615
Amanda Mountains, July.
Explosions swept up people's cries of anguish, and the roar of artillery and gunfire echoed above the mountain towns.
The light of seemingly unending dawn gathered in the sky. The peaceful city where ascetics once gathered was engulfed by flames and catastrophe.
There was no telling how long this fighting had continued.
After five full days of fighting, Feysac's Second Legion finally tore an opening in the defenses. Ammunition and artillery fire rained down without restraint, bringing this peaceful little city crashing down in the flames of war.
The second hiding place was discovered. As a heavy sword severed the gate along with the mystical formulas upon it, panic became the final straw that broke the little city. The people in the shelter began weeping and screaming frantically, begging God for mercy and blessings. They shoved one another blindly, hoping to open some hidden passage within the shelter. But most of them were ordinary people, and the occasional Beyonder was immediately targeted. Fighting separately amid the chaos, they merely pushed others onto the enemy's blades.
Beneath the shadow of blood and fire, they were more devout than at any other moment in their lives.
Yet such devotion earned them nothing in the chaos of war. The Feysac soldiers cleared the place without mercy. The little shelter became a slaughterhouse from which there was no escape. Living people were shredded by the light of dawn, and blood made the floor slippery.
Minutes later, the efficient slaughter drew to a close. The Feysac warriors began clearing the battlefield, taking expensive jewelry and brooches from severed limbs, putting them into little pouches prepared beforehand, and waiting for Beyonder characteristics to precipitate.
One warrior reached up and pushed open his movable visor, revealing a young face.
He took a deep