Under the gaze of the moonless night, a blazing flame spanning over hundreds of meters danced in the forest, setting everything on fire.
Wherever the fire moved, the fog surrounding it would move as well, being pushed back only slightly. The fog on the other hand never backed down. It did not approached the fog directly but moved beside it, opposite of it, as if moving to relocate somewhere.
Far away, where the fire is only slightly visible, at least for now, people could be seen moving around.
Some of them were carrying buckets of water, running towards the fire in the forest. Other than them, warriors holding spears and bows guards the wooden fences. Kids were running around while more people could be seen moving around atop the tree houses and huts.
It was the tribe and it's residents…
In the middle of the whole clearing, a huge bonfire almost ten meters high blazed around. It's light reaching almost a kilometer wide.
It was the Sacred Flame.
Behind the Sacred Flame was a small wooden shrine. Not big enough to call a temple and just small enough to house, at most, 5 people inside.
Five men guards the shrine as more and more people approach the Bonfire in a wide semicircle. Most of them men with various musical instruments in hand.
Their faces covered in a thin veil.
Slowly, four women approach the Bonfire. Dancing instead of walking, and then with a loud "Boom" coming from one drums, the others started playing their instruments.
Music begun to play and with that, the four dancing women circled the bonfire as they danced. Their shadows moving alongside them.
From the looks of it, it seems the tribe's people are doing some kind of ritual, or perhaps a ceremony. Or maybe both?
Nevertheless, the music and the dancing made the people around the tribe stop their movements to curiously watch the event unfolding before them.
Some of them wore a shocked expression as people starts leaving their wooden houses to see what's going on as well.
Finally, a woman spoke somewhere. Her voice reaching far as people attention focused on her. She walked with grace and elegance as three people walked behind her as well.
One was a man in his thirties, looking as sharp as a sword and as hard as a shield. His name was Quin. The supposed chieftain of this damn tribe.
Beside him were two more people. A woman and a man. One was covered in gauze, while the other with striking beauty. It was of course, Lei and Clara.
Gi's voice echoed as she spoke in a sad tone.
"My children, my apologies for the disturbance this late at night. I am hurt to inform you that, one of our chosen ones. The great warrior Bon, has sadly perished in battle…"
The tribe people's face's turned into that of shock and disbelief as they heard that. Bon was one of their strongest warriors after all. And an elder of the tribe at that.
It's no wonder they'll be surprise to learn of his death.
As people continued to murmur and whisper, Gi spoke again. This time her voice carries a confident and encouraging tone to it.
"…However! We have caught the perpetrator. The one who had set our forest ablazed and killed our mighty warrior. This forest rat!"
As she said that, Quin threw a sack of something on the ground. That "sack of something" was Dein.
When he was caught earlier, he was tied up using a long strip of white cloth. Preventing his whole body from moving before they placed him inside a sack and was carried for minutes until now.
Inside the sack, Dein shook his head. His body was no longer in pain because of Gi's powers but now he's a bit disoriented. Unable to see anything he's beyond confused.
'ugh, my head's hurts'
Just what the hell is happening? Are they finally going to kill him? He gulped, thinking that. The probability of him dying was bigger than ever now. He had murdered one of their people of course.
For some reason, his mind was silent as well. The three bastards who invaded it was nowhere to be so for the first time since coming here, Dein felt a bit lonely. And afraid as well.
He can't talked, can't moved, can't see. And moving makes him dizzy. The only thing he has was his hearing but even that only works slightly. As if something is making his senses go numb.
He really wants to sleep right now…
But when Gi spoke again, he was pulled from his drowsiness.
"…Tonight, my children. We shall bring justice to our fallen kin and protect our forest by summoning the help of our lord!"
Gi promised to the tribe's people but none of them spoke. Only murmuring as they glared sharply at the sack Dein is in.
'Shit, so they're really going to kill me now?'
And what do the mean by summoning their lord's help? As Gi continue to speak, more and more questions appeared in Dein's mind. By now, he still has no idea who their supposed "Lord" is.
At first he thought it's the bonfire but apparently not since Gi had said when he's being captured that they'll proceed with the ceremony even without their Lord's participation.
So who is it?
'tsk, who cares? I need to find a way to escap–'
But just then, Dein felt his body being jolted as he was suddenly lifted up. He heard a tongue clicking on his side and an irritated voice cutting his thoughts as Dein felt his body moving forward.
"Open the shrine!"
It was Lei. The swordsman whom Dein tore the face off. And blinded on one eye. Though that said, that eye had already healed now. Probably because of their priestess, Gi.
'what are they doing now?'
Then, Dein heard a creaking sound, like a door opening and his body was suddenly thrown away. Crashing on solid floor the next second. Dein groaned behind the cloth tied on his mouth.
'Argh dammit!'
Then he heard a clunk sound and the door of the shrine closed behind him. At least he believes so.
Everything was swallowed up in darkness and the only thing Dein could hear was the sound of his heartbeat. He gulped.
There is a lot of things Dein feared – even if he refused to admit them – but nothing came close to what he's feeling right now. It was the fear of the unknown.
Not knowing what is happening, what's going to happen, while being unable to see, hear nor speak is almost making him insane. To the point where he even missed the presence of his three companions.
'I wonder, what would they say right now?'
He sighed in his mind.
Time passed slowly, torturously slow in fact that under the cover of countless tape cloth wrapped around on a loop on Dein's body, tying him up, his arms twitch as he groaned, trying to tear the cloth to free his hand and get out of this sack from the inside on a futile attempt.
He doesn't know how much time had passed now but it certainly wasn't over an hour yet and Dein knew this because of how much his body still protest from ache. From his wounds, bleeding had stopped and he was certainly able to move again if he decided to ignore the pain that he had gotten better at doing now.
It seems his pain tolerance had grown because of how much trauma his body had received earlier which… to be honest, he doesn't know if it's good or bad.
'Of course it's good what the hell are you talking about?'
As he thought that however, something finally broke the silence as he heard someone speak in the darkness.
"Dein… you're here. Are you okay?"