The Beginning of Fire: Out of the Ashes

  Smoke plumed high up into the air, casting the town of Qal’Terana in an ominous shadow.  Deep in the hollow buildings burned down to mere ash, the sickeningly sweet scent of burned flesh invading the air.  They say the screams of agony could be heard for miles…

  “You’re it!” Kalamiina laughed, taking off into a sprint through the flowering fields, her long silken robes billowing in the winds behind her.  The other children scattered with a playful scream, as the wide-eyed boy stood suddenly alone in the clearing.

  “What the…?  Oh, you’re gonna get it now!” he taunted, taking off after her.  The flowers and foliage danced in the warm afternoon sun, crunching under the feet of the lackadaisical children as they chased each other frantically.  “Come back here!”

  Kalamiina giggled, weaving in and out of the high grasses, running as fast as her young legs could carry her. “You’ll never catch me!” she called behind her without so much as a glance. Suddenly, the resonating waves of arcane magic sounded about her ears, and she was tackled to the ground. “Hey! No magic!” she whined, squirming to get out from under the laughing boy’s weight.

  “Told ya you were gonna get it!” He taunted her, sticking his tongue out at the spiteful Kalamiina below him. With a mischievous smirk, she leaned up and kissed him.  “EWWW!” he shrieked, leaping back off of her.  “EWWW she kissed me! EWWWW!”  As he went on complaining to the empty fields, she took off in a rolling laughter through the fields.  He wiped his mouth with a disgusted expression, even spitting to the ground once or twice. He glared playfully off in the direction she had ran, then took off at a sprint after her.

  For hours this went on, the laughter of the town’s children echoing in the hollow. Dusk was rapidly approaching, and they convened once again in the small clearing to declare a truce on their ‘war’ of tag. 

  “Alright,” Kalamiina panted. “That’s one for Caddy, one for Lexule, two for Miriana, and four a piece for Kaneil and I.”  She patted down a small section of grass in the center of the circle they had formed, and each child put in a bauble.  Kaneil reached in first. She smacked his hand. “No, no no!  You cheated, so I go first!” she declared in a rather spoilt tone.

  “Nu-uh!” Kaneil protested.

  “Yeah huh! You used your magics! We said before we started that there were to be no magics!” she recited in a patronizing tone. “Ergo, I go first!”  Grinning, she reached her hand to draw from the pile of prizes, Kaneil’s hand suddenly catching her wrist. 

  “Now wait a second!” he snapped. “You kissed me! That’s cheating too!” His face flushed deep red as the other children added in a simultaneous Ooooooooh…

  “So, you wouldn’t let me up!” The children chimed in again, spreading out in a circle around the two of them.

  “So! You didn’t give me a chance!”

  “Did too!”

  “Did not!” she snapped back. “Besides, ladies first!”

  “Hah, if you’re a lady, I’m a toad!” he scoffed, pointing with laughter.

  “Well if you were a toad, I’d have a prince!” She teased, quickly reaching back down to the pile of baubles.  He tackled her.  Surrounded by a chant of “Fight! Fight!” the two children wrestled around in the circle their peers had made, fists and feet flying, teeth sinking into skin.

  “Ow!” Kaneil screamed. “She bit me!” he cried, grabbing at his arm.

  “You pulled my hair!” she whined back, rubbing at her sore scalp.  As both rose to their feet, their skin was already turning black and blue in a few areas, the robes they wore torn in numerous places.

  “My papa’s gonna hear about this!” he cried, reaching down and snatching a bauble, then taking off before any could stop him.

  “Go ahead!” she yelled after him. “Cheater!”

  It was just after dark when Kalamiina returned home, her long auburn hair tangled and disheveled about her bruised and scratched face.  Her robe hung torn about the hem, dirt smeared nearly all over.

  “Kalamiina Teir‘Darlyaen!” her mother yelled with a gasp. “What in the name of the Dark Lady happened to you?”  She ran to her daughter, wrapping her in a tight embrace.  “Oh, child. Are you alright?” She licked at her thumb and smudged it over her face, rubbing at the mud by her eye.

  “Mother!” she shrieked, pushing away. “I’m fine! Stop!”

  “Young lady, how many times do I have to tell you? You can’t keep getting in fights like this! How do you expect me to ever marry off a bully?”

