PREFACE
“Though filled with grief the warrior must accept the defeat of his comrades no matter how horrid it may be.”
-Caedmon, Lord of the Realm of Carpathia

I was 15 and at the height of my teenage life when I lost my brother. He was 10 at the time and still acted as if he were still a young pup though he knew it was our responsibility to take care of our dear mother after father died. The final memory of him occurred shortly after he ran off to catch chickens from our neighbor’s yard while I fed the horses.
Our mare had recently given birth to a colt, a horse predestined to be my brother once it aged enough, and it was my duty as the eldest son to watch over it for its first few months to ensure that it wouldn’t get taken by the rabble of our small village. Bandits were common but after the war between the Aila, creatures fearing of the dark, and the Brun, similar to humans but work with the dark arts, the village of Bast has been seeing more and more of them. Having taken this into account it is my duty to protect what little we have from them.
“Kane, how many times must I tell you to stay out of the chicken coop? Do you know what would have happened to you if Carlyle didn’t know us? You’d be shipped off to Lord Conlan that’s what would happen. Then who knows what would happen! Now go help your brother with the horses,” my mother yelled, her fingers wrapped tightly around my brother’s ear.
When she released him, he rubbed his ear and glared at me. “I swear I’m going to get you back one of these days Alben,” he growled
I sighed, “I told you to swipe a couple eggs not go hunting for chickens.”
“I was getting eggs! It was the stupid rooster’s fault! He woke up an’ started actin’ like I killed his family or something an’ then Mr. Carlyle came out an’ got momma so now here I am,” he replied seriously
I laughed and ruffled his hair, “You aren’t supposed to wake up the rooster stupid! I thought I taught you better.”
He shoved away my hand, “Well you didn’t, an’ now I have to help Mr. Carlyle everyday for a month!” He kicked at a rock and looked at his future horse, “It’s not fair! Why did dad have to go out an’ get himself killed for anyway? If he were still here we’d still have the farm an’ everything would be how it’s supposed to, but no, he had to go an’ fight in the stupid war!”
I looked down at my brother; his dark brown hair covered with chicken feathers, and rested my hand on his shoulder. “He just didn’t go off to war Kane, he tried to protect all of us. He fought so we could live better lives and make something out of ourselves instead of doing this all our lives. Have you ever wondered what’s out there? I have. I just can’t stop thinking about all the places out there we’ve never been too. One day I want to go to the capitol of Carpathia. Wouldn’t you?”
“Not really. What’s Capernaum got that makes it so special anyway? Pretty soon it’s just going to be a pile of rubble anyway. I hear the Aila are going to try an’ capture it anyway,” he mumbled
“Not if the Brun are there first. Then the capitol will be safe and when the war is over we can go see it. We’ll pack up everything and I'll take you and mother to Capernaum to live better lives. I’m not going to be a farmer my whole life. That much I know for certain,” I replied. I looked at the sun, high and mighty as it overlooked the forest beyond our village. “Hey, let’s go get more firewood. I think we’re low so let’s go.”
“But aren’t we supposed to-“
“The horses will be fine. Carlyle can watch them for us. He’s usually working out front so he can keep an eye on them while we’re gone. C’mon Kane, don’t you want to try that new sword of yours out on a few Aila or something?”
“Well...I guess, but just as long as it won’t be too long. I don’t want momma to get worried about us. You know how she gets sometimes if we stay out too late.”
“It won’t be long,” I replied, already leaving him behind.
“Ok…Hey! Wait for me Alben!” he called, his feet pounding against the dirt ground as he tried to catch up to me.

“Alben I’m bored! We haven’t seen an Aila and we’ve been walking for hours. Can’t we go home now?” Kane whined, his small sword dragging behind him
“Not yet…and pick up your sword, it’ll be dull before its tasted battle,” I called over my shoulder
He groaned and put his sword in its sheath, “I thought we were supposed to be getting firewood, so why aren’t we getting any Alben?”
