FSE

Furry search engine

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The roar of the sirens echoed through the city of Otdykh, silencing all of those who were making noise. That sound, brought on by the copious numbers of alarms scattered throughout the city, was an omen of destruction, and of death. For when the alarms went off, chaos and panic ensued- for the Murria-Nizani coalition was nearing the city.

I was resting in the hotel room Nilus and I had resided in for most of the past week, trying to take a nap on the messy bed. Nilus was reading up on something from a book, but she put it down as soon as the sirens went off.

'Oh no...' Nilus muttered.

'Those sirens... no, no, no! They attacked first! God damn it, they attacked first!' I exclaimed, leaping out of the bed and collecting my jacket, scarf, and cap. Our peace was shattered, our hopes broken. No one was prepared to defend; we had all of our military mobilized, ready to attack in a few days. But they weren't ready to defend the cities...

'Things change so quickly, don't they? We should get to the plane, get out of here... oh, right.' Nilus started, remembering my new responsibility to a battalion of pilots.

'The bunker is close, and you know the route.' I said, placing my hand on Nilus's shoulder. 'That's your best chance. Hell, its your only chance. Flying with me would be too dangerous.'

'Don't risk your life for this, Azeus.' Nilus replied as we exited down the door. Some people were fleeing nearby, all running for the stairs.

'This is my homeland, Nilus. We lose this, Severnaya is gone. I will not stand by idly and watch it die.' I answered. We ducked into the stairwell behind a panicked female Vaux who was running down the stairs at a high speed.

'I wish I could've said the same for Hauptstadt.' Nilus replied. 'Just return to me, you hear? You've been my only beam of light in this dark, horrid world- I need you.'

'The feeling is mutual, Nilus. It really is.' I stated. We charged out the ground floor door and dashed into the lobby, where a flood of people were running out. Suddenly, there was the sound of a plane flying overhead and a part of the road outside exploded.

'Shit, they're already attacking!' I added. 'Get the hell out of here! I'll find you again soon!'

We barged out of the doors, and started heading different directions.

'You better! Good luck, Azeus.' Nilus responded.

'You too.' I said, and then we split up. Nilus started running down the street towards one of the bunkers, and I went the other way to the air base.

Otdykh was a large, open city with just as open roads, and a large crowd was running down it, trying to find safety. I stayed along the side, against the buildings- it was safer there.

'Get to the sides! Quickly, it's dangerous in the open!' I tried screaming- the Murria-Nizani bombers always used the same tactic, and that was bombing low, right on the streets themselves. It was a brutally effective tactic.

The crowd was stumbling along, screaming in terror as the bombing continued to echo through the city. Every few seconds, explosions would rock the ground... this was madness.

Thankfully, the crowd was now splitting up, but it didn't matter that much- a bomber came flying around a corner and towards the massive crowd on the street, and I was quick enough to duck into a nearby alleyway. The explosions tore holes through the street, throwing shards of concrete, glass, and gore everywhere. Even from where I had landed, I was splattered with blood and dirt. Three bombs was all it took to destroy most of the crowd.

I staggered up, dazed from the shear shockwave of it and horrified at the massacre. There were mothers with their kits in their arms in there...

I drew my gun. If I was shot at, I would shoot back. These soldiers chose to fight, and chose these tactics. They had no regard for Vaux life...

I darted back to the side of the street, and continued running down it. The street, with most of its inhabitants blown to smithereens, was void of life except for some of the injured. As I was running, I passed a bawling child on the side of the street, still clutching the severed arm of one of its parents. Another Vaux man was slack again the wall, moaning in agony from what seemed to be a shattered spine. Why... Why did they have to be so vicious...?

More missiles went flying down the street, aimed at one of the large buildings ahead. The napalm projectiles detonated, and most of the street turned to flames- and they came from above. I glanced up, and then whimpered in fear. The Murrian aircraft carrier was above us, its propellers keeping it up somehow. It was unleashing massive volleys of incendiary missiles, reeking havoc.

'Sir, get in!' A voice yelled from nearby. I was so transfixed on the massive craft that I didn't even hear the friendly jeep nearing me. The jeep had no turret, but it had a few guns in the back. A Vaux about my age was driving, with another one keeping watch with an assault rifle in hand. I leapt into the back, and the jeep swerved down another road.

'Get me to the air base! Now!' I yelled. The driver nodded and crashed onto the highway, on the way out of the city. The air base was away from the city, guarded by dozens of anti-aircraft turrets. If we were quick, we could make it there.