  “Maybe I don’t want to marry off! Maybe… Maybe I wanna be an adventurer like daddy!”

  In a harsher tone, “Now that’s enough!” she snapped. “I’ll have no more talk of nonsense. Now up to your room this instance and wash for supper.”  With a defiant huff, Kalamiina went, stomping up the stairs.  “Without any attitude, if you don’t mind!”

  The door slammed.

  Her mother sighed. “Oh whatever am I going to do with that child,” she breathed to the hot, bubbling pot.  The stew spat and bubbled.  “I know. I don’t know either,” she chuckled.



  Later that evening, her mother gathered the children about the table.  Kalamiina sat farthest away, her other four siblings trying not to stare at the bruises.

  “Momma?” the youngest one spoke up, barely a girl of six seasons.

  “Yes Lillianna?” 

  “Why is Kala always gettin’ in trouble?”

  “Lillianna!” her mother scolded.  “Eat your supper.”

  “Yeah, you don’t wanna be gettin’ in trouble too! One trouble-maker is enough!” her older brother teased, a mischievous grin upon his lips.

  “Shut up!” Kalamiina snapped, sticking her tongue out spitefully.

  “Enough! All of you!”  The children fell silent, and all eyes were on their mother.  Not another word was spoken the rest of the meal.

  Later that evening, as Kalamiina readied herself for bed, she went to her windowsill and sat upon it as she often did, staring out into the woods beyond.  The nearly full moon illuminated the great trees that surrounded the cozy town of Qal’Terana, the night birds calling out into the eerie fog that was just beginning to roll in.  “Fog,” she breathed, becoming a bit unsettled.  “This isn’t the time of year for fog.”  Gathering her night robes about her, she tiptoed down the hall to her older brother’s room and tapped quietly on the door.  “Mykael!” she whispered.  “MYKAEL!”

  “What?” he called sleepily from beyond the door.

  “Can I come in?”

  “No! What do you want, anyway?  Go to bed!”

  “I can’t sleep.  There’s fog.”  His door cracked open, the tall elf’s eyes glowing as he studied her.

  “You’re imagining things. Qal’Terana doesn’t get fog, at least not for several more months, Kalamiina. Go to bed!”

  “Fine! You don’t believe me, then come and see for yourself!” she pleaded, grabbing at his hand trying to pull him out into the hall to follow her.

  “If I come will you leave me alone and go to sleep?”

  “Yeah, yeah, whatever! Just come and see!” Kalamiina whined, hurrying quietly back down the hall.  Mykael followed close behind, his lanky form looming over her though he was only her senior by three years.  Soon they stood at the window, looking out into the forest beyond, slowly filling with –

  “I don’t see anything.”  The forest was crystal clear as the sky that night, the moon and stars watching over the fields and forests below. All was calm and still.

  “But, but..”

  “Enough, Kala. There’s nothing there! Go to bed already. I swear sometimes you never stop lying,” he groaned, dragging himself back to bed with a quiet shutting of his door.

  A tear fell to her cheek. “But it was there,” she told the empty room.  She knew what she saw, and it wasn’t natural. And she wasn’t making it up.  Something somewhere was causing trouble.  If it was one thing she knew, it was mischief, and this wasn’t the good kind.  Something was brewing, and whatever it was wasn’t far off.

  She didn’t sleep that night.



    The next few days Kalamiina was not her usual self.  Still unsettled from the fog the other night, she was quite on her guard, suspicious of just about everything around her.  If it was one thing that she inherited from her often absent father, it was her intuition.  Especially regarding matters of the arcane.  Ever since she was a child, Kalamiina had flirted with the notion of following in her father’s footsteps, defying her mother’s plan of being a young bride and venturing out into the vast lands of Azeroth to make a name for herself.  Kalamiina the Explorer, she often announced proudly to her empty bedroom as she entered. Yes, some day.  It was this desire for adventuring that led her to begin dabbling in the arts of the arcane.  It started with mere minor conjurations, a toy here, a flower there.  They seemed to come so naturally to her, these magics.  She had a gift, as many would whisper.  Another of her many talents were her intuition of the presence of magic…

  There was definitely great magics that were stirring in the woods just beyond the fields of Qal’Terana.  Magics that made the native beasts ill at ease, magics that made Kalamiina sit vigilant upon her windowsill late at night, magics that few others were aware of.  She had to find some way of warning everyone, and yet, no one would believe the rantings of a girl of barely ten summers.  Perhaps if she could prove that mischief was afoot, it would lend some credibility to her name that her own mischief had tarnished.  Why, what would a young child care of such long-standing repercussions of seemingly innocent monkey business?  Well, she would finally right things.  She would unearth what was truly going on in those woods and report it, better yet, put a stop to it.  She would be a hero.

