The swamps were a haunting image, the remains from a horrific battle, The ground covered in black mud, crimson pools and decaying bodies, marsh flies hovering, eating the gray soulless eyes of one of the villagers, a young girl, lying heaped on the ground, uncovered and exposed to the elements. A gentle wind howled over the swamplands, Flames and black smoke rising, trees lifeless and charred from treachery, The skies black, haunted by the betrayal they have seen. Bog fires flickering, illuminating the dead silent forest with an eerie green glow.

Altessa stood in the middle of the ruins, her black silk dress torn, covered in dirt and charcoal smudged on her face, her dress rim dipped in blood and swamp mud. She limped slowly forward, Clutching her injured arm, Her dark gold eyes filled with pain, her hand clutching a charred book, her body swaying as she looked at the remains of a nearby body, a feminine body, her dress was very telling of her status, adorned in the finest jet jewels, black lace, and intricate pearl decor, long raven black hair matted and tangled, Altessa bent over, her white hand shaking as she closed the woman's pale lavender lifeless eyes. Silent tears dripping down her face as she shook with heavy emotion. She felt the hands of her elder brother wrapping around her, offering her comfort in amongst the heavy emotion, the horror she had witnessed. “Altessa, we need to move, We need to find father” Altessa clutches at nearby marsh weed, crushing it in her hands till her nails dug into her palms, and her own blood dripped down her wrist, crimson trees sprayed along the deathly pale skin and into the puddle underneath her. She will have her vengeance, Her Mother’s murder will not be in vain, No One will suffer as their family had. Young Altessa looked up at her bruised and bleeding brother, He wore no sign of emotion, His face a mask of duty, but his eyes were hollow, rimmed in dark shadow, clear signs he was barely able to grasp the reality of what they had witnessed, focused on protecting what he could. Frantic, Altessa glances around at the remains of the village, pain in her chest, slowly constricting tighter and tighter, small shallow breaths as she hopelessly looks for the remainder of her family, as she saw her youngest siblings shoes peeking out of a nearby collapsed building.

Altessa stood, screaming she tore at her brother's shaky hands, desperate to be freed from his protective hold as she ached to rescue her sister. “Isobel!!!, Please..” Finally breaking from his stoic stone statue position, realization struck and Tristian let his younger sister go, running behind her as the two siblings scan the ruins for signs of life. Altessa skids in the wet mud and blood, flies hovering near her face, Impatient she shoos at them, her gold eyes focused on the small white shoes covered in charcoal, poking out from a fallen beam. Using her hands, she scoops at the mud, heat from nearby flames resonating off the collapsed building. Using her nails, she breaks the delicate fingernails against the rubble, blood seeping up from her cuticle as she goes numb to the pain attempting to free her baby sister. A small moan under the rubble and the building shook. A toddler’s screaming pain filled cry echoes in the silent town. Tears of relief fall down Altessa's cheeks, she pulled at the beam pinning the young girl down., It wouldn't budge, Screaming herself, Both Tristian and Altessa work together on lifting the beam, Isobel’s cries urging them on. Finally, the beam shifted, and the two children were able to push the heavy beam away from their sibling, whose feet were swollen, black and blue bruises. The child screamed “Mommmaaaa, I want Mommmaa”Altessa scoops her sister into her arms, holding the scared baby in her arms, Both Tristian and Altessa collapsing and joining their siblings cries, sobbing as they clung to each other. They had numbly stumbled back to their mother's lifeless body. Sitting beside it as they waited for their father, a light rain drenching the children, Altessa attempting to shield her baby sister as they shivered in the blood, mud, and decay.

The faint sound of hooves thundered in the distance, the sound of a decent formation of horses, possibly their father, Altessa had hoped. They saw the black horses storm through the clearing, riding like the hero's she had read about in the books of her fathers now burning library. Altessa clutches her sister protectively as the small group of horsemen directly galloped towards them. Heavily suited, They didn't recognize any of the closest riders, Only one rider stood out, A young woman, she sat poised on her saddle, her eyes gold, rare for women of her age to still hold the gold colour, Perhaps she was of royal blood? The woman met Altessa's gaze and urged her horse straight towards them. Sliding off her horse, She bent down to the children, her eyes filled with empathy “I'm sorry we arrived so late, But you are safe, I am Lady Dorcas Darkholm, And assistance is on its way. Come with me, and we will get your sister attended to” The nearest guard was frightening, He seemed to have this threatening aura about him, His gaze never leaving far from the woman's, His manner hard and calculated, Altessa shivered, leaning closer to the woman as she numbly felt herself lifted up to sit just in front of the woman, She had a warmth about her, that she leant towards as her vision blacked out, finally safe.