The highway connected to the base later on, and it was our most direct path out. Much of it was covered by the cars of those who were trying to flee, so we leapt onto the other side, where it was mostly clear.

The highway itself ran through the city, and was thusly a prime target for bombers. That had me worried- very worried.

As we sped down the highway, one enemy bomber was chased just over us by a Vaux pilot- and then another Vaux plane smashed down behind us in a ball of fire, its pursuer changing course to catch us. Its guns started firing, the bullets tearing holes in the road.

'Keep driving! Don't stop!' I yelled, ducking down. The driver was struck by a bullet in the shoulder, and the the resulting swerve almost threw us off the road. But the driver hung on, corrected our course, and took a dodged a crater in the process. More missiles were thrown at us, exploding nearby.

I, in turn, picked up one of the large rifles from the back of the jeep, and hefted it. The rifle was a large sniper of sorts, and I took aim at the plane's engines with it. But a bullet hit our tire just as I fired, and the shot went astray. The driver was struggling to stay straight, now.

'I don't think I can hold onto this much longer!' The driver yelled, struggling to turn the wheel. Another volley of bullets nearly hit us, but some of the bullets shattered the window. The passenger yelled in pain- a bullet had hit him in the side.

'Gerin! Hang on, buddy!' The driver yelled, trying to stabilize the injured Vaux with one free arm. Another missile exploded nearby, and some napalm was splashed onto the hood of the jeep.

'Keep it steady for a few moments, at least!' I exclaimed, taking aim again. This time I fired spot on, although the knockback threw me into the seats and caused me to drop the rifle. But the bullet flew true, and one of the bomber's two side engines combusted into a ball of flame. Its massive wingspan started to fall to the side, and then the left wing began to grind along the ground. It let off another volley of bullets before it completely fell, exploding into a huge orb of fire. A large chunk of shrapnel- part of the wing, probably- flew past us and imbedded in the road ahead, but the driver dodged out of the way.

'Holy... shit...' I muttered. I grimaced when the hood popped off, and clanged onto the asphalt. It was quickly left behind.

'Good shooting.' The driver commented. The passenger- Gerin- gave me a thumbs up.

'Just keep driving.' I said, picking my gun back up. We passed out of the main part of the city, now going through the residential district. Hundreds of small, cookie-cutter houses stretched out ahead, and they were getting bombed. Some of the missiles from the carrier were reaching out even this far, occasionally striking a house and destroying it.

I could also see the air base in the distance, with planes launching from it every thirty seconds or so. The AA guns mounted around the base were firing non-stop, for fighters were trying to attack the base.

As we neared, another fighter locked onto us. More bullets thundered down, shredding the asphalt once again. The engine started smoking on the jeep, for it had been shot several times. We also swerved onto an exit ramp, heading towards the base. The fighter followed us- and was shot down by an AA gun. It exploded in the fields that surrounded the base.

The base was surrounded by a chain link fence, and the gates were opened for us. The entrance had a speed bump that we hit hard, and we were thrown into the air before landing with a sickening crunch. I leapt out of the now flaming jeep, and the other guys followed just as the thing exploded.

'Get him to a medical bay! Now!' I yelled. The driver picked Gerin up and they started running for one of the several buildings in the base. I started a brisk jog to the hangar.

The base consisted of three buildings- the hangar, the main barracks, and the medical bay. The medical bay was a small half cylinder set apart from the other two buildings, devoted entirely to keeping the soldiers alive. The hangar was a large metal building that held several dozen planes, while more waited outside. The main building was a large metal cube with several floors that were well staffed with various training apparatus and other gear. My battalion would be in the hangar bay.

I darted across one of the landing strips, just avoiding a plane that was taking off. The hangar housed my battalion's planes at the moment, and I could see some of them taking off. I started waving to them as I neared.

'Get my plane ready!' I yelled. 'We're going on the attack!'

Some of the pilots in the hangar bay replied with a wave, and one started refueling my plane.

'Follow my lead!' I continued. 'We're going after their main carrier!'

'Sir, isn't that risky?' One of the battalion asked. He was a older Vaux with a scar that crossed his forehead, and his jacket was wrinkled.

'Just follow my lead, and we'll make it out of there.' I replied. Fueling was quick; they yanked out the fuel line as soon as I arrived at the plane. I then leapt in, started up the propeller, and drove out into the runway. I commanded the rest of the battalion to follow close behind in a line; and we were soon up in the air.

'Battalion twenty three, stand down!' My radio buzzed. 'We are going to be awaiting reinforcements, and we do not need you up in the air!' The transmission was from the base, main command.