“Would you be quiet Kane? We aren’t looking for firewood right now. I saw some tracks that looked liked they belonged to an Aila and a few that looked like Brun so there may have been a possible clash. Though judging by the size of the tracks of the Aila, it looks like a child and not a grown adult which means the Aila was captured and broke away from the Brun or something of that nature. The tracks get fresher as we go so we should be on them fairly soon if we hurry.”
I heard Kane groan again and rolled my eyes, “Just think about it Kane. If we meet up with this Aila you may be able to taste your first battle. I thought you wanted to kill an Aila.”
“Of course I do but not if a Brun is there. If we show up he’ll probably kill us for interfering with Brun affairs.”
“No he won’t. We’re on his side so he can’t do anything to us Kane. If he does then he’ll have to answer to Lord Conlan. If anything, he’s supposed to protect us from the Aila, not harm us. So-“ I paused, a rustle of leaves causing my hand to grab for the sword at my hip.
“Alben, what’s-“
“Shh Kane. Go hide in that bush; I’ll take care of things from here.”
“But Alben-“
“No Kane, just do what I said and hide.”
When he finally obeyed, my attention returned to the rustling bushes before me. At this time my sword was fully drawn and I was fully poised to attack when she stepped out, her chest moving up and down rapidly. “She” was the one that would change my life forever.
Her hair was jet black, her flesh so white she was nearly translucent, and her eyes, what would forever on to eternity remain with me, were the deepest red I had ever seen. The only reason I was able to identify her as an Aila was because of her near translucent skin. The Aila is a being of the light and has the appearance of being almost invisible. What set this Aila apart from the others besides her bright red eyes was the fact that her hair was dark.
By the look of her, not only was she a young Aila, but she was badly wounded. As soon as my presence was noticed, however, she got into a stance that signified that she was well enough still to kill me, a thing I was prepared to prevent. “Were you being chased by a Brun?” I asked, wondering about her wounds
She said nothing, but by how her eyes seemed to burn my flesh, she wasn’t going to. “I’m not going to hurt you. I just want to know what happened. Then maybe I can-“
“RESTRAIN!” she yelled
When she did, my arms and legs flung violently behind my back, a searing pain enveloping my body, “ARRRRG!” I bit back the pain as best as I could and looked toward the Aila.
She was on the ground, as I expected from her weakened state, with blood dripping from her lips. She stood slowly and was about to leave when her eyes darted to where Kane hid.
A low growl emerged from the bushes, one that I knew all to well, “For harming my brother, you will die Aila!” Kane leapt from the bushes, sword drawn, his eyes blazing with rage.
“Kane, no!” I yelled. Even though she was wounded, he would be no match fro the Aila.
Being the stubborn child that he was, he disregarded my warning and charged at the Aila, his sword rising and poised for a downward thrust.
The Aila’s hand shot out and grabbed Kane by the wrist. “Foolish boy, you are no match for my strength. Now prepare to die by my hand,” she growled.
I couldn’t let this happen, not to my little brother. Without him I couldn’t do what I’ve always wanted to do. It was his birthright and I had every intention to using that birthright until it was unusable to me. The spell of restraint she cast on me was weak and if I struggled against it enough I would be able to break from it.
The Aila raised her other hand, her nails elongating in order to slit Kane’s throat, and prepared to strike him down, her eyes boring into his. I broke from her spell and lunged at her, if not to kill her then to save my brother from death. But she was fast, too fast. She noticed my attempt and as my blade was going to connect with her arm, the blade connected with my brother’s back and sliced all the way through him and went deep into the Aila.
She coughed up blood and released Kane as I removed the sword from his back. Dropping the sword, I grabbed my brother and began to tear away at my shirt in order to stop the bleeding. Tears welled in my eyes as I looked down at the bloodied form, “Kane…I’m so sorry…I…I should have-“
“Its…ok. Finish…it off…Al-…Al-“ he stuttered.
“Sh. Don’t speak. We have to get you back to the village. You need to see a doctor,” I whispered, beginning to stand. I grabbed my sword and was going to put it in my sheath when I heard a scream from behind.
“BLACKOUT!”
At that instant I fell to the ground unconscious, and when I awoke, I wasn’t in the forest any longer or my village. I was in a place I knew but thought I’d never be. I was in hell.