Spring was coming but the snow kept falling, terrors of the night wanted for flesh, only Dawn would bring relieve.
We were late in finding them, Florian and Marie. They had laid dead within the embrace of their bed.
After a report from their friends not having seen them and not reacting to knocks and kicks to their door, they barged in only to find corpses. They did try to keep themselves warm in bed but instead froze to death, they had been too greedy to make a fire and paid that in debt a hundred times over.
Despite the cold, the magical sun still made these corpses decay, nonetheless. Where there was decay there was Death-Eaters not far.
We hastily buried them and took to prayer. Pray that these souls would find more fortune in their next life and that ours would not enter the circle earlier.
Packed into a thick gambeson and a woolen waxed cloak, I kissed Helinia goodbye. The month was Martius and by the monk’s declaration she should have given birth a few weeks back, she looked ready to burst. I felt her exhaustion, the baby had to come. The monk also claimed that despite the late labor the child was fine. Sun-Children are very rare and there are always strange occurrences around their time in the womb, except the late birth nothing to strange had happened, maybe the decay of the pair was related, but I had nothing else to go on.
This night of all the guardsmen and I needed to be on the lookout more then ever. Despite the cold, despite the dark of night, Death-Eaters once they caught the whiff of rotting flesh they would not rest till they feasted and would not stop at the corpses etiher.
A few hours past midnight, I was nervous, I was cold, my thoughts a cloud of darkness, further drowning the light of the world, when I heard from within my home a stifled grunt and moan of pain. I rushed inside to find my wife holding her belly and breathing heavily.
“It is happening. Argh! It is coming.” Heavy labored breaths, I made large strides to help her up. She was now sitting to the edge of the bed and her face and body was drenched in sweat.
“Bring the healer and Lorilia!” “No! I will send a guard. I fear the noise will attract worse and I will not leave you alone. In this night of terrors.”
She nodded to my statement, eyes clenched shut, her breathing increasing in pace., all to combat the onslaught of pain washing over her body.
I ran outside to the small bridge of the keep, the guard Nil on duty, probably heard the commotion from our house, as it was quite. “It is happening, isn’t it? I’ll wake the Lady and send for the monk.” “Yes, thank you. I just hope the monsters won’t show.”
I could not leave my post for long, a gap in our patrolling and the Death-Eaters could be upon us before we could close the gap. I wished to help her but I could not. I pray for Helinias and Lorilias strength. The Lady has a Talent that lets her share her strength with another, it is a great Talent when someone was sick or in labor. Though for personnel safety she let the monk tend to the sick, but was eager to be the midwife to all the towns women.
I noticed a guardsman rushing towards the common-house, and some candle light spilling from the keep. I heard the Lady Lorilia loudly asking “Where in the depth of torment is your husband?!” I strode to the window, opened it and threw in “Keep it down. We are still due for the Death-Eaters. No disturbance will come to my home!” the last words I directed with force towards the Lady. Despite the tense situation I found it amusing to see the Lady in her gowns with a thick cloak draped over, she made a face of incredulity, but quickly recovered from my untoward tone and redirected her focus to Helinia.
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It was then that I heard something from a direction no man at this time day should be. A low growl, first on then two then more.
I jumped towards the bell at my house and rang it loudly and shout with all the air I had. “MONSTERS! MONSTERS! AT THE KEEP! THE KEEP! MONSTERS!” My shouts were repeated by the gurads that were spread through the town.
While I rang the bell I could spot the first of the beasts in this dark of night. I closed half the distance and drew the enchanted blade, it would stay untouched from the foul ghoul-blood, and my shield readied, the monster leapt towards me. I tackled it to catch it mid flight. The shield was punctured by its claws and its and my force slammed into its ugly visage to knock it out, quickly I stabbed into its neck. The first was dead.
By the claws the beast was stuck to my shield so I made to hack at the limbs. One was severed when I noticed torches being lit behind me, and another beast lunging for me. I had to let go of my shield. To move out of the ghouls way. In my dodge I slipped on the blackened snow and was now in an awkward pose on the ground. The monster turned an made to lunge again, I ripped my cloak free and threw it at the ghoul. I stabbed, and felt it sliding in, the high pitched growl seized the same moment.
The next one dead, the guards came to my aid, surrounding me and helping me to my feet. Gulliver looked me over for any obvious wounds, nodded and handed me an unlit torch.
“You should know the bastards don’t like the flame. Why did you take no torch?” The few words I was going to say died in my throat, as another half dozen monsters lurked out of the shadows and spread out to surround us, snarling and drooling foul liquid from their maw.
Lord Robs voice washed over us “Don’t let yourselves get surrounded! Spread out! The creatures are dumb. Let them come first and then strike!”
We did as told and formed a line of defense. And they came for us, maws spread wide, claws stretched towards us.
Seconds felt like minutes, minutes felt like hours. They did come group by group, with no intelligence to speak of, they did not gather, to strike at once, else we would be dead. In between the small battles I heard loud groans and moans of pain from within, my wife birthing a child, this kept me at focus, I could not stop my watch, I had to stand here. Piles of Death-Eaters formed, a hundred or so. Half of the dead where slain between Robs and I. Everyone exhausted we stood our watch, some of the guards bled off the group to patrol the town perimeter, to make sure no monster made it through.
It was so very still despite the labored breathing of the men, dawn broke and everyone could feel relieve, no monsters had shown for more than an hour. It was then that a new sound unheard sound came from within the wooden building. With eyes wide I looked to Robs. With a grin on his face, his head motioned to my home. And so I made to meet my child and wife.
“Joen! You look… are you okay?” Helinias labored voice called to me, despite the both of us being sapped of strength, we wore faces of glee. I nodded towards her, dirtied as I was, I removed my slickened gloves and dropped my gambeson. I strode over to my wife’s side and kneel at the bed side. With curious eyes I at the newborn and towards the smiling and sweating face of Helinia. She wore a face of pure happiness while cradling the child in her arms.
The monk was over the basket cleaning some cloth. The Lady Lorilia interjected “It’s a boy, Joen. Your son needs a name.”
Perplexed I look the boy over, and I reached out with my right hand, and the man to become instinctively made to meet mine. His finger wrapped around my pinky and gripped hard. I felt the strength “You will be a fine little warrior” I mumble. “Joen? What should we name him?”
Tears welling in my eyes, I thought hard, I wanted it to be poetic, looking towards the sunlight spilling trough the window shutter an idea formed.
“At the dawn of spring, at the mornings first rays of light, to the relieve of the passing threat my son screams to our delight. Dawn?” I looked to Helinia and Lorilia for approval. My wife let the name roll over her tongue “It sounds good. But to the occasion of a Sun-Child it should sound a bit more… noble?” “Dawnovin!” Lorilia threw out, at our looks, her face reddened and faced the wall. I proclaimed “That’s his name. Dawnovin of Collias.”