'Reinforcements take too damn long, command! People are dying out there!' I yelled back. We passed out of the range of the AA guns, and started getting attacked almost immediately. I rolled out of the way of one fighter's gunfire, and it was quickly shot down by some of my squadmates.

'There is no way that one squadron can destroy that carrier! Come back!' Command yelled. I switched them off, and tuned into my battalion's frequency.

'Men, be prepared. This is going to be a rough battle, but we will prevail.' I spoke to them. 'I want you all to focus on the carrier; it's the machine that's causing most of the damage to the city, and if we can stop it then we may stand a chance in defending Otdykh.'

I was silent for a moment as we got closer. The city was burning, and many of the taller buildings had collapsed. Gunfire was echoing through the streets, and explosions lit up the air time and time again.

'That is, if we can save the city.' I added.

'We have to, sir. We are willing to risk it all.' One of the pilots in my battalion replied.

'Good. We may have to. Ugh, this is happening so fast...' I muttered. 'But no matter. We'll have to aim for the engines; it's most likely our swiftest method of taking that thing down. This includes the propellers and its main engine.'

As I continued, we got closer to the burning city. The carrier I could now see properly- and from above for the first time. The sides were lined with machine gun turrets, and the top had at least a dozen more. The bottom had multiple dozens of missile batteries bristling off of the hull. The top, on the other hand, was flat where the two landing strips were. Planes seemed to be raised from the inside of the massive machine, hidden somewhere in its nearly half mile long hull. The four propellers- a fourth of a mile wide each- spun at its four corners, somehow holding it up. The front was adorned with a massive gleaming statue of a winged Murria that had a sun behind it; a visage of what I guessed to be Rui. A large building stood at the opposite end of the machine, bristling with even more guns. Below that building was a large, cylindrical projection that had several glowing vents on it- I presumed that to be the main engine.

'Holy shit...' Another one of the battalion muttered.

'Alright, I have a plan. Those guns will have a hard time catching us if we move at full speed, so keep it at that and don't slow down unless you have to so that you can stay alive. We should split up into five groups; four go after each propeller, the last eight go after the turrets and the main engine. I'll go with the eight.' I explained, afterwards quickly giving them their groups. They all agreed.

'Best of luck to you all.' I finished, and then we were fired upon.

'Scatter! Attack!' Another one of my battalion members yelled, as several of the turrets were already firing upon us. I lead the largest group towards the rear of the massive machine- it was facing away from us.

'Arm your bombs, men! Aim for the vents!' I commanded, piloting towards the rear vents. I spiralled as the guns fired at our group, dodging most of the seriously damaging shots. Several grazed the wings, and another shattered the windshield. One of the group members was shot down.

I had no bombs on my plane because of its weight class, and thus all I was able to do with fire off a volley of bullets at the vent. The shots missed, pinging off of the metal hull harmlessly. We flew up as we neared, soaring high above. And as every plane passed, they launched a rocket at the vent. The second to last one hit, and the resulting explosion actually took out the rear pilot.

'Watch out for friendly explosions!' I cried, leading the line into a large circle around the ship so that we could attack again. As I watched, the groups sent out to destroy the propellers fell one by one, getting blown to smithereens again and again. Every time one was destroyed, their scream echoed across the radios and our minds, for we wouldn't hear from them ever again...

'We're coming to back you up, Battalion twenty three!' A voice suddenly yelled through the radio. A handful of friendly planes were coming, firing off all their missiles at some of the side turrets. The destruction of those saved some lives.

'Damn good timing! Aim for the propellers, we're taking this bastard down!' I replied. Suddenly, a well placed volley of bullets tore through my group- three were destroyed, and my plane was actually heavily damaged. The bullets that tore through us had struck my engine as well as several other parts of my plane, and smoke started billowing out of the front. The three that were lost fell from the sky, and then exploded half way down.

'Sir, I've been hit!' One of the pilots yelled.

'I've taken heavy damage!' Another cried.

'Just hang in there! Keep the plane as steady as you can; go in for a divebomb!' I yelled, taking a large, swinging turn towards the carrier. Bullets whizzed past, and one actually grazed my arm, but I kept flying. I fired upon the deck as I flew past, taking out three parked fighters and several supply stores. Explosions shook the deck behind me as I flew on.

