Chapter 73. The Flames of Hope

Magnus

The children’s cries for help were like daggers in my heart.

I tried to rally my men, to form a defense, but the creatures were relentless. They moved with a deadly precision, striking with no warning, no mercy. The bodies of the fallen littered the floor, their once vibrant spirits snuffed out like candles in the wind.

"Magnus! What do we do?" one of my men shouted, his voice thick with desperation as he tried to protect a small group of children huddled in the corner.

I didn’t have an answer. I didn’t know how to fight these things, how to save my people. All I could do was watch in horror as the creatures tore through the holding,

And then, I saw it. A creature moving towards a group of children, its smoky form shifting as it prepared to strike. The children were frozen in fear, their eyes wide and terrified, and I knew that I had to do something—anything—to save them.

The holding was filled with sounds of screaming and