  That night there was a fog…

  She did not sleep…



  The very next morning she gathered her belongings at dawn’s first light, setting out toward the perimeter of the woods that surrounded Qal’Terana, determined to find whatever it was that had peaked her senses.  There was much power lurking in the shadows, perhaps much more than what she could handle alone.  Nevertheless, she was determined to seek out the source. 

  The woods were eerily quiet, with not a single animal to be found anywhere.  She knew from many a forbidden trip into the forests that there were many beasts that prowled the dark undergrowth, and yet not a single one to be found this day.  She made a mental note.  The first oddity: no animals.  Dank air filled her nostrils as her feet silently fell upon decomposing leaves and foliage, the sweet yet musty scent of mushrooms hanging in the stagnant air.  She watched the ground as followed the lingering residual magics, searching for any signs of footprints.  Never having been trained in the hunter’s art of tracking, she knew that it would be a long shot.  How hard could it be though really to spot a boot print in the mud?  She chuckled quietly to herself as she thought about that, then resumed her diligent search.  Hmmm, here’s something…

  She knelt down into the cool mud, placing her hands on either side of a large booted print for balance.  She had no idea whether it was that of an elf or an ogre, but she knew it was a boot, and she knew it was fresh.  She also knew it lead deeper into the wood… Several hours passed it seemed as she followed print after print, delighting in the adrenaline-inducing investigation.  Print after print, she followed with near silent steps until…

  Laughter.

  She froze.

  Crouching down quickly, she tried to adjust her eyes to the dark even more, peering through the trees toward the source of the mirth.  One.. two.. … twelve bodies she counted in total, though she knew there was likely more given the setup of the camp.  Twelve humanoids.  Humans, elves, even a dwarf or two stood gathered around a makeshift campfire, engaging in jovial conversation.  There was even another creature that stood with them, though off to the side a bit, the likes of which she had never seen.  It stood towering over the lot of them, its skin a bluish purple, with tendrils hanging from its chin.  Large horns curved toward the center of its forehead, filed to a point it seemed, no doubt an asset in melee combat.  It wore long billowing robes of vibrant reds and golds, turning this way and that as it spoke in a language she could not discern, its long, gold ring laden tail swinging idly from beneath its cape.  Then, the strange being neared the fire, the others gathering around it as it began to move its hands in a graceful, deliberate manner.  Magics, she breathed.  Suddenly an orb appeared in the middle of the gathered circle, an image slowly forming in the swirling mists.  There were houses, and people… “Qal’Terana!” she gasped, perhaps louder than she realized. 

  Heads snapped around to her direction, the swirling mists dissipating as the creature hissed something in its native tongue.  Suddenly there were five, maybe six humans running after her, arrows splintering into the trees  beside her as she weaved in and out, sprinting as fast as her little legs could carry her.  Tears streaming down her face, she gasped for breath as she burst into the open field, screaming to her siblings she saw playing just on the edge of the meadow…

  “Humans!” she screamed, scrambling to find her footing.  Everyone stopped and stared.  “They’re coming for me!  Run!  Go get Momma! Quick!”  Pausing for a moment, the children then turned to stare at the tree line, as if waiting to see for themselves the band of would-be marauders.  They waited.  Silence.  They turned to the hysterical Kalamiina, still sobbing, hands on her knees, as she struggled to catch her breath.  “I saw them! Ten! Twelve!  One was casting a spell!” she pleaded, going to her older brother, grabbing at his robes.  “Mykael, you have to believe me!”

  “Kala, it’s not funny! You’re scaring Lillianna,” he said coolly, motioning to the young one that now began to shake with fright.  Lillianna looked to her brother, tears beginning to form in her eyes, speaking with a trembling voice.

  “Humans?”  She ducked behind Mykael, sniffling softly as she shook.

