Kael was awakened by an unusual sound. The sound of footsteps too heavy and too fast to belong to any ordinary forest animal. A low growl echoing from the direction of the woods. And then, a scream. A scream that sliced through the silence of the night like a knife.
He jumped out of his bed, his heart pounding. Through the window, he could see a sight that froze his blood. Fires blazed at various points in the village, and amidst the chaos, dark figures darted around with impossible speed. Their eyes glowed red in the darkness, exactly like in his dreams.
"KAEL! MARA! Wake up!" Dorian's voice echoed through the house, filled with a panic Kael had never heard before. "They're here! The demons have entered the village!"
Kael's bedroom door crashed open. Dorian stood in the doorway, his face pale, but his gaze sharp and full of resolve. In his hand, he carried an old sword usually reserved for hacking branches and splitting firewood. The blade was rusted in several places, but tonight it was the only weapon they had.
"Father!" Kael tried to speak, but his voice caught in his throat.
"Listen to me, son." Dorian gripped Kael's shoulders with both hands, his eyes locked intensely on his child's. "You must go. Take your mother and run north, toward the main fort. I will hold them off here."
"No!" Kael clutched his father's shirt, tears beginning to stream down his face. "Father, I don't want to leave you! I want to fight with you!"
"Kael!" Dorian lifted his son's face with a rough yet affectionate hand. "Remember what I told you? True strength is the resolve to protect the people you care about. Now, your duty is to protect your mother. That is your duty as a son, as a man. Can you do that for me?"
Kael bit his lip, trying to hold back his tears. With a heavy heart, he nodded.
"I will catch up," Dorian smiled, though the smile did not reach his eyes. "Now go! Don't look back!"
Mara was already waiting at the back door with a shattered expression. Her tears flowed heavily, but she stood tall. She gripped Kael's hand tightly, and together they ran, leaving behind the house that had been their sanctuary.
The once-peaceful village of Greenwood had turned into a living hell. Fire licked from house to house, illuminating the night with a terrifying orange hue. The sounds of screams and shouts filled the air, mingling with the growls of the creatures of darkness.
Kael and Mara ran through the chaotic streets. They had to dodge falling debris, bodies lying on the ground, and the dark figures darting around them. Every time a figure appeared closer, Kael's heart beat faster.
"Mother, we have to go back!" Kael pulled at his mother's hand. "We have to help Father!"
"No, Kael!" Mara pulled him back. "Your father wants us to survive! We must keep running!"
But Kael could not stop himself. He turned to look back at their house, and what he saw would be etched into his memory forever.
Dorian stood in front of their home, facing three dark creatures. In the flickering firelight, Kael could see their forms more clearly. They looked like lizards standing on two legs, nearly two meters tall, with pitch-black skin that absorbed all light. Their claws were long and sharp, glistening with an unknown liquid.
Shadow Drake. The name surfaced in Kael's mind. Mother had told him about them. One of the most dangerous types of demons.
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Dorian swung his sword with all his might. The blade struck one of the demons, but it only left a small scratch on its skin. The Shadow Drake roared, not in pain, but in fury. It lunged at Dorian with its claws.
Dorian managed to dodge, but not entirely. The demon's second claw tore into his arm, leaving a deep gash. Blood spurted, but Dorian did not fall. He kept standing, blocking the path to their home.
"FATHER!" Kael screamed with all his might.
Dorian turned his head one last time. Amidst the swirling chaos, with the fire burning his village, he smiled at his son. A smile that said 'I love you' and 'goodbye' at the same time.
"Don't look back, Kael!" he shouted. "Keep running! Protect your mother!"
Dorian then turned back to face his enemies. With one final war cry, he charged at the demons. His sword gleamed dimly under the moonlight, the only weapon of a farmer who dared to stand against the creatures of darkness.
Mara pulled Kael's hand harder, forcing him to keep running. "Kael, we have to go! Now!"
But Kael did not move. His eyes were fixed on the fading figure of his father. He saw when one of the Shadow Drakes lunged from the side. He saw when the demon's claw pierced Dorian's chest like a black spear. He saw when his father fell to the ground, yet still tried to rise.
"FATHER!"
Kael's scream pierced the night air. And in that moment, something happened. A strange heat surged from his chest throughout his entire body. A faint light flickered at his fingertips, a golden hue like the morning sun.
He did not realize that it was the first sign of the Light Aether within him. He did not realize that in his moment of profound anger and grief, the hidden power in his blood had begun to awaken.
All he knew was that his father had fallen. And he could do nothing about it.
They ran without stopping. Kael's breath burned in his chest, but Mara did not stop pulling him. In the distance, the stone walls of the main fort finally came into view amidst the village's blazing fires. The guards were on high alert, firing their arrows at the pursuing demons. An Aether barrier was erected around the fort, protecting the refugees flooding inside.
Kael and his mother found a spot in one corner of the fort. Around them, Kael saw a devastating sight. Children cried in their parents' arms. Some children cried alone, their parents nowhere to be found. The elderly sat with empty faces, unable to process what had happened. And wounded soldiers lay in every corner, their blood staining the stone floor.
"Kael..." Mara hugged her son tightly, her tears flowing freely. "Your father... he is gone."
Kael did not cry. He couldn't. All his tears had already fallen when he saw his father for the last time. Instead, something else grew inside him. Something cold. Something sharp. Something that would shape his path for years to come.
As dawn broke, the attack ended. The demons retreated into the darkness of the forest, leaving a trail of destruction in their wake. Out of the one hundred and fifty houses in Greenwood, only sixty remained standing. And out of three hundred residents, only two hundred survived.
That morning, Kael and Mara stood among the ruins of what used to be their home. Where the front door once stood, there was now only charred debris. Nearby lay an old sword, broken in half. His father's sword.
Kael picked up the broken blade with trembling hands. Close by, he found a piece of cloth from his father's shirt, stained red with dried blood. But Dorian's body was nowhere to be found. The guards said that the demons often dragged their victims' corpses back into the forest. For what purpose, no one knew. Or perhaps, no one wanted to know.
"Father..." Kael whispered, his voice cracking.
He gripped the broken sword tightly, until his palm bled. In that moment, he made a decision. A decision that would change his entire life.
"Mother," Kael said in a voice far calmer than a five-year-old boy should possess. His once innocent eyes now held a depth that shouldn't exist at his age. "I promise... I will become a soldier. I will become a strong soldier, and I will protect everyone I love. No one else will die because I couldn't protect them."
Mara looked at her son with teary eyes. In Kael's small face, she could see the shadow of her husband. The same persistence. The same resilience. And one day, perhaps the same strength.
She did not know that destiny was waiting for her son. She did not know that Archmage Valerius's prophecy had written Kael's path a thousand years ago.
All she knew was that that night, her son had lost his childhood. And a resolve had been born from the ashes of destruction.
Above them, the morning sun began to rise, bringing the first light of a new day. But for Kael, darkness still shrouded his heart. A darkness that could only be dispelled by one thing.
The power to protect.
And the path to that power began today.
— To be continued in Chapter 3 —