I led my small group beyond the carrier, and we started turning around for another attack. As we turned, I watched one of the groups attacking the propellers have some success- one of them was shot down, and the plane itself smashed into the front left propeller, damaging it. Smoke started lazily floating up into the air from the motor that powered it, but that group was now destroyed. Battalion twenty three numbered about ten, now. The reinforcements were also attacking the main body of the ship, and a few were actually destroying some of the turrets.

I looped back around and fired off another volley directly into the engine's vents, creating a small explosion from within the craft. The lights on it flickered, but it stayed up.

More bullets smashed into my plane, tearing away one of the rear tailfins. I started tilting to the side.

'No, no, no!' I cried, trying to hold the plane up as it tumbled down towards the deck of the craft below. I will not die here. I will not fall, not while Otdykh still stands...

But it seems I may.

My plane smashed into the deck at an angle, skidding along the surface with a storm of sparks and fire. The collision threw me out of the plane, and I tumbled across the deck at a nearly equal angle. I couldn't grab anything to stop my slide... I was going towards the edge of the craft. My plane continued to grind at the metal deck, and yet, I couldn't stop...

I smashed my head on the edge as I fell, and with the wind in my ears, my world went black.

'Live, Azeus. You're the only hope for so many.' Mother said. She was standing next to me in an endless void, and father was on my other side. I was there, ragged and bruised.

'But how, mother? How?!' I cried, tears streaming from my eyes. 'I have lost everything to this abominable war, and now I've lost my life...'

'Not yet.' Father stated.

'Your father's right. You're falling. Not dead. There is still hope. So fight for peace, Azeus. You are the son of Urdin and Theon, named after a past hero. Be like the old Azeus was, and lead your people to a new hope...' Mother added.

'I'm not strong enough, mother... This weight is thrown upon my frail shoulders, time and time again, and yet, I have to keep on fighting! Why can't this torment just end...? Why can't I just give up, and be back with my family...?'

'Nilus needs you, Azeus. The world, too. Vitria is scarred, perhaps you can heal those scars.' Father said.

'How can one boy fix the scars of generations of war? How can I save so many with so few? Severnaya's about to fall, and with them, my only allies! How can there be hope? How?!' I screamed, falling to my knees.

'Fall upon Nilus's family for aid, Azeus. Even if yours perishes, you have to continue on! You have to!' Mother replied. I was staring down at my knees, unblinking and unhearing. But mother got down on her knees next to me and hugged me tightly. That caress, that embrace... it was something I had missed for so many years. I had missed those days, when life was good, when life was safe.

'Azeus, I love you. always have, always will, even in the afterlife. In the plains beyond, I will be there, watching you. Keeping you safe.' Mother whispered.

'And although I have done you wrong, son, I will be there, alongside your mother. Fight, for so many need a symbol of hope.' Father added. Wind started whooshing past, and our clothes were flapping.

'But, at the very least, save yourself...' Mother finished. I opened my eyes.

The wind was all there was for a millisecond. Then, I regained the feeling in my body, every follicle in my fur lighting up in glorious feeling. I was still alive... but how?

I flexed my hand, and then focused my eyesight above. I hadn't fallen far... the scene in my head had lasted a fraction of a second.

Then the fight returned. Explosions echoing through the air around my falling body, bullets flying through the air, the sound of cannons ringing on my eardrums. But I had to live... through the pain...

I flipped and then leaned forward, holding my arms close. I gained speed, my jacket, scarf and tail fluttering behind me. My goggles were already on, but one lens had been crushed. Those goggles had saved me from more serious damage...

I then spotted the falling wreck of my plane. It was floating slowly away from me, burning and falling apart. But that wreck was my only hope- there was a parachute behind the pilot's seat.

I changed course to meet it, hearing nothing but the explosions and wind. But, with some difficulty, I pulled out my gun as I fell. An enemy plane was nearing, tailing a friendly fighter. The ally flew under me at a massive speed, but I was ready. I flew close to the enemy plane, and shot out its engine as I passed. I then reloaded as I fell.

The plane was close, but so were the rooftops. I'd have only twenty seconds before impact.

I slammed into the rear of the plane, and then climbed up to the cockpit. I didn't care about the flames licking at my hands and scarf... I could see the parachute now.

With all the force I could muster, I wrenched the parachute from its holder, and quickly strapped it on. In the process, the plane began to spin- with me still on it.

I then kicked off and yanked the ripcord on the parachute, pulling myself into a safer descent quickly. The parachute fluttered into position, and the sudden slowdown almost yanked my arms from their sockets. I had kicked away just in time too, for the plane collided with one of the last standing skyscrapers and exploded on its roof. I was now parachuting down the space between some of the buildings.