  “No, there’s no humans, Lillianna.  Kalamiina’s just jesting.”  He shot a cold glare at Kalamiina.  “Weren’t you?”

  “But, I saw them!  I’m not lying!” she yelled, throwing her hands down to her side with a huff.

  “Weren’t you?” he repeated even louder and sterner.

  With a cry of frustration, Kalamiina ran back to their home just up the hill, going straight to her room with a slam of her door.  She watched through tear-filled eyes at the woods from her windowsill, her siblings just below resuming their games.  The woods were still.

  That afternoon, she cried herself to sleep, her dreams haunted by visions of the humans.



  A twig snapped.  Kalamiina’s eyes shot open, and it took a moment for her vision to adjust to the darkness of her room.  She froze, only her eyes darting back and forth as she searched her room in panic for the source of the sound that roused her. 

  Another snap. 

  And a hushed whisper. 

  The voices were just below her window now, and were whispering in a language that she could not understand.  Her stomach dropped, and heart nearly stopped.  Sweat immediately beaded at her brow, and her hands shook with fright.  It was the humans.  They had come to get her. 

  Once she was satisfied that she was still alone in her room for now, she slinked from the rough cotton sheets of her bed to a crouch beside it, away from the open curtains of the window.  Her feet hit the ground without a sound, and she reached under the bed searchingly.  Her tiny hand curled around the hilt of a crude dagger, and she pulled it out and slipped it in the belt of her robe.  Her mother would never have let her have such a weapon, but Kalamiina had won a variety of miscellaneous things through her play and gambles.  Besides, her brother didn’t need it at the time either. 

  Now, she did.  And she was glad she had it. 

  Silently she crept toward her door and cracked it open.  She grimaced as the hinges creaked, then she froze in her steps.  Nothing.  She pulled the door open a bit more, peering out into the dark hall, then poking her head out to get a better look.  The hall was empty.  They were all still asleep.  Dagger tucked tight, she tiptoed barefoot down to her eldest brother’s room. 

  “Mykael.”  She quietly pushed the door open, relieved that his didn’t offer as much noisy protest.  He lay in his bed slumbering peacefully, the soft glow of the moon filtering in to wash his room with the pale light in between the passing clouds.  Stepping as silently as she could, she made it over to his bed.  She put her hand on his shoulder and shook him gently.  “Mykael!” she yelled in a whispering voice.  He sat bolt upright, his hands immediately flying up in a defensive position, thanks to the martial studies he had been working on with the quartermaster.  His training was becoming instinct.

  He gave a heavy sigh of relief when he saw that it was only his paranoid sister, but his face paled as his eyes fell to his old dagger her lost to her last summer.  She never wielded it, for fear of being caught with it, for fear of her mother’s wrath.  Never wielded it unless something terrified her.  “Kalamiina, what in all the fires of Azeroth are you doing with that?” he scolded.  “Do you know what mother will do if she catches you with that? I should never have let you have it to begin with!”

  “Oh hush, already!” she snapped, her voice still in a whisper.  “You can scold me later.  I heard something.  Outside my window.”  Her eyes brimmed with tears of fear, and her arms crossed over her belly, much like a child would hug themselves for comfort.  Her shaking hand fell to the hilt of her dagger.  Mykael moved his hand over hers gently. 

  “Kala, we’ve talked about that.”

  “Mykael, I heard them! I heard them right outside my window!  Now get your sword, and come on!”

  “But I don’t have –”

  “Don’t treat me like a fool! I’ve seen you polish it at night when I wandered the halls.  Now get it and come on!  Before they get in!” 

  “I don’t know how you talk me into going along with this, Kalamiina.”  With a grumble he rose from the bed, and slipped his tunic down over his chest.  She turned around with an impatient tap of her foot while he put the rest of his clothes on, and reached far under his bed for the forbidden sword.  He strapped it to his belt, and lay his hand on her shoulder.  “Alright, now.  Quietly, lest mother hang us both!”

  Giving nothing but a nod, she took his hand in hers and led him out to the hall, and to the nearby steps.  The main room of the downstairs held an eerie glow, the embers of the dying fire all but snuffed out.  A loud snap of burning sap sent Kalamiina jumping with a stifled shriek and ducking behind her brother.  He grinned and chuckled quietly.  “Shh!” He reminded her with a finger to his lips.  Again she nodded, and followed him closely down the stairs, hanging on tightly to the back of his tunic.  When they reached the bottom of the stairs, the two froze in place and looked around.  All was silent, and all was still.  “Kala, I don’t hear anything.”

