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Crimson Vindication - Chapter 1: Humble beginnings, tragic fate pt2

Auron shut the door behind his back and inhaled deeply, letting the cool and sweet midsummer evening air fill his lungs. After that he walked over towards the fence that separated the grain fields from the cottage. Once there he hopped over it without any hesitation, letting his young but powerful body do all the work.

Parting the grain carefuly with his paws, Auron paced through the northern patch of land, towards a large oak tree that stood upon a lone hill. That tree had always been there, Auron thought to himself, for as long as he could remember that is. Its sturdy branches gave opportunity to many a games and hiding places for when the town children came over to play. Nowadays all his friends were expected to help their parents out on the fields, preparing for the Great Harvest of this year, so it had been some time since he got to see any of them.

Auron arrived upon the hill and started to climb the weathered and old oak tree. Cracks and crevices inside the bark gave him enough support to scale the massive trunk. Finaly reaching the branch on one of the higher levels of the tree, Auron would sit down upon it, letting his back lean against the tree itself. His right leg dangled about, as his entire body was hidden from plain view due to the heavy presence of leaves all around him. He always quite loved the view from up here, you could see the entire valley and, when the skies were clear, even the belltower of the nearby town. He looked over his shoulder and quickly found a hole in the treetrunk. Originally it had been a pigeon's nest, but after the eggs hatched and the younglings grew, it became abandoned, so that now Auron used it as a perfect hiding place for his treasures. Well, treasures being a nice name for stolen goods that is.

He rummaged around with his free hand and soon he found the brass miniature telescope that he frequently used as his personal binocular. Auron made a habbit out of spying on the entire

premises ever since the preparations for the Great Harvest started, out of boredom of course.Since then he had witnessed some pretty interesting things like, for instance, Mr. and Mss. Petigrow 'making up' in the cornfield after their seventh argument

this month...

Thinking back to that particular night, Auron smirked a tad and placed the telescope close to his eye, hoping for something worthwhile to take place.

A few minutes past, and Auron was quite disappointed indeed. Not a single event for him to spy on, not even a shepperd and his sheep to follow whilst they cross from field to field. As he scouted his family's own lands again he wondered for the second time this week how in the world his father could've afforded all of this. He always told Auron that he came from a simple family, and so did his mother, farmers just like they are now. He never knew his grandparents, because they apparently died before he was even born.

Shrugging to himself, Auron was on the brink of giving up for the night when he saw something in the distance. It looked like a swarm of fireflies to him, way of in the distance. But something wasn't right about it... The horizon behind it was much darker then before. Frowning, Auron placed the telescope to his eye again and adjusted the circle he used to zoom in and out. And that's when he saw them.

No less then thirty heavily armed and mounted men came rushing down from the nearby mountains, torches in their hands and swords at the ready. A cloud of dust was created by the stampeding horses. They were coming right for the cottage! Nearly falling off of the branch he was sitting on, Auron widened his eyes and dropped the telescope to the ground underneath. He could hear the fragile glass shattering but he did not care. As quickly as he could he'd climb and even jump down from the oak and rushed back towards his parents who were still inside and oblivious to the threat that was coming for them. The swarm of lights came closer...

Ken and his wife were still sitting at the now cleared dinner table and were enjoying their last mug of coffee of that day. He looked outside the window and saw that darkness had already fallen yet still Auron was nowhere to be seen. He sighed, clearly annoyed, and placed the mug back onto the table. "That boy-.." He said, standing upright whilst rubbing his temples. He made his way towards the front door, planning to call out to his disobedient son. But before he even took two paces the door flew open and banged against the wall behind it. Auron stood in the opening, sweaty and all but out of breath. Now, Ken was no fool whatsoever. He knew damn well how his son behaved when he knew he was late and needed to rush home, and this certainly wasn't how. He quickly made his way towards him and knelt down infront of Auron, placing a hand on the boy that was quivering by now, his eyes wide yet the pupils inside smaller then ever. Shock, Ken thought. The boy must've seen something very disturbing indeed. "Auron," He said in a calming manner. By now Leera had also left the table and stood behind her husband, confused and concerned. "What happened, my son? Tell me." Ken continued. He could feel the hand that was placed upon Auron's shoulder trembling due to the latter's anxiety. Auron gulped and tried to calm down, yet his voice was still high-pitched as he spoke. "Raiders, dad! There's a whole band of'em coming down the hillside to the north and they're coming right for us!" His eyes teared up and the trembling intensified after he has solidified his own fears by saying them out loud.

