---
The dust filled the horizon, swirling like a suffocating cloak around the heads of the knights.
And the pounding of the horses' hooves was too loud to be hidden… as if it were an announcement of wrath before it was seen.
At the front, Tai Lan rode his black steed. His face was cold as stone, and his gaze unreadable.
It was the second day of his journey to reach Narik.
He had not rested at all throughout the journey, never responded to the soldiers' calls, nor cared for his blood-soaked bandages, those that clung to his skin like old scars refusing to leave.
He was as though racing against time itself, with eyes that saw nothing but the end.
And when the outlines of Narik began to appear from afar, through the haze,
he felt something stir in his chest…
Old scenes surfaced from the vault of memory without permission.
His eyes silently watched the view,
and he paused at the edge of the city for a moment,
then stepped inside without uttering a word.
---
(Ten years earlier)
(From Lorian's point of view)
The night wasn't as dark as it is now...
Because tongues of flame devoured the sky, and ashes scattered like snow, landing on our heads with a cold heat.
The screams of my tribe pierced the silence of the forest,
and woke me from the "tree house" my father had built for me.
I snuck toward the sound, but soon my feet froze in place, and I forgot how to move.
The houses were burning.
The men were slaughtered like sheep.
And the women were dragged by their hair toward a fate from which there was no return.
And the children... they suffocated in the smoke, one after the other.
I felt strong arms embracing me.
It was my mother, her face covered in blood and ash, her eyes wide with terror.
"Lorian... stay here. No matter what you hear, don't come out of this place."
She whispered to me, her breath ragged, and her chest heaving with exhaustion.
Then she wiped my tears with her trembling hand and tried to leave.
But I held on to her and said, between sobs and fear:
"I don't want to stay here... don't leave me, I'm scared."
She held my hand, looked at me for a long time, then said:
"You are my flower… and courage blooms in your heart. Don't let fear steal it."
She kissed my forehead, then ran toward the flames.
I stood there crying for hours, listening to their screams, smelling the burnt wood, watching the flames rise to the sky, and waiting for her...
But she never returned.
I don't know when I closed my eyes... but when the morning sun rose, everything was still, as if time had frozen.
Yet the air was still thick with the smell of smoke and ash.
And when I returned to the square where my tribe once stood...
I saw their bodies – men, women, children – laid out like dolls without motion, without soul.
I stood helpless, my heart gasping as if drawing its final breath, every sense overwhelmed by silence and terror...
Until I heard the soldiers returning again.
I dropped among the corpses, and the scent of blood and smoke covered me.
I pretended to be dead.
One soldier said, "Prince Tai Lan ordered everyone to be killed without exception. Gather the bodies and burn them to make sure."
The next moment, one of them lifted me, carelessly, like broken things are moved, and threw my body to the ground.
Then piled bodies on top of me in preparation for burning.
I waited until they were busy lighting the fire…
Then I pushed the corpses off of me and crawled silently, escaping from between the dead, and ran without looking back.
I no longer belonged to any place that knew me.
I had no family left, until I was found by some survivors.
And the name Tai Lan was mentioned again in front of me.
Some survivors said he was there in person, standing at the front wearing a golden mask, his gaze cold and merciless.
He watched everything in silence until it was over.
Ten years have passed, but they weren't enough to erase that day from my memory.
And now I feel like that memory is about to start all over again in front of me.
Because smoke columns were rising from Narik,
the small town where I had been hiding with my tribe.
My heart was pounding like war drums, its echo echoing through my ribs, and my breath was cut off as my legs dragged me toward there running,
as if something stronger than me was pushing me unconsciously.
And when I arrived, I found my tribe silent... all gathered in the grand square, like shattered statues.
Their heads bowed, their bodies shrunken, and humiliation leaking from their features like tears from broken eyes.
Some were kneeling, others standing, trembling, as if the ghost of death was whispering in their ears.
I approached with trembling steps… and my heart still beating violently, until I stood before them.
I lifted my gaze to meet their eyes…
But they weren't looking at me — their stares were fixed on something behind me.
I turned slowly, and my eyes met...
Tai Lan standing in front of me.
His features… stiff, revealing nothing.
The shock crept into my veins.
I thought I had killed him and that I'd only ever see his eyes in nightmares.
But there he was… as if death itself feared to approach him.
My breath halted, and time froze in that moment.
My heart beat slowly, and everything disappeared...
The people, the square, the smoke...
Only me and him.
My lips trembled… air caught in my chest, and all the memories exploded at once in my mind:
My mother's blood-covered face… the corpses…
Then the soldier's voice: "The prince wants no survivors"...
Only now did I understand he was truly serious about erasing us all.
And this time, it's all because of me.
———
Lorian's body could not bear the flood of memories,
nor could her mind comprehend the situation...
And darkness covered her eyes, and she fell unconscious.
But she did not hit the ground.
She collapsed into Tai Lan's arms,
who caught her firmly and carried her to the horse-drawn carriage.
He withdrew from the square with his soldiers,
while all eyes followed him in a silence heavier than a thousand words.
---
To be continued... 🔥