  Then, as if by command, the was a muffled ruckus outside as something hit the barrels just outside the door.  Kalamiina clamped her hand over her mouth to stifle a scream, sending Mykael whirling around on his heels.  His eyes were wide, his whispering tone commanding.  “Wait here.  DO NOT move.  If you hear me yelling, run up and get mother, then go to Lillianna’s room to hide.  Do you understand?”  She nodded quickly, and her hands shook as they moved to the hilt of her dagger.  He pointed toward the shadow behind a chair.  “Go hide there.  Now.  I’ll be back in a minute.”  She nodded again and scurried as quietly as she could to the chair, her bare feet making no sound.  She ducked behind the chair and peered through the dim light to try and watch him as he went.  The sound of the steel of his blade against his hilt was barely audible as he drew his sword, holding it defensively as he inched his way to the door.  In a minute’s time, he disappeared into the night.

  And then she waited. 

  And waited.

  She drew her dagger, and held it shakily in front of her.  Just as she was about to go see about her brother, she heard a choked cry.  “Mykael!” she screamed, leaping out from behind the chair.  As soon as her feet landed to the floor, a large hand clapped over her mouth from behind, the force of the grab whirling up off her feet and through the air.  Her eyes were wide with terror as she screamed behind the large, burly hand that reeked of blood and earth.  Kicking and thrashing as much as her little body could, she squirmed and wiggled trying to get free. Tears streamed down her face as the person held her tight, and she could feel his flat chest strong and muscled behind her.  She would clearly be no match for his brawn. 

  Elbowing him as hard as she could to his ribs, he gave a muffled “Oomph!” with a laugh, shaking his head.  “Shunta kal marna vin katha, Bano!” he chuckled, dragging a grubby dirt and blood stained finger roughly along her cheek.  She couldn’t understand what they were saying, but she didn’t need to.  She didn’t even have time to try, because shortly after the barbaric words left her captor’s lips, he swung her around to face the doorway.  In came another human, the man tall and burly with a head of full ebony hair that lay in loose waves that poked out under his helm.  What little skin she could see was well weathered and aged, darkened by the sun of his battle days.  In his arms, however, much to Kalamiina’s horror was the silent and still Mykael.  Despite the situation her brother seemed calm and relaxed, not fighting the hand that held him by the throat even a little.  His eyes held his younger sister’s firmly, speaking with his mind to her.  “Kalamiina, don’t fight.”

  Tears welled at her eyes, but she relaxed only slightly, signaling to the hulking human that held her fast that she was abandoning her attempt at escape.  He still held her tight.  “Mykael,” she pleaded with her mind.  “I’m so scared! Mykael, what do we do? What are we going to do Mykael?”  The two humans continued their conversation in the strange and awkward tongue, then nodded upstairs.  “Mykael!”  The black-haired man had drawn his weapon, hefting a oversized bastard sword in one hand, and her quiet brother in the other.

  “Huma ji jwe kjawkit majo tate bin,” the voice came from behind her, low and raspy.

  “Ari sasma jo bitnor carnia.”

  Kalamiina stared dumbfoundedly, trying to discern the crude and clumsy language.

  “Miko sut napel!”

  “Breto!” the black haired man shot back.  His voice was much smoother, but somehow a bit deeper.  He looked her over again and sighed, then looked to her brother.  And then he raised his sword and yanked her brother’s head back by the hair to show his neck…

  Realizing that she had no other choice, she took an unsteady deep breath, opened her mouth, and bit.  She bit down as hard as she could, and she grimaced as she felt her teeth tear into his flesh, immediately tasting the tang of his blood as it hit her teeth and tongue.  “Bitch!” he screamed (surprisingly in an orcish tongue), letting her drop as he grabbed his hand instinctively.  As soon as she fell to the ground, she lunged toward the steps.  “Breto, jamare!”  The man dived at her and wrapped his large arms around her, tackling her to the ground.  Hoisting her up, his hands pressed on either side of her head and twisted it to a painful angle, threatening to snap it if she even so much as twitched.  “Maybe this will shut you up, little whore!” he spat at her, his Thalassian clumsy.  Despite his atrocious accent, she still understood.  Every painful word of it.