Two planes flew just under me, the second almost taking off my legs. I hung on tight, though- a wind blasted, and I was thrown to the side; straight through a window. I tumbled to a stop, my parachute torn by the rubble I had just missed. I had survived, somehow...

I staggered up, to realize the building I was in was burning and crumbling. It used to be an office building of some sort, but now it was an inferno.

I sloughed off the old parachute and smashed down the door from the room I had ended up in. This led to a hallway, which was aflame from one end- but the other was fire-free. I dashed towards there, with what seemed to be a stairwell out ahead.

Suddenly, a flurry of explosions from outside shook the building; this caused a door that was right next to me to explode outwards in a massive blast of flame that threw me against the opposite wall. I quickly patted down the fires that had caught on my clothing, but the lower part of my jacket was now burnt partially away, as well as some of the fur there. I also didn't notice it, but my scarf had been lit on fire- I snuffed it out when I did, but it had already eaten part of the scarf away.

I dashed down the stairwell, taking three steps at a time and hanging onto the weakened railing for dear life. Fires raged above me, where the roof had been blown open. Another explosion shook the building, and large hunks of masonry fell from above- one smashed a chunk out from the stairwell. I leapt it just in time, barely grabbing onto the opposite ledge. I pulled myself up just as more rubble came falling down from above.

I kept charging down the stairs. I passed a large, painted five on the wall- I supposed that to be the floor I was on.

Another explosion from below shook the whole stairwell, and the lower floor turned into an inferno. The explosion surged upwards, but I ducked into the doorway to the next floor quickly. The blast narrowly avoided me.

I ran down the center hallway of the floor as quickly as I could, hoping for any way down- anything at all. Then I came up on the elevators. It was no use attempting to make use of them right now, but they were a way down.

I skidded to a stop next to the closed doors and didn't try to call them. I instead wedged my fingers between the doors and pulled them open with all my might. They creaked and groaned in protest, but I kept forcing them. Suddenly, something broke in the workings of the doors and they slid open, almost throwing me into the shaft. But a single cable was in front of me, and so I put my scarf over my hands and latched onto it. I didn't slide down as expected, but the cable began to fall! The elevator, five stories below me, had collapsed, and taken the other cable with it!

Suddenly, there was a loud twang from above, and the cable stopped its descent just at the second floor. The doors were sealed shut, but there was a small ledge for them just below me. I leapt onto that ledge and then down onto the rubble the fallen elevator had made, landing hard on a crushed body. I tried not to look down at my feet as I forced open the bottom doors.

I entered the lobby of the building; a large, glass-walled room with a statue of some Vaux general in the center. I started dashing across the lobby, but explosions from the street outside shook the building once more and blew out most of the glass. Dozens of tiny shards of glass cut me as I ran.

I veered out into the street, running as close to the buildings as I could. I had to find Nilus, wherever she was. The bunker below the city was lone large bunker, any entrance would link to it. I just had to find one.

Far ahead, down the long street, a building had collapsed, and it had taken some of the surrounding ones with it. So a large pile of rubble blocked the route ahead of me, and there were some Murria soldiers on top of it. They were on a hastily planted mounted gun, looking for survivors. Were we that few, now?

I hid myself behind a burnt out car chassis, watching their movements. I was too close to them to get bombed now, thankfully. The soldiers themselves seemed almost bloodthirsty, smirking evilly.

Then I spotted something- a bunker entrance, marked with a small sign. Many of them looked like subway entrances, but they were heavily guarded at the bottom. This stairwell, leading into the earth, was built at the side of one of the larger buildings, and the road it was on was to my side. I darted down it, only briefly catching the attention of the enemy soldiers. One bullet nicked my blood-stained tail, but that was really it.

'Get that bastard!' One of the soldiers yelled. I leapt down the stairs before they got around the corner, losing them easily. At the bottom of the stairs was a wall with a single thick metal door. The door itself was opened by a keycard, and was usually guarded by several guards. All of the guards were dead, and the door hung wide open.

'Oh god...' I muttered, fearing the worst. I ran in, and down the hallway that came after the door. The hall was made from dirty cement and badly lit, but people had taken shelter in it. They were gunned down- dozens of bodies littered the tunnel. Men, women, and children. Small kits only a year old laid dead in my way, a bullet through their small hearts...

'Nilus! Please be here!' I yelled, smashing through the next door. It was only partially open, and it smashed against the wall when I barreled through. The horror that waited ahead was monstrous...

