A Warrior's Heart

Raid

I awoke to the smell of smoke in my nose and the sound of screams in my ears. For a moment my sleep-fogged mind did not comprehend what was going on. Then panic set in as I registered that my room was full of smoke and that the world outside the open window was in flames.Smoke entered my nostrils more heavily as I breathed harder and it almost seemed to choke me.My instincts kicked in and I jumped out of my bed in a flash, my eyes quickly assessing what the matter was.Outside the window I saw orange-red flames, flames so bright they seemed to outshine the night, and I knew I had to get out of my house.The smoke was getting unbearable as it seemed to touch every part of my body, making my eyes water, my nose burn and my skin glisten with sweat.

As I ran out of my room I was trying to make sense of what was happening.I run to the front door, open it and am greeted with a world of chaos.

People were running everywhere, most of them screaming or shouting at one another .Wether they were running to or from something was unclear.

Just as I was about to step out of my smoke-filled house I spotted something that gave me great fear, the sensation overtaking me.Understanding and then immediate horror filled me and made me stumble on me feet.Coming from the opposite side of the street that I lived on, a group of males ran in the direction of the screaming mass of people.They were all naked save for a piece of cloth covering their manhoods, had long hair streaming down their backs and they all carried weapons of destruction. But the most horrific was the sight of many scars and dark-inked patterns on their skins.There was only one kind of iskrai, non-human beings, who bore those markings.These males were Rhadjari.Warriors who were notorious for raiding villages and even walled cities.The Rhadjari were fearsome for their brutality and when they attacked they killed most of the inhabitants save for the strong and the useful.Or they just attacked for the sheer joy of it.

And they were raiding my village.

I slinked away in fear ,stifling a scream and hid behind the door hoping the Rhadjari would pass my house by.As they did just that, running towards the crowded group of people trying to escape them, the screaming grew louder as the Rhadjari cried their infamous war cry, the war cry that made their opposers quake with fear and terror. I closed my eyes to hold the tears that threatened to spill over my cheeks.The screams and shouts turned louder as the Rhadjari warriors started to kill my people.Standing behind the door I could hear the sound of sharp steel biting into vulnerable flesh.

The people of Ra'na,for that was what my village was called, were merchants and simple men, like most humans living in Moratan villages.Most of my fellow villagers did not have any combat training and were therefore defenseless against the fighting skill and the rage of the Rhadjari .My stomach turned as I heard the sound of my people dying, knowing I could do nothing to help them lest I join their bodies on the street.

The tears now spilled over my cheeks and I held my hands to my ears to keep out that blood-chilling sound of people being slaughtered like cattle, knowing their end was near.Weakened ,I clenched my teeth and fell to my knees, and softly cried and cried and cried ,until I became aware that the sounds had stopped and the only thing to hear was the sound of the wind and the sounds of the retreating Rhadjari.

Breathing hard and fast,I tried to stand which was not an easy thing considering my legs did seemingly not want to obey me.I stumbled to the doorway and looked out into the street.And up came the meal that I'd last night which I threw up on the ground.My ears seemed to be clogged, my pounding head drowning out the rest of the sounds.I would never forget the sight in front of me as long as I lived.

All of them were dead.My people. People I had grown up with, most of them I recognized. Slaughtered as if their lives meant nothing.The smell of blood was everywhere and I put my hand to my nose to keep from breathing in the sickening smell.

Most of them had their eyes open, some closed ,all seeing nothing.I whimpered and shame and horror filled me. I walked towards the bodies, but stopped realizing that it was to dangerous to stay here and that there was nothing I could do for them.Guilt and shame threatened to overcome me but I had to leave.

If the Rhadjari had raided my village, it was as good as ashes and it would be best to escape lest I be succumbed to a fate worse than death.

I started walking away, but turned, giving one last farewell to my people; " Mahara Killiarni Wodenhu",a final prayer meant to comfort the dead on the journey to their next life.I did not want to question if the villagers would indeed have a peaceful journey. With that I turned and ran as fast as I could, aiming to find someone who could help me or at least to make it out of the burning village to escape. As I ran, other fleeing villagers were trying to escape the Rhadjari ,some to no avail as they were caught by the raiders.I turned away before I could witness the brutality of the raiders.I kept on going ,determined to escape unscathed.Everywhere there was a mass of screaming and fleeing villagers, running like animals caught in a trap.I made no progress in going forward so I took a sharp turn into a narrow street that opened up in a small square, lit only by torches stuck upright in the sand.But my stomach sank as I saw that the narrow street from whence I had come was the only way out. And my stomach turned sour when I saw what was going on in front of me.