by who was trying to slink by unnoticed and gently grabbed his shoulder. The man shook uncontrollably and dropped his things.

"Uhm sorry, Mister," Oré apologised, releasing the man's shoulder and helping him pick up his things, "What happened here?"

The man shook as he spoke, "Fire from the sky," and then he ran.

"Fire from the sky again?" Oré said turning to Enkerai.

"Just like the man on the road from Burmaan," Enkerai replied, still gazing at the radio tower.

"A lot of the townspeople aren't so good," the voice came from their left, a woman in green work overalls and an ochre hardhat stood accompanied by a small group of similarly dressed men and women. Strands of her straight black hair hung at the side of her face, contrasting against her pale skin. "The Sky Ships came bearing the yellow flags of Pojema," she pointed to the northern sky, "They dropped barrels on the town, and when the barrels hit, they exploded, destroying everything they came into contact with – gates, buildings... people."

Oré's eyes widened, horrified.

"The people closest to the barrels who didn't get ripped to shreds ended up a bit like that guy you just saw – badly shaken up. A permanent state of shock." She grimaced and started walking on, "Total war is no joke, I have no idea why Oorunell got involved in this war in the first place."

"The tower," Enkerai said still staring up at the bowing spire, "It can still work right?"

"No chance," the woman responded slowing down to look the scantily dressed village boy up and down, "That thing's had so many parts blown out of its base, we'll be lucky if it stands for another week."

"No! No! No! No! No!" Enkerai said falling to his knees, all energy draining from his body. "I- I can't save them."

"Save who?" She asked, pausing for a second; her troupe stopped and turned in unison to Enkerai and Oré.

"His family, and his village," Oré answered, "Bandits have captured it. A small village called Manyatta, far west of here."

"I thought I recognised the patterning on your staff!" The voice came from right behind the boys. It was a young man from among the group with light brown skin and freckles. Ore had no idea how he had snuck behind them, while they were talking, but listened carefully to what the man said as he took off his hat releasing his curly brown hair.

"I know the place," he continued "My cousin's wife was from there. But for the bandits to come that far north? That's unexpected for sure."

"Is that so? Well, what is it you seek out here, kid?" The leader of the group interrupted.

"We wanted to get a message out to Takat," Oré said, "To request troops to help."

The young man from the group began answering, "The capital-"

"I... see," The woman cut him off. She looked at Enkerai kneeling on the floor then sighed. She adjusted the weight of the bag on her shoulder, "Well, you could always go there in person. It's another two weeks journey if you leave this valley and grab a train at Corindala."

"You hear that Enkerai," Oré said turning to his friend, "All's not lost."

Enkerai looked up at the woman and wiped his arm across his face, "Can you show us the way to Corindala."

"No problem. It's a pretty straightforward path... Normally" She responded with a smile.

"Normally?"

"Yeah. See the thing is," She leant forward and pointed upwards with her thumb, "the Pojemic sky ships blew our dam open and flooded every route in and out of our village."