"...Elder Bakar, they're coming."
A young man wearing only baggy trousers made of patched-together fabric entered the humble cottage of the village elder, panting as he brought the news to the man of ripe age. The structure of the home kept alight by torches holding white flames was made of a clay-like material, exhibiting ornaments lavish with the old culture of Baldrea.
"I see."
Bakar stroked his beard slowly, running his fingers through his bristly facial hair as he sat atop a large, beige pillow.
"They...they wiped out Merunda and Toppanza already...Ambazhu is next."
Stammering out these words, the young messenger with locks dirtied by twigs and dirt in his rapid travels looked up at the elder who remained still with this information.
"Ambazhu will not be next. This village is under my protection, and it has been since the start of this war. The Ambazhu vale has never fallen into enemy hands; that will not change while I breathe."
