The villagers of Freyhorn were gathered inside the town hall under the head knight's order. The crowd was confused as to why they needed to be there over some baseless rumor being spread. The lot of them blamed Pyr for this.

"Liam, what are you talking about? An attack? After decades of peace?" Granny whispered to Pyr. "But it is true, we did saw it. Something is clearly going on." He replied. "Have you never thought about it being just an accident? You're making the whole village panic." She remarked. Pyr thought about it for a moment and believed that maybe he was overreacting. But, his instincts tells him otherwise. "I know this might sound crazy, and it might be. But right now, my body is saying to me that there's something wrong." Granny raised one eyebrow, showing skepticism.

'Shit, even Granny doesn't believe in me. What can I do now?' Pyr thought. Jamie suddenly pulled on Pyr's sleeves. He looked at the pitiful boy with a saddening face. "What's wrong?" He asked. "I.. um.. Sorry." Jamie murmured.

"Huh, why? You didn't do anything wrong."

"I.. the whole village seems to blame you for this. I feel guilty because.. I must have given the wrong assumption. I think we may have overreacted to the situation."

Pyr pats Jamie's head then said, "You did nothing wrong. It was me who acted. I'll be the one responsible for what had happened."

"But..."

"Don't worry about it. This is not your fault."

Jamie stood quiet. Pyr turned around to glance at one of the knights walking in. The knight climbed the stairs leading to a stage in front of everyone. They immediately shifted their attention to him as he's about to speak. "Good evening, everybody. I'd like to thank all of you for gathering in this hall urgently. You see, there has been rumors of an attack heading our direction. It is because of that, every single knight responsible of defending this village has been positioned outside to protect."

His speech was suddenly interrupted by some angry and frustrated adults. They spew insults and nasty comments regarding the usefulness of the knights' order. He only stared at the crowd emotionlessly. Deep down, Pyr knew that the knight was filled with rage and resentment towards the insolent fools. When they had cooled down, he continued on his speech.

"From the south, Hazelcoast City has fallen. Falconhaven, has fallen. Caer Aigle and Whitehart too, is in ruins. The remaining towns and villages down south should have also been evacuated. They will be migrating to the east."

The villagers' eyes widen and their jaws dropped. Pyr looks over to the crowd onto Jamie. His eyes looked like they were about to shed tears. It wasn't just that, his body was also trembling. He looked helpless. "It is unknown as to how this was able to happen. But what matters now is your safety. We will have to evacuate as soon as possible. We will divide into two groups, each heading to the larger cities up north and to the west." He informed.

⁂

"Total number of inhabitants, 500. The main producer of paddy and home to essential ores. What a shame it would be if it fell victim into the wrong hands. Maybe that's why the King sent us to protect it. His Majesty would even send their personal royal guards and mages to protect the last few remaining villages and towns to the south. Dispatching a total of 300 including mages and healers... Are we heading for war?" A woman giggled.

"Lady!" Two knights called out as they were walking closer to her.

"What is it? Is there something wrong?" She asked.

"No, we just wanted to inform that we and 18 others will be under your leader's command." One of them said.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

She laughed at their statement. "That's all? You could have told me later." She grabbed each of their hand. "Don't you worry. We will win the battle before the enemy could even strike."

⁂

Meanwhile, the villagers are being transported to their respective locations to the north and west. Pyr and Jamie rode on a horse wagon up north to Acacia, The City of Warriors. Alongside them are a small family of 3 and a knight including the driver at the front. So far, it has been 5 hours and they have yet to reach their destination. The sky was already dark with only the moon lighting the way. Throughout the travel, there was only silence. The family were fast asleep. The only ones awake didn't say a word.

Pyr wanted to ask Jamie, whom was next to him regarding his reaction earlier but didn't, to avoid upsetting him. The knight stared at them and sighed.

"What a chilly night." The knight said.

"Yeah." Pyr half-heartedly replied.

"I wonder. You're.. not actually from here, are you?" He asked.

Pyr was surprised to hear him say that and demanded an answer. "Wh-why would you assume that?"

"Sorry if that offended you. Just.. your appearance. Pale white skin. Blonde. Amber eyes. It is not the typical look you'd see around here."

"Mind your business!" He exclaimed.

Suddenly, he felt something hit his shoulder. He turned to see Jamie snoring on his shoulder. 'Ah, he must be really tired from thinking too much.' He thought.

"You.. how much longer until we arrive? Pyr asked. "Well.. we can estimate another 2 hours since the journey is going smoothly. It'd be midnight when we arrive, so you should have some sleep too." The knight stated. "I don't feel like it, but sure."

He looked to Jamie's direction to avoid making conversations with him. In Pyr's mind, he wondered about the well-being of his elders. 'Granny. I wonder if she has arrived to the west city? Or how about Mr. Germaine and Mr. Brayden? I hope they arrived safely with her. Who would have thought this could happen?' He closes his eyes and groaned. 'I came here to find peace, but now I have to deal with more problems? Give me a break.'

After a while, he opens his eyes and caught the knight standing up, turning his head side to side. He seemed concerned about something. Pyr stood up, rests Jamie's head on the seat and then tapped his back. He gulped. "Hey, what's wrong? Are you feeling okay?" Pyr asked. "There's some.. suspicious activity going on, I believe." He replied.

"Eh? What do you mean?"

"I smell something burning. We didn't use any torches or anything of the sort, you know?"

"Umm.."

Their hearts were beating faster than before. From the shadows of the woods, emerge multiple objects flailing across the sky. They reacted in terror of what it might have been. Those things are shaped as ovoids. When they dropped on the ground, both of them peered through the darkness. The knight had realized what was going on and pulled him down.

"Grenades!" He yelled out.

The grenades exploded and blew up the wagon behind them. The other passengers and drivers were in a state of shock and panic. They screamed after witnessing the horror but the grenades never stopped. It continued to rain down on them. One by one, it continues to engulf wagons like a moth into the flame. It set the grassy fields on fire. Smoke and debris spreads around the area like a plague. However, the wagons were moving quickly that they couldn't stop to examine.

The knight awakens with a constant ringing sound in his ears. His vision was blurred but he had to check upon his passengers. The family was terrified by the situation. They were gripping each other tightly. Jamie on the other hand was covering his ears with his face buried onto the wooden seat. He was vibrating in fright. Pyr got up and immediately went to hug Jamie. "It's.. It's okay, Jamie.. Everything's going to be fine. Please... don't be scared. Please don't cry." said Pyr as he pats his back. The knight didn't know what to do but had to take action immediately.

He cleared his throat and stood up again. He looked upon everybody's faces. "Everyone, please. Make sure to keep your head low on the ground. And... take care of each other until you can make it." He thought of jumping off the wagon to help the people. As he was about to, Pyr gripped his turtleneck forcing him back into the wagon. "Are you an idiot? Going back there is suicide!" Pyr cried. "If you are trying to save others, make sure you can actually survive."

Everyone ducked down.

"Hey, what's your name?" Pyr asked the knight.

"Ethan."

"Nice to meet you, Ethan. I'm Liam."

"I see. That's a pretty nice name." He replied.

"Ethan, right now we can only move forward and head towards our destination. Attempting to save those people will only get yourself killed. Now, you should be prepared to draw your sword.. because it isn't over yet."

Pyr clasped his own hands together and slowly pulls them away, unveiling a concentrated mix of ice and snow. He then blasted it off into the sky.