Smoke clung heavily in the air, making it extremely difficult to breathe or see. People coughed everywhere in agony, groaning and wincing as they convulsed in pain. Then suddenly, one person after another and another collapsed. The light in their eyes died out as they did, staring unfazed into the unknown. Then a war cry resounded across the land as soldiers came tearing through the forest onto the open grounds, finishing off the remaining among of the living.

Two men out of three lifted a young woman who wept over her deceased father, he was among the first to die to the deadly, forbidden poison. Regardless of the grief they all felt, they grabbed her to take her to safety, for their time had run out.

“Come Gienna! You must hide! There is nothing else left to do.” One urged her.

The words were processed, their sounds received, but it was all one terrible sound. Shouts and cries as men, women and children were chopped down, these sounds fell into the realm of a nightmare. Running merely on instinct and mostly guided by the three men, Gienna and her guardians reached their destination - the secret entryway under the stair.

They pulled the tile that hid the entrance and shoved her inside, she crawled into the small space and expected them to follow her. However, she was further shocked when they sealed the entry behind her, leaving her securely inside by moving something heavy in front.

“No!” She shrieked, “No, no, no.” She fought against the tile, banging it so it would budge free. However, it was all in vain, the only way out was going all the way through.

She heard an apologetic voice behind the barrier, “Sorry Gienna. We promised your father your safety above all else, and we cannot abandon these people. Do us this one favor, remember us and remember what we have done.”

Before she could even come up with some reply, she heard retreating footsteps fade away into the action and screaming. She wept over the loss as she crawled away from the noise, eventually finding the exit and passing through into a bright light ambiance.

Gienna opened her eyes, awakening from her recurring nightmare. The noise still rang in her ears, but this time it was not in her dreams. There was large a commotion outside in the streets.

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She stepped out of her bed and slid into her slippers, looking out of the window to see what was going on. Families and individuals alike huddled and bustled down the street, every last one of them ran down the same direction away from the city’s main entrance. She saw that all the buildings were being vacated as soldiers knocked on every door, sounding an alarm.

Suddenly her room door burst open and saw her fiance standing there. He looked like he was out of breathe and ready to go into battle. “Good, you’re up,” he wasted no time and spoke as he packed a few effects into a sack, “just grab your go pack and let’s leave, there’s no time left.”

She did not understand what was going on but she did as she was told, “What is happening out there?” She asked briefly.

“The Mountain is coming and Ironed Thunderers are pointed directly at us.”

Little more needed to be said, she packed up the few things she needed and ran out in her slippers alongside with her fiance. The noise from the crowd reminded her of the Kenplar siege, she was almost reliving the entire scene again. It took her the best of her wits to remain sane and keep from break down. Having Semet right beside her was her sole reassuring security.

Thunder bellowed in the distance, then a building several houses back exploded as a shell crashed and blew up. Singed and burning debris was tossed everywhere, splintering into the crowds. People screamed in pain and even more screamed in panic, sending the crowds running frantically down the packed road as rats came rolling out of the sewers.

Gienna struggled to keep up as she held Semet by the hand, making sure that they would not get separated. Then there was another explosion right behind them, forcefully tearing her away from him. She toppled to the ground and struggled to stand up as people ran over her, some even stepping right on top of her.

“Semet!” She called out in fear, worried she had lost her last pillar of hope.

She saw him a few meters ahead, struggling to get past the opposing crowd. She was about to stand and approach him, until she heard a child wailing just behind her. She looked back and found a little girl struggling to help her parents out of a burning wood post that had a crushed them. Gienna crawled next to the little girl, pressing her finger on the couple necks beside the child, she found them to be dead. Unable to leave the girl behind in good conscience, she lifted her and ran away with the child in securing arms.

“No! Mommy! Daddy!” She girl kicked and screamed as she saw her parents disappear through the rubble.

Gienna reached Semet and even though he gave a curious brow, he knew best to ask later. An emergency horn bellowed, signaling the Mountain had breached the perimeter. She and Semet held hands once again, escaping with what little they had left as explosive shells bombarded the small city.