Ken was dumbstruck for just a second, but then he stood up, facing his wife. His tone was lower then ever, a seriousness contained within that Auron had never expierenced before."You know what to do, Leera-.. We've talked about this for so long. It's happening now." Leera almost teared up herself and spoke with a broken voice, as if begging her husband for something. "Ken-.. Ken, this could be a coincidence. There's.. There's been outlaw sightings all over the Empire, right? It doesn't have to be-.." She started. "Leera, listen to me!" Ken suddenly shouted, shocking both his wife and Auron. He had never seem his father in this state before. It was like he's looking at an entirely different person. "We both know that the last attack on this valley happened more then twenty years ago, Leera. Twenty years! The Impereal Guard keeps a close eye on the borders and no ordinary group of thugs could pass that checkpoint! It is what we feared, and we must act now! He barked that last word as if it were a straightforward command. His eyes were ablaze with a fire that would strike fear into any man's heart, the muscles inside of his arms and torso buldging with a barely composed anger.

Leera stood there, jaw dropped and eyes filled with tears as well. Yet after a brief moment of motionless despair she'd grab for her son's arm and dragged him away towards the kitchen. Auron himself was too shocked to resist her rather tight grip and could only watch as he was guided to the table his mom used to prepare dinner on. She used her free hand to shove the table aside and knelt down afterwards, rubbing the dust off of the floor. For a second Auron didn't know what she was doing, but soon his eyes narrowed as a small trapdoor became visible from underneath the carpet of dust and sand. "What-.." He wanted to ask, but his mother interrupted him, maybe a bit more harshly then she intended. "Auron, there's no time for stupid questions now, alright! You need to listen to me, and listen carefully! If you follow the tunnel that's underneath this panel you'll eventually end up in the basement of the nearby town's tavern. Don't stop once you're there, but go straight towards the first floor and wake Mr. Avion! Tell him what happened, he'll know what to do." He saw the tears welling up inside her golden eyes and the fear that nearly petrified her body. Yet in the end she yanked the panel open and revealed a ladder that lead down into a hole of pure darkness. "You'll find a lantern and some flint and steel down there, Auron, don't worry." She said, seeing her son's expression when he regarded the pool of nothingness underneath them. Auron himself looked up, confused beyond belief, and more scared then he thought he could ever be.

"Wh-..Why aren't you coming with me?" He asked, wondering why his parents suddeny decided to make him leave the house on his own. The tunnel surely could be an exit for them all, no? Leera couldn't resist any longer, and the tears that she pressed back finaly oozed down her fur. She pulled her son close to her chest and embraced him tightly, whispering in his ear. "I know it all seems very weird, darling, I realy do. But you have to listen for now. You need to listen to me and get yourself to safety." She looked down upon him and stared deeply into his eyes. "Mommy and daddy will be there, not long after you arrive." She said, trying to keep a firm tone of voice. "Promise...?" Auron asked, looking up to his mother. Leera averted her eyes and nodded, guiding him towards the ladder. "Yes, darling. Mommy and daddy will never leave you.." With those words she watched as her son placed his foor on the first sports. She couldn't resist and knelt down onto the floor, hugging his head for the last time. Yet as she did so they could both hear bone-piercing cries and the sound of hooves upon rough ground. A foreboding orange glow shined through the window and the smell of burned vegetation filled their noses. "Quickly now!" Leera urged him. She pushed his head down and then shut the trapdoor above him. Auron could hear the table being moved back so that it stood atop the trapdoor again.

Then nothing. He was left alone in a sea of pitch-black silence...