The path home wound through tall summer grass that brushed against their legs like whispering hands. Fireflies had begun to glow in the dimming light, blinking in gentle rhythm as the sun slipped behind the hills.
A tall man around 6 foot 2 with black long hair that went well with his blue eyes and a lean body with a very handsome and gentle face which may make others mistakes him as the son of a duke sometimes is seen walking along this path.
He walked with an easy stride, a bundle of gathered roots tied at his waist. His younger sister hopped from stone to stone behind him, arms stretched out for balance.She was short and had long brown hair which went well with her brown eyes and her warm and gentle smile.
"You promised," she said, pointing accusingly at his back.
"I promised many things," he replied without turning.
"Kael !You promised you'd teach me how to use a sword."
He laughed softly. "You can barely lift a bucket Lana ."
"I can too! I carried water yesterday."
"You spilled half of it."
"That doesn't count."
He slowed his steps so she could catch up. She slipped her hand into his. Her palm was small, warm, steady.
"When I'm strong," she said, looking up at him, "I'll protect you."
He smiled, though he didn't show it.
"It's my job to protect you."
"Maybe I don't want you doing it alone."
The village rooftops appeared ahead, low and familiar against the violet sky. Thin trails of smoke rose above them.
He felt relief.
Home.
But as they drew closer, something felt… wrong.
No laughter carried on the wind. No dogs barked. No hammer struck iron from the smithy.The sky green darker as rain clouds filled the sky.
The air smelled sharp. Bitter.
His pace slowed.
"Why is it so quiet?" his sister asked.
He didn't answer as it started to rain.
They passed through the outer fence. The gate hung crooked.
A shape lay near the well.
He stepped closer.
A villager....Still....Too still.
His sister squeezed his hand tighter.
"Brother…?"
More shapes emerged as his eyes adjusted. On the road. Near doorways. In the fields beyond.
The world narrowed.
He released her hand and walked ahead, each step heavier than the last.
The square came into view.
And there—In the center—His mother.
Collapsed beside the water trough she used every morning.
Her shawl lay tangled beside her. Her blue eyes stared upward, unfocused. Her hands were empty.
His sister gasped, then broke into a run.
"No—!"
He caught her before she reached the body, pulling her back into his chest as if he could shield her from the sight.
His own breath felt distant. As though it belonged to someone else.
Bootsteps sounded behind them.
Not hurried.
Measured.
A deep metallic rhythm.
He turned slowly.
A column of knights stood at the village entrance.
Nearly a hundred of them.
Their armor gleamed red and gold beneath the fading light, cloaks swaying in disciplined unity. The sigil of a blazing sun marked every chestplate.
One knight stepped forward, helm raised just enough to reveal a cold, impassive face.
"By decree of the Holy Order," the man announced, voice carrying easily across the square, "this settlement has been purged for harboring enemies of the Sanctum."
His sister trembled in his arms.
He did not speak.
The knight's gaze fell upon them.
"Two remain."
A pause.
"Finish it."
The first wave advanced.Steel rasped from scabbards in unison.
He pushed his sister behind him as he turned and charged towards the knights as he grabbed one of them by the helmet with his bare hand and shoved him to yhe ground head first ,as he also knelt face down.The collapsed knight lay unconscious ,as Kael picked up the knights bloodied sword and stood ,with his long hair covering his face.
The other knights stepped back in fear.
"Run," he whispered to the other knights as he glared at the knights with a murderous intent that sent a chill down the knight's spine.
They hesitated .
"Go!"
The knights charged.He slowly started walking towards them seeming composed.
All of a sudden he gripped the hilt of the sword to the point where his veins could be seen pointing out ,as his face expression was full of rage as he let out a roar filled with rage as he himself started running towards them.
All of a sudden the gap between them suddenly closed down as he pledged the sword into ond of the knights with rage as the blood spat on his face.
A knight stroke from his right. He twisted, catching the blade on his own, forcing it aside and driving his sword into the attacker's chest.
Another lunged.
He stepped inside the arc of the swing and struck hard with his sword.
Steel crushing.
The square erupted into chaos.
He fought not with polished technique but with raw instinct sharpened by grief and rage as he delivered very heavy attacks to him.
