It was the same as any other day. The sun rises, and moves, and with the usual routine, time passed in a peculiar fast pace.
Noon came, yet the sign of the sun moving on top of the sky was nowhere to be seen because of the thick dark clouds that started to quickly gather.
Though this was something unexpected, Morgana continued moving her hands, plucking berries from left to right as she placed each one neatly in a basket at the the ground.
"Hmmmmm...Hmmm.Hmmm." She hums happily with a smile on her face.
"Is this enough? Hmmm?" Asking herself as the basket was now filled halfway. "Maybe a little bit more, I'm sure no one will mind if I take more, right?"
She continued plucking.
The berry patch isn't considered far, but it still held quite a significant distance back to SilverCrest. Behind her stood the city she grew up on, it's size looking like it could fit in the palm of her hands.
So if something happened inside the city, there was no chance she would know. But amidst her plucking, she could faintly hear a series of bell ring's in the distance.
Though it was faint, it was there.
She couldn't help but glance behind.
"What's that noise? Ringing?" She placed one hand on her ear and concentrated on the noise. And as she closed her eyes and curled her lips, she finally realized what the sound was and where it was coming from.
But, there was one problem.
Morgana was an orphan and she never had any knowledge about this particular scenario.
True, she always joined on her friend Bane's frequent learning routine, but something like this was not in one of them.
"Is something happening? Why are there bell ringing? Hmmm?" She thought to herself deeply, trying to find the answer inside her head, yet nothing was brought to light.
"Well, I'm sure it's nothing." Then she continued to pluck the berries for minutes until her basket became full.
And once she was finished, she covered the top with a cloth so that it won't fall.
"There....this should be enough, and there's probably some left for Bane. Hehe.." She giggled as she imagined what kind of face her friend would show if he were to eat it.
Morgana had always find Bane cute, cuter than most kids. But she thought of him as a little brother, nothing more, nothing less. Bane was like the brother she never had.
And before long, Morgana patted the dust off her clothes and began walking back.
She looked above. "Is it going to rain today?"
Along the way, following the road back, she once again hear another set of bells as she was about to pass through the forest of the outskirts.
Considering the distance, this was a shortcut, taken by most adventurers and explorers when they were going towards SilverCrest. But....
"Strange....why is it so quiet?"
Unlike most of the time, this road was popular and was used by a lot of people, but for some reason, Morgana passed not a single person along the way.
Feeling a cold sensation on her back, she turned. "I-Is someone there?" She asked, heard the bushes ruffling.
No one replied, but the bushes kept on moving. Someone was there, or something....
Feeling a slight fear on her body. Morgana willed the mana in the air and prepared a few defensive spells around her. Several elements began appearing in the air, pointed at the very rustling bush.
A single sweat dropped to her cheek, and her hand began to tremble.
But before she could even do anything, before whatever or whoever on the bush pounced out, the ground began to shake.
It was faint, but it was there.
"An earthquake?" She asked herself.
But her question became different as the earthquake began to rise. And as it got stronger and more powerful, she abandoned all thought and ran.
It wasn't an earthquake, she found out as soon as the tremors became different, She knew, it wasn't an earthquake, it was a step of something large.
A large amount of heavy steps was coming closer, and Morgana was not the type to stay and find out.
She ran like there's no tomorrow, never looking back in the slightest as the sound of trees falling, and the snarling of beasts reverberated from behind.
***
I was panicking.
'What should I do? Can I even help even if I manage to get to her? Is it too late?'
Several questions entered my mind as I ran.
I didn't have a plan in mind, nor did I have the power to help.
"What can I do?" I asked, yet I still ran.
I didn't know what was happening to my body, it's as if it was moving on it's own.
I wanted to stop and come up with a plan, but...nothing. I could not think of anything.
I was about to reach the northern, but something caught my eye, and my body finally stopped.
"Are those....."
It was firecrackers.
Someone forgot to close their shop and their wares were out in the open. There laid firecrackers, sonic bombs and flash crystals.
Unlike the first two items, the third one needed a bit of mana to activate. But seeing these three set's of items, a plan sprouted inside my head.
"I'll be borrowing these." I muttered as I took enough to fit in my pocket, and a couple of fire strikes to light the fire crackers.
Fire strikes are considered matches in this world, they look like a small marble that when struck, emits a faint flame that could light a candle.
Well, it was that or nothing.
Along the way I was clueless why the three bell's rang. Aenar said it was a scenario that's as large as a war. And now that I got closer to the northern gate, I finally realized why.
Faint tremors began to erupt. At first I thought it was an earthquake, but considering the timing, my thought's immediately changed.
But it wasn't the time to stop.
Once I caught sight of the walls, I darted through the alleys and went straight to a secret path.
I stopped to catch my breaths. "It's still here."
Along the walls, covered by a couple of houses, a small hole can be found. Large enough that two of me could fit through.
I could hear shouts and mutters on top of the walls, so before I got caught, I immediately entered the hole.
It was a long way inside, and dark too.
I remember how Morgana told me how she always use this path in the past, and if it was still usable, it should lead me towards the outskirts, near the western part of the forest.
So even when I make it to the other side, I still need to make my way towards the eastern part, where Morgana should be.
It was a bit hard to breath inside, and I felt claustrophobic along the way. But that didn't matter.
At this circumstances I would've been panicking from the dark space. The feeling of how the walls seemed to close in, how I imagined if I got stuck in this place.
I feared for it.
Yet, I found myself moving forward. Without stopping, and without fearing for my own life.
Even when I know I was about to enter a battlefield I could never imagine, I couldn't just stay still. Knowing how my reason for existence was in danger.
"Why..is...this...tunnel....so long!" I shouted.
Even till now, I could still fear the tremors coming closer to the city of SilverCrest, and because of that, I feel myself going faster.
A minute and a half, I finally saw the ray of light at the end of the tunnel. I squirmed myself faster, and after a few second, I was finally out.
Feeling a sense of victory, that sensation immediately turned grim as the sight of the outside world welcomed me with its open arms.
It's thorny and dreadful arms.