The Last Light

Prologue

Aillard Lux, a man who is prepared to do everything for the sake of his family and his people. It was a question as to what extent he was willing to go to just to keep them safe.

But what can a mere man do against people who have much, much more power than him? What can he do when he knew that he stood no chance in the first place?

Well, the man can only run. If he can, that is.

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"Pardon me for suggesting this, Sir Aillard, but we are left with no choice but to surrender ourselves!" One of his men insisted, impatient as he waited for the decision of the chief.

Another man scoffed. "Are you that much of a coward? You are well aware of what will happen to us if we did that, it will only lead us to our deaths! What we need to do is fight, we can use our magic." He argued.

"Right." The other man replied, his voice laced with sarcasm. "What use is fighting if we will lose, anyway? Our magic consists of mere spells, it stands no chance against the faction."

"Then at least we fought! It's better than offering ourselves on a silver platter!"

Frustrated, Aillard raised his right hand, commanding his men to quiet down.

"I'm sure all of you are aware of the faction being merciless. They have been chasing our kind for decades, hunting our village and our people. If they somehow catch us, our fate will be certain: we will surely face our deaths. Despite our capability of using spells, the faction has greater power than our village. We can only use our magic to a small extent. If we fought against them, they will end up ridding us of our lives. We cannot surrender nor can we fight. We have no choice but to run." He explained, sighing in defeat.

With his statement, the people in the cavern broke into a commotion.

"What?!"

"But we can't keep running for the rest of our lives!"

"And you say I'm a coward?!"

"If we die, then we should die fighting!"

"Nonsense! We need to surrender and beg for their mercy!"

"Enough!" Aillard yelled, once again silencing the men in front of him. "All of you dare fight before me?! Do not forget that I am still the one in charge. All of you still need to foll—"

"The faction! They're here!" A voice screamed, sending them all into panic.

Aillard tried to calm everyone down. But as they say, you cannot make people do something they do not want to do. Let alone those who are panicking. Being left with no choice, he ran to the tent that housed his family. Running as fast as he could, hoping that his wife and child were unharmed.

"Veira!" He called for his wife who was cowered in the corner of their place, shielding their daughter with her own body as they both trembled in fear.

"Aillard!" His wife ran to him, relief covering her features as she pulled their child along with her.

"We need to go. Now." Veira and their daughter need not to be told twice. They ran out of the tent and into the thick forest, silently praying to the Gods that none of the faction members tailed behind them. Sadly, their prayers were not answered.

"Stop at once, Alliard! Or else your family will meet the consequences!" The faction member behind them warned, threatening to shoot his daughter with the bow and arrow in his hand.

"Go, Veira! I'll handle this." Aillard told his wife.

"No, no, we cannot leave you," Daveira pleaded, tears pouring down her face as she begged her husband.

"Àd lovi dè, my wife." He told her before running towards the faction member.

[ Translation: I love you. ]

Veira, on the other hand, pulled her daughter along as she continued running in the forest, unaware of where they're heading. They quietly hid behind a bush. Veira clutched her daughter tightly, whispering words of comfort into her ears.

"Oh, Veira! Where are you?" A voice called, as if mocking her to come out. "If I were you, I'd show myself!"

At that moment, Veira came to a decision of what she thought was best for her daughter.

"Stay here, livdè." She told her daughter, giving her a peck on the forehead before whispering: "Your father and I love you."

[ Translation: dear ]

Slowly, she rose to her knees, her body hidden behind the bushes as she crawled towards a far tree, leaving her daughter alone—shaking with fear for herself and for her parents. The girl's mother stood behind the tree, before revealing herself to the faction member. And it was at that day, their daughter came to know of a world without a parent by her side.