Every motion was direct. Every strike fueled by something deeper than fear.
The knights pressed in formation, shields locking, spears thrusting.
He broke through the line with sheer strength, killing one after the other as they tried attacking him .
Shouts rose.
"Circle him!"
They obeyed, disciplined and relentless.
Blades flashed from every direction.
He ducked one strike, blocked another, drove forward through the narrowest gap before it could close. He felt blows glance off his shoulders, felt the sting of metal scraping armor and skin.
He did not slow.
Each time he saw the sigil of the blazing sun, he saw his mother's empty eyes.That just made it worse for the knights.
The square filled with the clash of steel and the heavy rhythm of boots against stone. Knights dropped dead, others advanced .
He moved through them like a storm breaking against a wall—violent, unstoppable, but outnumbered.
More knights entered the fray.
He staggered as a strike caught his side. Another clipped his shoulder. His breath grew ragged.
Still he fought.
Still he pushed forward.
Until—
The air changed.
A deep hum vibrated through the ground.
The advancing knights parted instinctively.
Five figures stepped into the square.
Their armor was white as and etched with glowing runes that shimmered faintly in the twilight . Their capes hung unmoving despite the rising wind.
C rank Elite Knights.
One of them had dark black hair with a veru muscular build that made his upper body seem like 5hat of a gorilla as he looked to he in his mid 60s .He lifted a hand.
The space around him seemed to compress.
He tried to step forward—
And his knees slammed into the stone.
Invisible pressure bore down upon him, forcing him lower.
He roared, straining against it, muscles trembling.
Another Elite Knight a female with long brown hair and beautiful green eyes sith pointy ears meanig she was an elf, extended both arms.
Chains of radiant energy erupted from the ground, spiraling upward around his wrists and ankles. They tightened instantly, burning against his skin.
He fought against them, teeth clenched, forcing himself halfway upright.
The square trembled with the effort.
But the Elite Knights remained calm.
A third he had blonde hair styled as that of a noble woth his blue eyes and lean muscular build .He stared at Kael with a look of disgust as he spoke quietly.
"Enough!"
The pressure intensified.
The glowing chains locked into place, pinning him kneeling upright in the center of the ruined square.
The surviving knights stepped back, forming a ring around him.
Through blurred vision, he searched the village.
He did not see his sister.
The third high knight approached, drawing a long, sword that hummed softly with contained power.
"You resisted purification," the knight said, voice echoing slightly as if carried by unseen force.
"You answer with your life."
He tried once more to break the chains.
The light seared brighter.
His strength faltered.
The blade was raised.
The sky above had darkened completely now. Smoke drifted through the moonlight.
For a heartbeat, the world stilled.
"Any last words before your final breath ? "
Kael stared with disppaer as the rain dripping down his face as he asked .
"Why?...What did we do?"
The knight remained quite for a while then he finally answered with a calm tone.
"We're just caring out our orders."
He said as he closed his eyes , accepting death.
Then the blade thrust forward
.
Light flared.
The chains pulsed once.
And his body went still.
The High Knights released their hold. The glowing restraints dissolved into sparks that faded into the night air.
He fell to the stone.Blood from his neck covering the area around him.
Around him, the village burned quietly beneath the stars.
The knights turned and marched away in disciplined silence, leaving only firelight and drifting ash behind them.
And in the empty square, beneath the crackling of flames, the wind moved softly through the ruins of what had once been home.
As Kael lay in his own pool of blood clinging to his life with last few breaths.
With blurred vision he then sees his younger sister running towards his side as she puts his head on her laps and started crying begging him not to go .
Kael looks at his sister with a faint weak smile as he focuses all his remaining strength on lifting his arm and brushing it off against her right checking as Lana lay her head on it.
"I will always be with you."He said faintly .
"No...dont say tht !" She said with grief as she held onto him even tighter.
"You still have to teach me how to use a sword."
Kael put on a weak smile as he stared into his sister's eyes.knowing it will be the last time he does.
"I will..."
He then turned his eyes to face the dark rainy sky as his hand slowly descends and his body remained still.
His sister looked at his lifeless body one more time as she pulled him in closer embracing him one last time ,as she said her final tears for him .