Lightning cracked, and thunder rolled across the hills as the rain fell in blinding sheets. All that could be heard among them was the sound of rattling wagons, and retreating men on horses.
Wagons filled to the brim with grain, wool, and weapons, were draped with cloth, and the men urged the horses onwards. All except one, which entered with a clicking trot.
The man scanned his eyes for one face in particular, until they finally landed on them. His horse came to a slow halt, and he mounted off, his boots crushing the mud and wet grass beneath him.
"Commander An, I've come to deliver a message from the head Clan." The scout approached him.
As An Rou was hauling a heavy crate onto a wagon, he heard the voice, but only looked up for a second before continuing to move.
He grunted. "Such a message can wait." The wagon shook as he placed the hefty mass onto the wagon.
The scout stepped forward hesitantly, and he thought for a moment before helplessly opening his mouth again.
"Sir, it's about your father. I'm afraid he's..."
The scout's words were lost against the thunder that rolled overhead. An Rou's movements stopped, and he turned around slowly. He seemed frozen, fixed to his spot. With every cracking boom of light that flashed throughout the sky, his eyes became heavy and dull.
An Ruo's head dropped, and his gaze fixated on his feet. Trickles of rain fell gently like melting ice down his numb face.
The rain... it had never felt so cold before.
...
The moon hung low that night, and the rain never seemed to stop.
Outside in the dark, An Rou's jaw clenched as he walked closer toward the faintly lit tent. His ears filled with the sharp ringing of silence and rain, and it was only when he approached the entrance, that he heard hushed sobs.
Opening the tent's flaps, An Ruo entered. All eyes turned to him, but he never noticed them. His eyes landed on the figure at the end.
Clan members wept in each corner. An Rou only stood with vacant eyes at the entrance. His mouth shifted in a line, eyes darkening against the body that lay there, lifeless. The sound of rain resounded in his ears again as his mind wandered.
The eldest clan member's steps were steady as he walked beside An Rou with caution. He eyed his line of sight, keen on An Hongyu.
"Your father was found in his room. He had been drinking copiously that night..." An Rou nodded discreetly. His father always struggled with drinking; to die of his insatiable habit would be no surprise to him.
An Ruo's head lifted. "Where is his will?" His voice spoke no longer in a piteous whisper.
Everyone's weeps grew muffled. They all exchanged uneasy looks.
"That..." The clan elder hesitated.
"Bring it to me." An Ruo commanded mildly.
"...Yes." The old man sighed and lowered his head.
He left the tent and quickly returned with a scroll in his hand. An Hongyu's will.
"Read it," An Ruo said.
Nodding his head, the clan elder held the scroll above to read.
"I shall read the head An's will." He announced, his frail but clear voice resounding within the tent. "As the end draws near, I leave behind this edict...and herby concede my throne. The Third Head of the An Clan shall be..."
