My father always told me about death. How even the strongest are still fickle. He told me to steel my heart when I first encounter it.
'You have only known peace here, but the fear of death looms over every living soul in our lands. Even me.'
I try to contain my emotions as I witness their lifeless bodies. People who I've seen alive and well for all my life. My heart is pounding so fast that it might burst out of my chest any second. My knees are weak, and my head is spinning. I collapse to my knees and divert my eyes away from the horror.
A shivering sensation crawled through my skin. I felt things entering my senses. That's when I caught the voices of soldiers. They everywhere and have come to finish off any survivors. I crouch and peak through the cracks of the crumbling wall. Through the openings I see men who wielded long swords hacking and slicing at helpless people lying the grounds. They are quick and instantly move to their next victim. The cries of my people and the yells of the sun soldiers are mixed into one and I can't tell who is who in my hysteria.
My surroundings are ablaze and I am surrounded by fire but I don't feel odd. No pain or unease reached me. Instead I was cold, my hands shivered. I lower my head and get out of the flaming hole I was in. I continue towards the center of the town. I don't know what I am thinking, I just followed the alleys the soldiers have yet be at. I somehow knew where to steer clear and which route to choose.
As I cautiously advance, I hear the voice of child. I glance through the alley to the street and I spot the chief's youngest girl, crying in the middle of the street. She notices me and stretches both arms to me. Involuntarily, I dash out to drag her to where I was but then, the hooves of death are deafening and swift, a rider with a lance snatched the kid away. In a flash, he was gone from my sight.
I look at to the left and see the horseman clutching the his lance that impaled the child. The rider flings his lance repeatedly until the mangled body of the kid slid to the earth. He spins around and faces me while gripping his reins in one hand and aiming his massive lance at me. He charges.
Tezca, the sun king, reigns supreme over the human kingdom of Phoebal, ruling with an iron fist since the ancient times. His formidable magic bathes his realm with a blazing light, marking the boundaries of his dominion.
Hestia, a magicless girl and the daughter of a self-proclaimed Grand Magician, stumbles upon a box hidden by her late father. Inside, she finds the only things he left for her. Among them is a ragged cloak, which she soon learns is one of the most sought-after items in the sun kingdom, the final masterpiece of the Grand Magician.
This discovery will plunge Hestia into a whirlwind of adventure in Phoebal, under the watchful eyes of the king.
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