Before Her Eyes

One

During the darkness of the night they had come. They had come in over whelming numbers, swarming like bees and killing her people in scores. Her father had sent word to surrounding lands pleading for help, but they ignored the deaths, they condemned her whole kingdom to death. Her people were forced out of their homes, livelyhoods destroyed by the creatures of the night. Lives taken by the kings and queens who wanted the land of her people. Women and children who hadn't had a chance in hell of surviving, people killed in their beds. It was wrong, but what could she do? Staring into the jaws of a deadly beast, or sending her people from their homes to possibly die in their travels. Her father had died attempting to fight the beasts; it seemed she only had one choice now. Her soldiers would put up a fuss, they wouldn't leave unless she made them protect the people as they traveled. They would leave to kill the people who had condemned the Mage Warriors to this fate.

Iliza scrubbed her face with her hands she knew what she had to do, but she didn't want to. She couldn't let her people die, but revenge would taste so good. The deaths of her people and her father were on the hands of those who hadn't assisted them. She shook her head. Iliza refused to cause more harm than good, so she would wait until her people had recovered enough, she would make her soldiers stronger and she would take back her kingdom. When they had their homes back Iliza would take her revenge. After all, the law of her people stated that murder was only acceptable if there had been a duel. Otherwise the murder was a coward, and cowards in a clan of Warrior Mages? It was unheard of.

She walked out of her chambers, clenching her fists at her sides. Her long silk dress brushed against her ankles as she walked onto the balcony connected to her chambers, she looked over her people, frightened eyes looked back.

"We will have blood from the cowards, but for now we must flee. We must better our military, strengthen our magic, create better weapons. The Blood Mage s of the south are willing to assist us, Prince Armon has lost as much as we if not more," there was a cry of outrage as her voice carried over the people. Prince Armon was not liked by very many outside of his own kingdom. People feared Blood Mages and rightfully so, but blood magic was one of the strongest magic's there was and her people would never win without the help they could provide.

"I know. Blood Mages are frightening, but so are we. We are a kingdom of women who could rip a man's throat out without breaking a sweat. We are a clan of men who decimate armies with the wave of their hand. Children with so much magic in one hand that they could destroy country sides. We have nothing to fear from them, if anything they should fear us." As she raised her hand in a fist, a roar of approval erupted from the crowd.

"Go my people. Pack what you can carry, and move what you can't in front of the castle. We will move it inside to be protected. We must leave by sundown, or we may not live to see the Blood Mages," she finished her speech as the people bounded away, children gathering food and toys, while mothers gathered children and clothes. Men began moving the heavier objects that their family could not carry on the journey to the castle. Rune glowed on the arms of some of the men, carrying beds with one hand over their heads. They were using their magical abilities to enhance the muscles in their body, others used their magical abilities to speed themselves up, only being visible in flashes of clothing or when they stopped to catch their breath. Her people were strong, and she had no doubt they would recover from this.