My thoughts are in turmoil, scattered around by a stormful wind in a thundering rainstorm, obscuring my sight and keeping a clear mind. Only when the lightning strikes, my vision and thoughts become apparent, before everything turns back into a swirl of dark disarray. It's the painful visions, during the blinding bright lightnings that causes my distress and a mind in disharmony.
In one moment I'm tumbling around in the dark vortex, when a bright illumination brings me outside the village stables, outside the home of Brynleigh. Everything is put to the flames, the stables, Brynleigh house, even the fences are on fire and in the center courtyard, surrounded by heavy dark smoke, I see a person of humble stature caressing a dead horse.
Weeping while holding around her horse head, Brynleigh looks up with tearful cheeks and pleading eyes for help, but I can give none. I see her lips moving in silence, whispering why?
Before I can respond, I'm dragged away and into the dark storm again and my mind is filled with thousands of questions. What has happened? Who did this? Is Brynleigh unharmed? How do I get back to her? As my questions turn into despair, something awakes within, something dark that wants to fight my surroundings, but another blending light drags me away from it and I’m standing within the market of Bancross.
The place is an inferno as well, just like stables and it’s hard to pick out the details, due to the smoke from the fires surrounding me. Duncadda! a familiar voice screams out in fright and I turn around to see Gwennwyn running towards me. Close behind her, there are numerous huge orcs with large crude swords chasing her. As I raise my own sword and move towards her and the orcs, she is cut down and the last thing I see is the light in her fearful eyes vanish silently, like she never has been here.
Despite the dark urge to stay and kill the orcs, I’m denied and instead dragged screaming and kicking back into the dark vortex storm, while shouting curses in the tongue I learned under the golden leaf’s roof. Im raging against this cruel torment and again something darker within me stirs, trying to fight it. What is going on? Release me! My mind screams.
The light this time is so bright that it takes some time before my vision returns.
And when it returns, the tears are its companion as well. On the ground near me, some of my closest friends lay forever still, with numerous arrows embedded into their bodies. Ethel, the flower of Bancross and the greatest pride to Waelden, lies alone with a bow in her hand and her arrows scattered around her. Not far away from her, I see Waelden, the grey warrior of the mark, hands still clenched around his sword and shield. Despite my sorrow and tears over a fallen brother and his daughter, I give him a last salute, honoring the way he went down as a true man of the mark, fighting to the end. I look around… where is Yllfa? But smoke and fire obscure my sight, but in the briefest of a moment, there seemed to be a snarling wolf within the fire.
Before I can go searching for the wolf, a mocking voice calls on me. Turn around Duncadda, turn and face your fate! I slowly turn around, sword ready to strike down the voice. As I come around, looking towards the north, I face a sky filled with red soaring flames and black smoke rolling towards me, already covering most of Bancross. Gamferth the kind old retired warrior… Hildfirth the gossip tavern keeper and her daughter Bronaa… All probably dead and consumed by the firestorm. I cannot see or hear the garrison, so I assume it's fallen and consumed as well, with Denholm, Thilwend, Eadrinn and the rest of the eored.
Alone, filled with rage and a mind corrupted with darkness and the urge to kill, I pick up Waeldens shield, ready to face my fate. I do not wait too long before my fate appears, as a hail of arrows come striking out of the dark fire and towards me. Waelden’s shield protects me against many of them, but not all. One arrow pierced my right leg, making me fall over and lowering my shield, allowing another to pierce my shoulder, then another and another and another… As I scream in frustration and pain, trying to get on my feet, I instead fall over and into the dark storm, into darkness.
The world is silent and cold, as a new day grows and I rise from my bed.
