Tears of the Aashahl
Heritage of Loss
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Prologue
The sun’s last gleaming pillars burst through the sable veil of smoke; like columns of some great building whose ceiling was of mist and cloud. Within one of these radiant beams Kaileth slumped over the front of his horse’s saddle, cradling the small bundle in his lap. A long thin shadow from the arrow shaft lodged in his left shoulder ran over the etched steel of his pauldron and down onto the rings of his maille shirt.
He stopped his horse upon the crest of a ridge and turned his face toward the setting of the sun. The landscape that surrounded him resembled a grand painting of dynamic colors, both beautiful and sad. The warm sunlight felt comforting, as the touch of a longed-for friend, driving the chill from his tears
Turning his gaze from the warmth of the sun, he looked upon the sight that caused his grief. In the distance lay a great city, lit now by the fires that burned within it. Her once golden stone walls were now black from the scorching of fires, and red from the spilling of blood. The sounds of battle had changed to those of slaughter. Children crying, women screaming, and the roar of the conquering foe echoed through the streets, filling the air about the lofty towers. Kaileth slowly turned from this terrible sight and continued to ride away from the city. As he turned he shifted the cloth-wrapped bundle he held close in his arms.
***
The sun’s last gleaming pillars burst through the sable veil of smoke; like columns of some great building whose ceiling was of mist and cloud. Within one of these radiant beams Kaileth slumped over the front of his horse’s saddle, cradling the small bundle in his lap. A long thin shadow from the arrow shaft lodged in his left shoulder ran over the etched steel of his pauldron and down onto the rings of his maille shirt.
He stopped his horse upon the crest of a ridge and turned his face toward the setting of the sun. The landscape that surrounded him resembled a grand painting of dynamic colors, both beautiful and sad. The warm sunlight felt comforting, as the touch of a longed-for friend, driving the chill from his tears
Turning his gaze from the warmth of the sun, he looked upon the sight that caused his grief. In the distance lay a great city, lit now by the fires that burned within it. Her once golden stone walls were now black from the scorching of fires, and red from the spilling of blood. The sounds of battle had changed to those of slaughter. Children crying, women screaming, and the roar of the conquering foe echoed through the streets, filling the air about the lofty towers. Kaileth slowly turned from this terrible sight and continued to ride away from the city. As he turned he shifted the cloth-wrapped bundle he held close in his arms.
***