  And then for the first time ever, she heard her brother cry out in pain.  The sound made her stomach dropped, and she froze instantly, tears welling in her eyes.  She whimpered quietly as she sobbed behind the massive hand that held her mouth, and starred in horror as she watched the blood pour from Mykael’s abdomen.  The black-haired man wiped the blade off on her brother’s pants, and grinned at her with a wickedness that burned her soul.  By the gods, he was enjoying it!  And then…

  Mykael’s eyes found hers.  They were remorseful and quiet, though she never saw any fear.  He held her eyes steady. He was weary from the blood loss, and his voice in her mind was weak.  “Kalamiina, when they kill me, run.  Run as fast as you can, and don’t look back.” 

  Her eyes flooded with tears, and her mouth went slack behind the filthy hand. “Mykael,” she begged.  “Mykael, please! You have to get us out of here! Please, Mykael!”

  “Be brave, my little Kalamiina.  I love you.”  As soon as the words entered her mind, Mykael closed his eyes tight, and through what little magics his mother had taught him, sent a vase flying from the hearth to crash into the man holding Kalamiina.  The vase shattered over his head, knocking the man unconscious and leaving her free from his cumbersome embrace.  She hit the ground in enough time to see the blade at Mykael’s throat.

  Kalamiina screamed in terror as she watched a crimson spray from her brother’s neck, the dark-haired man dragging his blade from one side of Mykael’s neck to the other.  His eyes went wide with horror, the color fading from his skin as his life puddled to the floor at his feet.  In but seconds, he was dead.  The human laughed as he watched the little elf flee for her life up the stairs, and laughed again when the handle of the axe he through struck her in the back of the head.  With a screech of pain, the weight of the axe threw her to the stairs, and into the dark wings of unconsciousness.  The last thing she could hear was the human laughing. 



  Kalamiina awoke with the taste of her own blood in her mouth.  She groaned in pain, her head lulled wearily from side to side as she struggled to lift it.  Running her tongue across her teeth, she could feel several of her teeth had broken.  Pain shot through nearly every bone in her body, and she winced as she finally lifted her head.  Blinking through the darkness, her vision slowly returned, though it was blurry at first.  And then the world became clearer. 

  Her mother, and her three other siblings Turaelo, Nuriana, and Lillianna sat obediently on the couch in the living room, their night garments torn and bloodied.  Tears made paths down their cheeks that were smeared with muddied handprints, and their eyes were already nearly swollen shut, black with blood.  The three youngest children were bound by their hands and feet, with Lillianna sitting sullenly on her mother’s lap, whimpering behind her broken jaw.  The mother’s hands were bound too, though they were bound around so she was holding Lillianna. 

  As soon as she had seen her family, she tried to yell.  As soon as the sound began to leave her lips, however, a crude rag was shoved deep into her mouth, making her gag against the putrid fumes.  It tasted of earth, sweat, blood, and gods know what else.  Her eyes screamed to her mother, but their link was blocked.  She tried to desperately reach her mind, but she couldn’t.  What is –

    There.  There was a crude amulet around her mother’s neck, and emanated with a faint fel magic glow.  That had to be what was blocking their link.  “Momma,” her mind wept.  Her mother held her eyes steadily, lovingly, trying to wordlessly give her daughter some comfort, to give her the false reassurance that everything was okay. 

  SLAP!

  The black-haired man’s hand struck sharply at her jaw, sending her head reeling to the side, and making her gag again on the rag.  “Junak kal imapt surn ekta!”  Kalamiina shut her eyes tightly against the pain, her heart racing as she whimpered.  And then she started sobbing.  And then she started screaming and kicking.

  He struck her again.  Her head was spinning, and the world was darkening again.  But she fought it. She tried to be strong, and now she was still, and quiet.  She had to be quiet and strong for Momma.  Her head was hanging and her hair was falling loosely over her face. Just as she lifted her head to look at her siblings and mother, she heard her mother scream behind her rag.  The second human (the one she assumed that had held her previously) had his dagger drawn, and was approaching Turaelo.  Kalamiina’s eyes were wide with terror, and then…

    Blood sprayed from his throat, his screams turning into wet gurgles as his blood ran over the couch and floor.  Nuriana and her mother tried to move to get away, moving her bound hands to cover Lillianna’s weeping eyes.  The four sobbed uncontrollably, their cries drowning out one by one until the hulking, bald human slid the dagger over the last throat, ripping through nearly to the bone, and silencing her mother forever. 

