Dawn Will Come

Chapter One

The icy breeze brushed against my skin awoke me, causing a shiver to roll down my spine as I stood and glanced around the ruin that remained. Strange red stone had ripped through the stone of what I could only guess to have been a castle at one time. Faint whispers surrounded me as I gazed upon the corpses that lay upon the cold stone floor.

To me, it appeared to have been the sight of a war and a possible great victory though I couldn't be certain. The chilling breeze led me to limp towards one of the corpses to remove the small hooded coat that he no longer needed. I wrapped it around my body to find that it went no lower than just below my bust however I didn't care for it offered me some warmth as I lifted the hood over my head; the shadow cast over my face, hiding me from the world.

Upon the horizon, a large cluster of light appeared to be moving towards what appeared to be a small town, its walls had clearly not been built to withstand such an attack.

Something was shot from the town, an arrow? No, it couldn't have been as it hit the mountainside. The ground shook with rage as snow hurdled towards the powerful force that threatened the town. It must have killed thousands.

Desperately, I wanted to run in and help the small town as they fought against the army that attacked them. They wouldn't last long, I knew that.

My gaze shot around the stone floor, looking at each corpse for some sort of weapon. Anything that could aid me in my quest to save the lives of the innocents that would, undoubtedly, be lost. Yet all I saw were staffs made of wood, something that didn't occur to me as something that could be used to defend a life.

As I continued to search, something took the advantage as my mind remained concerned with finding a weapon. I span around on the balls of my feet when I caught a glimpse of them. Their bodies had morphed into hideous beings, without a shred of the souls of who they once were, remaining. The same red stones that surrounded me, had grown out of their skin and harnessed an impossible glow.

They held what I needed in firm grasps. Swords. Their long bony fingers with sharp claws, gripping the handles as they approached me.

"Shit!" I gasped as I mirrored their steps until my back was pressed against the moist stone wall. I needed to fight but I was petrified; the fear spread through my veins with every beat of my racing heart, crawling throughout my body and taking its grip of me, like icy tentacles. I couldn't move for that moment. I was frozen into place as my eyes grew wide.

A quick sharp breath of cold air brought me out of my trance as I kicked a staff. It lifted into the air and I caught it before I took my stance and prepared myself.

I knew that I needed to fight. I had too. It was either going to be them or me and I wasn't ready to die, not yet though it seemed to be the most probable thing to happen because,

I didn't know how to fight.

My body didn't waver as I stood there, awaiting their attack. Adrenaline rushed through my body, setting it ablaze as I waited. The ground shook as a second avalanche occurred, the snow hurtled towards them, killing them in an instant. I glanced back at the town and saw no indication of them causing the avalanche but even so, I couldn't be certain. From within the snow, a dagger stuck out and without hesitation, I grabbed it from the clawed hand that had once held it firmly.

An unusual growl echoed through the air, disturbing the snow that fell around me and without a second thought, I hid behind a wall, my back pressed against the cold stone once again as a dragon flew over the ruins. Its wings the colour of the night sky, tainting the stars until they no longer shined. Its body had been coated in armour and I could almost hear the red stone whisper from within its steel.

The dragon flew over me, clearly I had hidden myself away just enough so that it didn't see me as it flew towards the small town. Without hesitation; for I didn't wish to waste another moment, I began to walk towards the very edge of the ruins and in the direction of the small town.

As I reached the edge, an elderly woman spoke, catching my attention. I span around to see her, half expecting another attack but what I saw was far from what I had expected.