Moonlight illuminated a ruined road in the forest for twenty-six horsemen. The road is wide enough for two wagons to pass. The road where nature has already taken its toll. The roots of centuries-old trees broke stone slabs, giving way to new growth.

“Hey Azor, what are you going to do then?”

These words woke me up. I looked over my shoulder and saw Bram riding to the side and a little behind me. I stopped my horse so that Bram could catch up with me.

“So what?” Bram said when he got to me.

“Sleep in a nice bed.” I answered without thinking.

“I'm not talking about that. Will you go to serve Lord Euron or will you stay at the Dragon Manor?” Bram asked in a slightly irritated voice.

I looked at him and wanted to ask what he was talking about. But it seems he saw my uncomprehending look even before my question.

“Don't you really know? Rumors about this have been circulating in the camp for several weeks. Lord Euron will become a count and will receive almost all the lands that we have captured, a princess will marry him. The heir of Baron Davis will be the young Elizar” Bram told me in a whisper.

I looked ahead of the column and saw Euron and Baron Davin. They were riding almost at the beginning of the column and what they were talking about. Looking at the future Count Euron the Fiery, I couldn't help but remember the last assault on the castle.

I was lucky to be in the same siege tower with him. When the tower reached the castle, the platform fell on the wall. The first thing I felt was a wave of heat, then screams of agony and the smell of burning meat. Instead of the enemy formation, I saw a crowd of burned people, some were covered in flames and jumped off the wall to end the suffering. Euron led us on the attack and everyone went, everyone but me. I stayed in the tower. I...

“Hey, are you okay?” Bram tapped me on the shoulder.

“Aah Yes it's okay.” my voice was shaking.

“Exactly?” Bram asked squeezing my shoulder.

"Yes." this time my voice wasn't shaking anymore.

“Good. So what are you going to do?” Bram let go of my shoulder.

“I'm... I'm going back to the village. Being a warrior is not my thing.” I tightened my grip on the reins.

“Haa? You're not serious. Is that right?” Bram was almost screaming.

Several people in front turned to look at us.

“Fine, if you want to go back to the village, come back. But you must visit the capital with us. Okay?” Bram calmed down.

“Ok~h~h” I felt the taste of blood in my mouth and a strong blow on the neck, from which I fell off the horse. What's happening? Am I dying?

“Ambush!”

“Protect the Lords!”

“Where!?”

“Dismount!”

“AAA!”

“Kill the bastards!”

“Azor! Azor hold on!”

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

Is that you, Bram? Bram? Bram fell next to me, three crossbow bolts plunged into his chest. Why is it so dark?

-Dragon Manor-

“Ahh!” Elizar woke up holding his heart. Tears were streaming down his face.

“Father. Brother,” Elizar said softly. “It's just a dream, isn't it?” He got out of bed and slowly walked over to the basin to wash away his tears. Elizar touched his chest and felt his heart pounding wildly.

Suddenly the night silence was broken by the ringing of a bell. Then there were shouts and sounds of fighting. Eliza rushed to get dressed. In the chest he took the family dagger and sword. He had a dagger strapped to his belt in the back, a sword held ready in his right hand. Elizar left his room and ran towards the main hall, the closer he got, the louder the sounds of the battle became.

When he entered the hall, he saw the enemy standing with his back to him. Elizar firmly took the sword with both hands and pierced the enemy's back with a run. With a little effort, he pulled the sword out of the corpse and looked around the hall. There were people lying everywhere, a few enemies were fighting in the back of the hall, but most were standing near the main entrance.

Lucas held the main entrance, he was surrounded by enemies, but they were in no hurry to attack, clearly afraid of him. Suddenly Lucas attacked them. He swung his sword from left to right, this attack only hit the air, but the head of one of the enemies flew into the air, and the other two fell to their knees, holding their throats. The enemy behind Lucas tried to stab him in the back, but Lucas easily dodged and pierced the attacker's neck with a sword. With every move he made, people died one by one.

Elizar was fascinated by this dance of death.

“Thank you Lord for saving me.” These words brought him back to reality. Only now did he see that a young groom was standing in front of him. It looks like he killed the man the groom was fighting with.

“What's happening?” Elizar asked.

“I... I do not know my lord.” The groom answered. “S-sir Botic is dead.”

“Ah? How?” Elizar tightened his grip on the hilt of his sword.

“He and several guards tried to hold the gate, but there were too many enemies.” The groom said.

“Do you know where my mother and sister are?” Elizar asked hoarsely.

“They're in the family sanctuary.”

Elizar ran towards the sanctuary. Along the way, he saw dead guards and servants, struggling with a bad feeling, he sped up.

“Break down the damn door already” A gruff voice rang out

These words gave hope to Elizar. When he reached the entrance to the sanctuary, he saw three people trying to break down the door.

“Wow it looks like the lord himself has come to us. Keep breaking it I'll deal with it myself.” The man with the rough voice went to Elizar. “Well lord today is the day of your death.” The man slowly walked towards Elizar, he was holding a mace in his hand.

Elizar assumed a fighting stance and prepared to attack. When the man got close enough, Elizar attacked. He hit after hit, but none of them hit the target. The man blocked them all with his mace. When one of Elizar's hits was blocked, the man punched him in the face with his left hand. Elizar's vision went dark at the punch, and he stumbled back a couple of steps.

“Is that all? I expected more.” the man said.

Elizar spat blood “Die!” He raised his sword to the right. The man blocked the sword as Elizar expected. While the man was blocking the sword, Elizar took a dagger from his belt with his left hand and pierced the man's side with it. “It worked”.

*Clang*

The man threw the sword away with a mace, and then hit Elizar in the chest. Bones cracked. Elizar fell on his back, still holding the dagger in his hand, and clutching his chest with the other.

“Oh, you can do something. It's a pity that you didn't take one into account” The man took off his black cape. He was wearing plate armor, and there was a small dent in the place where Elizar hit. The man stepped on the hand with the dagger from which Elizar squeezed the hilt even harder. He put his other foot on Elizar's chest. “This is your end.” After these words, the man pressed on his chest. Under his feet, Elizar continued to scream until he switched to wheezing, after a while he stopped even wheezing. “Dead?” He kicked his chest several times, but Elizar showed no signs of life. “Bastards, why haven't you broken down the door yet?” The man went to the door.

Elizar was lying on the floor, still alive, still feeling pain, still hearing, but he couldn't even move a finger or an eyelid. His thoughts were filled with screams, because only in his thoughts could he scream. He prayed that death would take him away faster, because the pain was unbearable.

The door fell with a thud.

“Lady Amia, are you really as beautiful as in fairy tales.” the man said.

“Stay back!” the woman screamed.

Elizar heard a thud and then the fall of something heavy.

“Mom! Mom! What did you do to Mom?” a child's cry sounded.

Elizar heard a crash. After that, a part of the wall collapsed on him. Then a wave of fire covered him. But even that didn't kill him he could feel a part of his body burning up. He wanted to die. He felt his mind, his soul breaking. Gradually, he began to forget who he was or what. So it went on until his soul was swallowed up by Void.