  The human turned around and looked at Kalamiina, giving a cold and evil laugh as he looked on mischievously at the defeated girl.  Her eyes were filled with blood and tears, and her body was as limp as a doll’s as she sat there and wept.  Oh, how she wished for death.  Just let the bastards get it done with!  Why did they have to save her for last, to force her to watch her family… she sobbed.

  The balding human’s cheeks rose with his crooked smile, scrunching up the eye patch he wore over the right.  His teeth were yellow and rotted, and he approached her with a proud swagger, laughing as she wept and choked on the rag.  Taking a grubby hand to her cheek, he tried to gently run his deformed fingers up the side of her cheek, though what came out as a rough drag sent shivers up her spine.  She clamped her eyes shut and whimpered more, her weak body beginning to shake.  His hand traced down her neck, lingering awkwardly at her collarbone.  He leaned down and whispered something to her in his vulgar native tongue, his earthroot and stale ale-reeking breath making her stomach turn.  She tried to stifle a gag, the air catching in her throat so as not to breathe in his stench.

  And then his putrid lips kissed at her delicate, milky skin…

  She could feel the rough scratch of his beard stubble on her shoulder as his lips roughly slobbered over her neck… Inhaling sharply, she jolted to the side without meaning to, squirming to get away.  Laughing at this, he grabbed her forcefully, pulling her back hard into his chest so he could continue.  And then the dark-haired human said something to the bald one, and the kisses stopped.  Then they argued a bit. 

  After a few minutes of listening to their banter, the bald one came back over and crouched before her, grabbing a handful of her hair and yanking her head back so she would look at him.  Only she didn’t open her eyes… She kept them closed tight, and he turned her head brusquely from one side to the other, as if inspecting her.  Without warning, his free hand next went to the bodice of her robe, yanking the bloodied fabric to the side, ripping it in a few places as he inspected her still budding breasts.  She screamed behind the rag and squirmed, trying to free herself from his grip.  He laughed again, then hoisted her up from the chair and threw her rudely over his shoulder, her weakened neck letting her head slam against his shoulder blade.  He held her squirming legs tightly with one arm, ignoring the kicking and muffled screams of protest.  Then, with as much strength as she could muster, she threw her torso up, slamming the back of her head into the back of his.  Cursing, he almost dropped her and tried to regain his grip.  She could hear the black-haired human yelling, and the next thing she knew, she felt the sharp blow of something against the back of her sore head, and the world went black again…



Voices… Smoke…Heat…Her head spun as she slipped back into consciousness, the pain throughout her beaten body so great that she begged for death.  In her mind, at least.  She could feel her jaw was swollen, broken, probably.  She blinked slowly as the world reformed, and she could see something… bright…  It was… flames…

  She was on her stomach on a bed, from what she could tell, and she was facing the window so as to look out.  Her arms and legs were spread wide, to either post of the bed, and she tried to move.  But she was bound.  Sea-soaked moldy ropes held her fast by the wrist and ankles, her limbs pulled so tautly that if she so much as twitched, she felt they might snap.  And then, broken jaw and all, she screamed.

  Laughter…

  She instantly quieted, trying to turn her head to see who else was in the room.  She didn’t need to look, however, because she recognized that icy laugh of the dark-haired human.  She could feel every scraping callus of his hand as he ran it up her thigh, slipping it under her torn and bloodied nightgown.  She froze, her body as still as if she were paralyzed, her breath quieting and almost catching in her throat.  He spoke to her, his voice low and cold, the words spilling off his tongue in a surprisingly smooth and almost seductive tone.  And then his hand slid a bit higher.

