The smell of burnt wood filled the air as orange flames stretched across the rooftops of Astien Village while smoke covered the night sky.
People screamed while others ran away for their lives but some never made it more than a few steps.
"Kain! Run!"
My mother’s voice echoed throughout the village as another explosion shook the ground beneath me.
BOOOOOOM!!!!!
Pieces of burning timber crashed into the road and I stumbled backwards while staring towards the source of the destruction.
A dragon stood before me.
Its crimson scales reflected the fire that surrounded the village while its massive wings blotted out the moonlight above.
Another roar shook the world.
RAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!
The sound alone forced several villagers onto their knees. Some even took their own lives.
"...W-Why?" I whispered.
Astien wasn’t a military fortress. We were just a simple village living our lives away from the war in peace.
So tell me... Why did the dragons attack us of all the possible places they could’ve went.
"Kain!"
My father grabbed my shoulder before pulling me behind a nearby building.
"Don’t just stand there!" He shouts with a serious tone.
His breathing was uneven and blood covered one side of his armor.
"Dad..." I said softly.
"The others are heading for the eastern gate," He responded.
Another explosion interrupted him before he could continue.
The house beside us collapsed in an instant, all while dust filled the air around us.
"We have to move!" He shouted.
Without another word he grabbed my wrist and we ran... The village I had lived in my entire life no longer looked familiar.
Homes were burning, children cried for parents who would never answer, and soldiers fought desperately against creatures they had no chance of defeating.
Everything was falling apart the more time went on.
CRASH!!!!!
A dragon landed in the middle of the street.
The impact alone threw several soldiers backwards.
Before they could even react, a swipe from its claw killed three of them in an instant.
"Impossible..." I mumbled.
No creature should have that much strength in the first place. But dragons are definitely not something to follow the rules of the world anyway.
"Keep running!" my father shouted.
I forced myself forward, one step after another until the eastern gate was finally in sight.
That really did give me hope that I might make it out of this whole thing alive... Until I was shown to be completely wrong.
A man with long Blonde hair, an elegant black suit untouched by ash or blood suddenly stood in front of us.
He looked completely out of place standing in the middle of a village that was burning to the ground.
My father immediately stopped as his entire body became tense.
"...Dragon," He muttered in fear.
I frowned as I tried to understand what he just said.
"What?" I questioned.
The man smiled as he looked around for a moment.
"So..."
His emerald-green eyes seemed to glow against the flames.
"This is Astien," He continued.
He slowly looked around the village.
"...Pathetic," He said with a disgusted tone.
My father pushed me behind him.
"Kain," Dad Said.
His voice was quieter than before.
"...No matter what happens... Don’t stop running," Dad instructed as he put on a brave face.
He tightened his grip around his sword and the blonde man sighed.
"I really don’t enjoy killing humans. It is quite a bore," He spoke up with a serious look in his eyes.
He raised one hand.
"But orders are orders," He continued.
The air suddenly became heavy... I couldn’t breathe but my father charged anyway.
"For Astien!" He shouted.
He swung his sword with everything he had... but the blonde man simply lifted one finger and it was instant.
CLANG!!!!
The blade shattered into countless pieces and my eyes widened.
"Dad?" I said quietly.
The dragon didn’t move. He just seemed to be disappointed in the moment.
"Too weak," The blonde man said as he turned away.
A single step, followed by a single punch.
CRACK!!!!!
My father’s body flew across the street before he crashed through the remains of a burning home.
"...Dad!" I shouted.
I ran without thinking.
"Looks like the others have finished," The blonde man said softly.
Silence slowly settled over Astien as dragons realized that there was no one left to fight back against them.
The village had fallen.
As I reached the home my father crashed into I could no longer see where he was or if he was even alive.
Everyone here was dead...
What am I supposed to do about this? I’m not strong enough to fight back against a damn dragon... Yet alone multiple dragons.
Footsteps approached me from behind as wings flapped above me.
There wasn’t a single place for me to go in this situation anymore. Everywhere was surrounded by dragons without a single place to go.
"I wasn’t expecting a kid like you to survive any of this in the first place," The Blonde man said with a bit of shock in his voice.
"...screw you," I replied with anger in my voice.
He just smirked as he looked down at me. I never would’ve thought dragons would be such tall humans or whatever that form was he possessed.
"You know we weren’t always the enemy here kid," He said with a serious look on his face.
In the distance a woman screamed for her life... But it ended quickly. It also had made me realize that my mother was still somewhere in the village.
Was that her who screamed for her life before they took it away from her?
"Xareth we should probably go. I’d rather not be here any longer than we have to," A Woman spoke up from behind him.
"Right. But what will I do about you?" He asked while he pondered.
He wasn’t aware of how much of a mistake it was to leave me alive after everything he did to my family... My people... My home.