The boy wandered the empty streets. Every step was painful, for his feet were sore.

The smell of death filled the air. Its stench clung to his nostrils, his clothes, and his dark, matted hair. He looked down and saw the lifeless eyes of a woman he had once known stare back at him. Her body was beaten and broken, and her face was swollen. He covered his eyes; he did not want to see, but the image was already seared into his mind.

The boy did not know what else to do, so he continued walking.

Finally, he stumbled upon the sight of an old man with a gray beard garbed in tattered rags.

There were several children that circled around the man; their disposition was no better than his own.

"Jade's blessing," the old man praised. "Another child has survived."

The boy approached gingerly, picking up the pace in spite of his discomfort.

"What...what happened?"

The old man's face was pale. His lips were dry, and his eyes were empty.

"The Khalkans raided us. They came in the black of night."

"My father tried to fight them off, but he..." The boy choked up. "...and my mom too, they..."

The old man embraced him.

"I am sorry."

The boy cried into his chest. The dam had burst, and his tears soaked the elder's robes. The other children gathered around to comfort him, each one embracing the other, crying just as he had.

This continued on for a few moments, and the elderly man sought to console them. "We all must hurry," the old man began. "There is a caravan that awaits us," he said, pointing towards the horizon beyond the forest ahead. "If we stay any longer, the Khalkans might return."

"We're leaving?" the boy asked.

"Yes," the elder said. "This village has been ravaged. We cannot stay here any longer."

The boy and the group of children followed the old man through the plains. Scores of crops had been ravaged and burned, and the livestock had been taken by the Khalkans. The boy could scarcely recognize the once sprawling meadow of greenery that adorned his village's plains.

The group finally reached the edge of the forest, and the old man motioned for the children to make their way down a steep hill.

On the other side were a group of men dressed in fine silk robes, their carts full of barrels and sacks with ample cargo space.

"These passing merchants were kind enough to lend us their aid," the old man said.

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"Where are they going?" The boy asked.

"The capital, the great city of Huadu," the elder replied.

"They have agreed to bring us with them. We are lucky, very lucky, for these merchants are charitable people."

"Will you be coming with us, sir?" one of the girls asked.

"Yes, little one, I shall. Now come, we must hurry. It is not safe to stay out in the open for too long."

The boy and the rest of the children followed the old man down the hill and towards the merchants. They were greeted by a middle-aged man who held the reigns of the caravan.

"Jade's blessings," he said with a warm smile. "It is a pleasure to be of service to you all."

"And I thank you for your kindness, honored merchant." The elder bowed in thanks.

"We have a long journey ahead of us, but I assure you that the road will be free from peril. We have plenty of room for you and your children. Let's go, shall we?"

"Yes, of course."

The children were ushered into the carts, and the merchants began to make their way through the paved road.

"What's your name?" asked a girl. She wore tattered rags for clothes, and her hair was a messy auburn shade that had been caked with ash and soot.

"Lingqi," he answered meekly.

"That's a nice name," the girl complimented him, her smile sincere. "My name is Ruyi. It's nice to meet you."

The boy nodded, and the other children introduced themselves as well.

"It's nice to meet you all," Lingqi said absentmindedly.

The children chattered to one another, but the boy kept to himself. He had never been outside the village, and although he once dreamt of the capital, he had never thought he would visit it.

Even so, he wished the circumstances had been different.

He wanted to go with his family; his parents were supposed to bring him to Huadu, but not like this.

The journey was said to take about a week to reach the capital's gates. The first leg of the trip had been completed, and thus the carts stopped and the caravan settled for the night. The boy sat alone and away from the others, wrapping his arms around his knees to keep himself warm.

The temperature was unusually chilly for summer.

"Are you alright?"

Lingqi looked up to see the village elder standing beside him.

"No," the boy answered honestly. "I miss my family."

"I know," the elder sighed, taking a moment to search for the right words. He looked up at the stars overhead and pointed them out to the boy.

"There, in the heavens, you will find your parents watching over you," the elder said. "I'm sure they are looking down upon you now, and they are very proud of you."

"How do you know?" the boy asked.

The elder gave him a heartfelt smile. "It is said that once a person dies, their spirit soars into the sky and becomes a star."

"But..." the boy hesitated. "Why were they killed? What did they do wrong?"

The elder sighed and shook his head. "Nothing, my dear child. Nothing at all. The Jade Sovereignty seeks to rid our people of all wars and conflict, but there are others that do not share our beliefs."

"Like the Khalkans," the boy said, anger lacing his voice.

"Yes, among others," the elder confirmed. "The world is a dangerous place, but so long as we stay united, the Jade Sovereignty will protect us."

Lingqi stared up into the night sky; his eyes traced the form of a star that burned in the blackness overhead. His hazel eyes reflected that fire.

"Will the Sovereignty hurt them like they've hurt us?" Lingqi asked.

"Revenge is not the answer, my child," the elder answered sternly. "Remember, conflict is the root of despair. You do not want to put others through what you have experienced."

The boy did little to mask his frown. "Then what am I supposed to do?"

"The answer to a fruitful life is in our core tenets," the elder said sagely. "In time, you will learn, and then you will be able to make sense of the tragedy you've suffered."

"Alright," the boy muttered. Lingqi wasn't satisfied with the elder's answer, but he didn't know what else to say.

"Now get some sleep, Lingqi. You will need it for the journey ahead."

"I'll try," the boy said. "Goodnight."

Lingqi continued to stare into the night sky; visions of his father and mother's corpses haunted him even as he stared into the stars. He closed his eyes and saw their bodies again, their lifeless eyes staring back at him.

And when the boy did sleep, he dreamt of his mother’s screams.