  She winced, inhaling sharply.  His hand stopped.  Leaning down so he could look at her, as soon as she saw his face she whipped her head around to look away.  He grabbed a large chunk of her hair, and pulled with a twist to bring her head back around to face him, causing her to yalp in pain and bring a wicked grin to his lips.  He may have turned her to face him, but he couldn’t force her to look at him.  She kept her eyes clamped shut.  Then, his hand moved to grab at her jaw, the bone grinding on bone at the fracture she now felt clear as day on the left, she squealed and whimpered in pain, and opened her eyes… There he stood before her, bare-chested with his breeches loosened, and he was smiling like a mad man with his hand on her thigh.  He moved it higher again, and watched for her reaction.  And then, despite the immense amount of pain, she spit in his face. 

  Fearing his reaction after the fact, she tightly closed her eyes again in preparation for another blow to the face or head in punishment for her retaliation, but there came no blow…  She opened one eye, keeping the other tightly shut.  Her spittle was dripping down his cheek, and he waited until she was looking to bring his filthy hand to wipe it away.  “Insolent, foolish girl,” he said in a broken Thallasian accent.  And then he laughed, flicking her spit from his hand to the dusty floor.  She heard the bald man laugh from somewhere she couldn’t see, somewhere in the corner, she imagined. Gods, he was here too.  She stared at the dark-haired human with a wordless whimper, trying to stop the tears that were rolling down her cheeks.  There were screams outside…

  The screams pulling her attention back to the window, she instinctively turned her head back to look.  And there it was… bright as a  summer solstice sunrise, fires were consuming the town.  There was a house across the way, just a bit up the hill… By the gods, that was her house!  She felt sick to her stomach as the visions of her family being slaughtered rushed back to her, gagging as she was suddenly more aware of the stench of burned flesh thick upon the air.  The hand was moving again, almost up to her buttocks.  She squirmed and squealed, trying to move away from the invading hand, which only amused the human more.  Then, his hand closed around the bottom of her undergarments and yanked hard, ripping them from her tiny form. She screamed and tried to kick, ignoring the pain that shot through her as her hip dislocated from the struggle.  He threw the panties over his shoulder, and the bald man made some sort of smart-toned remark with a hearty laugh.  And then…

  Her eyes went wide and she screamed in terror at his hand that suddenly thrust up between her thighs.  She could feel every last painful inch of his large fingers ripping up into her, poking and prodding and dragging against her virgin walls.  He was laughing now, the dark-haired man.  They both were.  With his free hand, he lifted her robe up over her hips to her waist, and pulled her leg even more open, cracking the other hip out of place.  She screamed again, and he laughed harder.  He called something over his shoulder to the bald human, and the hilt of a dagger clapped in his palm.  He withdrew his hand, and then she felt the cold steel of the hilt…

  “Stop, please! Please! I beg you! Stop! Help me! HELP!” she begged, her swollen jaw and tongue making it barely comprehensible. 

  “Little brat need lessons,” he said again in a rough Thalassian accent, gripping her hair to force her to look out the window, while thrusting the dagger hilt harder up into her, lifting her hips slightly off the bed with it.  “Your family died and now burns because of your mouth, spoilt bitch.”  No, it can’t be… it can’t be true! It can’t be –  She screamed again, her voice cracking as her throat was giving out, the hilt of the dagger twisting, then thrusting up again as he continued to violate her with it.  She began kicking and screaming in a fury, and then the human noticed the bonds coming loose at one of her wrist.

  Amused by her determination, he knew she needed to be broken once and for all. With one quick motion, he withdrew the dagger, bloodied with her innocence, the blade slicing against her thigh as it went.  She cried out again against the hot sting, and closed her eyes, sobbing.  Suddenly, she felt another set of hands upon her… The bald one… And the dark-haired human cut her bonds.  Despite her weakened efforts, however, she couldn’t squirm free.  The human held her tight, and pain shot through her body like bolts of lightning through the sky as she was flipped over onto her back, her legs flopping uselessly from dislocation.  The dark-haired man was unlacing his breeches, and she could see something pressing through the cloth.  She stared in horror as he pulled the front of his unlaced pants to the side, his rather large and rigid member red from anticipation.  She screamed and pleaded, struggling under the weight of the bald one, then cried out in pain as they suddenly switched.  The dark-haired man was atop her, shoving her thighs further open with his knees, his hands clapped around her wrists above her head.  He held her fast, then kneeled upon her open thighs, and buried himself within her, her innocent walls ripping around his large girth…

  The last thing she heard was his deep, cold laugh between the grunts of his thrusts…