The Cruel Night

He reaches the gate to the fields he would run around in as a child, patches burning and flickering ever so beautifully but also horrifically. He approaches his home up the pathway to see fallen soldiers at the foot of his door. Ankoku thinks to himself

"these guards must have come to help us as they saw the fire, maybe they are protecting us!" sounding almost reassured.

He creeks open the door and the slightly reassured look on Ankokus face vanished as he saw his father sitting in his chair at the table, his hand over a puncture wound bleeding, greenish yellow aura flowing from his wound. Tatsumi stares at his son, and speaks in a raspy voice

"my son your mother and siblings are fleeing east run to them, protect them, trust no one, I lov–"

he gets cut off as a shadowy figure appears behind Ankoku striking a sword down toward him, his father dashes from the chair clashing swords with the figure and looking back at his son.

"Run, GO, GO NOW, YOU FOOLISH BOY!"

Ankoku turns and runs as fast as he can out the back tears welling in his eyes, he screams

"Come back father PLEASE!!"

Tatsumi smiles, coughing up blood and in his raspy voice he says

"long time no see commander shu"

the figure stays quiet and a circle appears below Tatsumi's feet as chains spring up from it wrapping around his legs and arms restricting his movement. They turn a bright crimson red and pull him to his knees the figure steps closer and you see war torn armor a knights helm in full plate staring at him.

"Tatsumi, You should never have run, I release you from your pain, my dear friend." says the dark knight, hovering tall above him, Tatsumi stares back and says

"Please..my family has nothing to do with anything, these villagers know nothing they are innocent, please spare my childre–"

He gets cut off as he coughs up blood, he looks down as the knight has pierced his chest with his great sword.

"No one is innocent anymore, you shall see your family again, this I promise you" says the knight in a cold tone.

As Tatsumi hunches over tears in his eyes he mutters to himself

"I'm sorry.."

In that instant the knight swings his sword down upon his neck separating the two parts of his body, blood spattered on his walls. The Dark Knight stands tall staring down at Tatsumi's lifeless body and walks out of the door. Ankoku, still running towards his family, sees the woods they should be hiding in. He rushes towards it and jumps through the shrubs and sees his family huddled, they hug and his mother asks in a worried tone

"where is your father?"

Ankoku responds with,

"He was fighting a shrouded figure! He will win, nothing is stronger than father!!"

Her face droops into a sad expression as they hear yelling

"over there scout the woods"

She stands up and rushes them deeper into the woods, they no longer hear the screams or commands from the figures, Suzumi gasping for breath gets her children's attention making them face her and says tiredly

"listen we have to keep moving we must get to Rivenden we will be safe there! It's only a little ways East and we will reach the gat–"

She gets cut off as a crudely made arrow pierces through her throat her eyes widening with shock and worry for her kids, she leaps over them all to shield them as a flurry of arrows rain down nine arrows hitting her in her back and legs as she covers them blood seeping down her arms and back. Her eyes losing the glint in them,

"MOTHER" they all scream and cry, "minor healing- boon of attrition, minor healing- heldems grace"

The children glow a bright green and Ankokus wounds heal slightly they feel completely refreshed not hungry nor thirsty, brimming with the urge to run, feeling the power to be able to move faster. "Take… them…. and ..r-run, Ankoku..we.. love.. you."

She can barely speak and the words are hardly able to be understood. Ankoku grabs his siblings and dashes from the opening they were in looking back to see hoardings surrounding his mother stealing the earrings and necklaces she had on, short hairy goblin like things with razor teeth and snake eyes stared at him as he ran while they simply looted. They were all crying as he ran he felt a dark presence that felt as just pure strength and evil out stepped the dark knight fully able to be seen now to him his great sword which is 6ft long stabbed into the ground by his side. He sets the kids down and tells them to continue running; they sprint off as the dark knight simply stares at him and says,

"where is your mother?" in a cold tone. Ankoku worriedly and tearfully says "dead, my mothers dead"

The knight simply stands there and says,

"my condolences, what is your name, boy?"

he nervously says while trembling,

"Ankoku son of the great warrior Tatsumi"

"My name is Shu, commander Shu, I will send you to your family now"

The knight speaks coldly but a hint of sorrow in his voice. Ankoku stares at Shu wondering what he should do, knowing he cannot win in a fight nor run away, this is but a death sentence.. no, no more than an execution.