The bunker itself was a large, open room about five thousand feet square, with a network of pipes running above and a large mess of bedrolls and makeshift dwellings below. The only sound was the pipes above and the occasional muffled explosion because every inhabitant was dead... At least a thousand people had taken shelter in here, and now their bodies laid piled on the back wall, mostly. The pile was huge; nearly fifty feet wide and thirty tall. The smell of blood in the air made me ill, and the copious bullet holes in the walls were still smoking.

'Nilus! Nilus! Oh please, don't be dead! Please!' I cried out, searching the nearby makeshift residences.

'Help...me...' I heard someone mutter. They were weak.

'Nilus?! Keep talking, I'll find you!' I yelled. She seemed to be coming from the pile of corpses.

'Save me from... the pain... their screams...'

I charged towards the pile of corpses, my boots now splashing in the blood that had pooled from them. I could hear Nilus coming from the pile- then I saw her. She was in the pile, half covered by the corpses. He clothing was covered in blood, and blood trickled down her face even as she limply reached out for me. Only her left arm was out of the pile, along with her face.

'NILUS!' I cried, climbing the bodies and taking a hold of her hand. I grabbed her hand tightly and pulled with all the force I could muster once again, and the bodies on top of her began to move. She held onto my hands with a grip of death.

'Their screams... their pain... oh Rui...' She muttered. Tears were pouring from her eyes, drenching her feathers and diluting the blood. Her eyes were red and the pupils small from shock. She came loose and I held onto her as we tumbled down the pile of bodies. I caught her from landing in the blood, but she fell to her knees in it anyways.

'Nilus... oh god, what happened...?' I muttered.

'They tore through them, Azeus... they slaughtered everyone... they're still screaming...' Nilus replied, rocking in place. I hugged onto her to try to make her stop.

'...Nilus... please, keep a hold on your sanity. I can't lose you.' I muttered.

'...They called them... things... like they were objects...' Nilus cried. '...I hid... hid...hid under the bodies...'

'They will pay... They really will... they have to learn to treat us as equals...' I said. I held her tight.

'...The blood... oh god, the blood...' Nilus wept.

'Come on, let's get out of here. Can you stand?' I asked. Nilus nodded slowly, and I helped her up, supporting her with my arm. Both of us were drenched in the blood from the pile, and Nilus's left ankle seemed to be broken. We limped on, keeping our eyes from the massive pile of corpses.

'Get me away from here... away from the pain...' Nilus wept.

'We'll get out of here.' I replied. I bashed the door open again with my foot, and helped the injured and tormented Nilus up the stairs. We left bloodied footprints as we walked up the stairs, and the wind made our clothing flutter.

We took a step out into the setting sun, to see the smouldering wreckage of the city. Just about all of the buildings had collapsed, and the fires had faded to cinders. Rubble covered the streets, and bodies were thrown around like confetti. The Nizani-Murria coalition Carrier was flying off into the distance, its fires of war finally extinguished, albeit it kept flying. It, and the forces of tyranny, had shredded the country. And now, with the setting sun out ahead of us, we walked. The city smouldered in its last hours, its final few surviving inhabitants barely surviving. Somewhere behind us, a building collapsed from the fires or sorrow; I honestly didn't know which.

Severnaya fell that day, fallen to the Burning Heavens, which torched its cities and people. My people were gone. My homeland lost. Even Nilus was tormented... I didn't even know if she would be okay. Will she be alright...?

As I helped her along down the scorched streets, amidst the wreckage and ruins of a once great civilization, I wondered. We had been together for so, so long, and through so much pain and terror, we had developed a bond. Love, maybe not. No priest from any species would marry us. But it was closer to a pseudo-family, for her father and she cared for me better than anyone else at the time. They were the only ones that cared.

I stopped us at an abandoned truck. The canvas cover on the back had been burnt away, but it was intact. I tossed the dead driver out, helped Nilus into the passenger seat, and started the truck. The engine sputtered and then roared into life.

'I'll get us out of here.' I said to Nilus. She was cradling her head in her hands, sobbing uncontrollably. 'I'll get us to safety.'

I turned the truck around and went off into the snow. We were alone now, two survivors from a destroyed land... with no hope... Hope, why does it burn, again and again...?

We left the smouldering ruins that day, as it began to snow. Or was it ash...?

'...Stay with me... Azeus...' Nilus wept.

'...I will. I promise.' I replied. I clenched onto the steering wheel tightly. This war has to end. And perhaps, one day, we will know what peace feels like, to feel the rays of the sun on our face without fear of death and torment... without fear of pain...