*The Darkness rises*- Prologue

Sarah sprinted up the hill, the pain in her chest growing as exhaustion began to take hold, she had been running for what felt like an eternity by now. At the top of the hill lay Lord Elin's manor, there Sarah knew she would be safe, there she knew she would find refuge from her relentless pursuers. After pacing further up the hill, she could see the rusted gates to the manor in the distance, the uneven cobbles beneath her feet were making it harder for her to run. Suddenly she heard a *thwack* from behind her as a tree branch off the side of the path snapped, causing her to startle a half-inch forward, consequently causing her foot to jam against an uneven cobble sending her flying several feet forward. Pain shot through her body, but she knew she had no time to recover from her wounds, her pursuers were close, and she could sense their dark auras just moments behind her. Collecting herself she lurched forward once more towards the manor gates, being careful not to trip once more she placed her feet precisely on the cobbles below, propelling herself forward at a pace she didn't know she was capable of reaching. A few moments passed and the gates were within reach, Sarah lurched forward onto the old rusted gate and cried "LORD ELIN, HELP, OPEN THE GATE-" she abruptly stopped as she heard multiple footsteps approaching behind her. She turned gripped with fear, like a deer caught in the sight of its prey, to see six hooded figures standing but only a few feet from her. They were arranged in what seemed to be an organised formation. Sarah could not identify any distinct features to identify any of the figures, but she had not been on the island for long, whilst small these might have been individuals she had not encountered, particularly if they had been planning to ambush her, it makes sense they would have hidden from her view. "LORD ELIN!" Sarah screamed once more, hoping that he or his guards would soon rush to her rescue, but as the figures stood there in the darkness, the manor behind her remained silent, with no sign of movement, no light from the windows, it appeared as if it were completely abandoned. Panic began to swell within her stomach "Please!" she begged to the figures, "what do you want!" she cried at the central figure. She thought she noticed a smile emanating from the hood of the leading figure when he replied "The Lord's divine attention, as only through the sacrifice of the Holy may we attain the salvation we seek, but alas there is little need for us to divulge our motivations with you girl, you are but a tool". Realising something must have happened to Lord Elin, and no help was coming from the manner, Sarah realised some form of negotiating was her only survival, "If you kill me, the church will send an army to investigate, they will raze this entire island to the ground" she gritted her teeth after muttering those finals words in act defiance. The central figure let out a mocking laugh whilst the others remained silent. "Your jests are amusing girl, no. The Imperial Church will care little if one missionary vanishes from a small island, they will most likely assume you were lost on a voyage or you decide to run away and break your vows. Do not fear girl, we will not cause you much physical harm, your pain will be quick". Upon muttering that final statement the figures began to close in on the lone girl, a shorter figure from the right was the first to come within arms reach of Sarah, they reached out to take hold of her. At that Sarah's fight or flight instinct kicked in, and now given there was nowhere for her to fly to, she decided to at least make her attackers bleed. She had been hiding the cobble that came loose when she tripped behind her back, at the moment the nearest figure reached out to grab her, she revealed the stone by swinging abruptly down on the figure's head. A loud crack rang out, and the remaining figures were fixed in place, the smug grins notably now absent from their faces. "Insolent wretch" the leader snarled at her. Upon that insult, Sarah replied in defiance "You are going to do better than that to kill me, asshole!". The figures jolted forward in rage, this time however they pounced forward in unison. Upon feeling multiple hands grasp her she thrashed wildly feeling at least one more clean blow connect but she was being hit hard enough that she could not tell which figure she had struck. After this last bout of defiance Sarah exhausted and pained finally fell to the ground. She noted the beauty of the moon as its light cascaded down onto her, in the moment she finally felt at peace, she began to feel the warmth of the blood pouring from the wounds on her body, she knew this was it. One final gaze to the moon before she at long last embraced peace. The four remaining figures towered over her body, angered by the difficulty of their kill silently collected her body before slowly disappearing into the darkness, leaving their two wounded companions behind.