The wind was laced with the scent of burning wood; we had come across this smell a lot these last few days, the bitter reminder of violence. We approached the hill, and the smell grew stronger. We saw the smoke rising from a small village, its houses but skeletal beams barely standing among the barren and smoldering landscape. I pulled the reigns of my steed and came to a stop, my gut twisting in anger and sorrow at the sorry state of the village.
"Fucking bastards got this one too," grumbled Eron, one of my friends, her green eyes flashed dangerously, as she swiped at her short, blonde hair. Her scrawny body was tense, and her smooth jaw was locked in fury. Eron was our scout, and she was exposed to this sort of thing a lot, but she always reacted the same. Frankly, I did too.
"Aye," said Lyric. He was big and brawny with a heavy-set jaw, a thick black beard and a large rectangular frame. He had grey eyes and a bald head. He was our cook and our tank. He sounded less angry and more sad.
"Monsters the lot of 'em," spat Kylie and Kevin our twin archers. They had a worse temper than most of us and both looked almost the exact same as each other. The only differences were their hair length and body shape. Kevin was muscular with short brown hair and bright blue eyes; Kylie had a thin waist and an hourglass figure and had long brown hair that was intricately braided. These two were our youngest members.
"Damian is going too far," said our swordsman. He was long and muscular with a longsword strapped to one hip with a dagger on his chest and a short sword on the other hip. He had large, scolding pinkish-red eyes and hair the colour of snow. He joined our band ages ago but insisted on being called Zero and refused to tell anyone his actual name.
"He always does," countered our leader pointedly. Their name was Aaron; he was a tall man who carried a flanged mace that flashed in the sunlight. His hair was a greyish orange colour. A scar that ran down his cheek and went down to his collar bone. Aaron's eyes were brown and soft looking. He was often melancholy, but he seemed furious at the sight of the tenth village that the tyrant king had visited.
"Poor souls," I said looking at a group of what seemed to be children. They'd been speared so much it was hard to tell. "May they rest in peace," I prayed.
I'm a priest which to an uneducated person means I preach the word of our lord, which I do. Bust as a priest we can manipulate and distort the energy of the universe. This energy is divine energy and is a gift from him to us. This allows us to heal or punish others with the permission of our divine benefactor. The most advanced priest can perform a short prayer to heal any wound, however, I am a mid-level priest and the group's healer.
"Let's look for survivors," said Aaron. We all nodded and continued into the village. It was a horrible sight. I saw an eyeless dead man holding a woman who'd had her throat and belly slit. I was saddened by the scene. The houses and ground were still warm from their flesh and blood.
I wandered the ash-stricken path searching for any sign of life. I found none. The only thing I found was death and blood. It was smeared on the walls like paint; it carpeted the floor and hung heavy in the air. "Dear god, please accept these poor souls into your flock and Shepeard them to paradise," I prayed silently clasping my hands together.
"Found something!" yelled Aaron. I rushed towards his voice and stopped at the sight that greeted me. Kneeling in the dirt covered in blood, clutching a young girl's body, was a small boy. He had pale skin and black hair; I couldn't tell what colour his eyes were because they were closed. The boy had tear tracts running down his dirty and bloodied face. The girl in his arms was small and innocent looking. Her throat was a mess, and her head was clutched to the boy's chest. They looked so small and fragile.
"The boy is breathing," Aaron pointed to the boy's chest. Sure enough, the boy's chest rose and fell but it was barely noticeable. "Aaron I can't heal something this bad...I haven't even seen someone who can live this long without any medical attention. We'd need a miracle," I said, heartbroken by the scene before me.
"If you truly believe in your god then beg for a miracle," Aaron responded coldly. I bit my lip in frustration but clasped my hands together and knelt next to the boy. "Dear God, our holy father and benevolent creator, please grant me your miracle of healing so I may save this lost lamb from his untimely and saddening day of judgement. I beg you to hold off on your judgement so this lamb may mature into a sheep that can stand before you as a man and not a boy... Amen." As I prayed, I felt a warmth pulsate within me. It penetrated the air and radiated its bright yellow glow, reacting with the air as it morphed and broke apart into golden flecks before settling on the boy and seeping into his body. Instantly his complexion improved but, he was still shockingly pale.
At this point the others had arrived and looked at the boy with concern. "Kylie, make sure Kyra is alright; you know how she gets when she overuses her divine power. Kevin patch the kid up and make sure his injuries are healing properly. Lyric and Zero move the bodies and bury them. It's a small village so it won't take too long. Everyone else help me set up camp and find a place to tether, feed and water the horses," Aaron commanded. We all jumped into action. I was going to get up to help set up camp, but was stopped by Kylie. "Get some rest I'll help 'em set up camp once ya've gone ta sleep," she said. I hadn't even realized how tired I was. I rubbed my eyes and put my bedroll down in the dust and closed my eyes. It wasn't long before my exhaustion claimed me.
When I woke up, the sun was beginning to set, and the others were eating the stew we had made the day before. Lyric passed me a bowl and sat back down to eat his own. The fire was roaring and crackled in the setting sun. It cast a shadow over the whole camp. I glanced at a bundle of blankets that was closest to the fire. There was the boy nestled snuggly in between the warm and cozy looking blankets. His chest rose and fell but it was still barely noticeable, "How did my healing do?" I asked as I began to eat the stew. "Ya stopped the bleeding and replenished the blood he lost. The only thing left for me to do was stitch 'I'm up and bandage 'I'm," Kevin said leisurely as he leant back against a tree. "Oh, thank God, I didn't think I could heal him that much." I sighed in relief. The others looked at me clearly amused by my reaction. "Doubting yourself is the same as doubting your god, isn't it?" Zero said mockingly. "Maybe our little priest isn't all that holy."
I glared at him. He was always like this, always mocking and being a pain in the ass but then again, he still didn't think it was a good idea to tell us his real name. Zero opened his mouth to make another comment but Aaron grabbed his shoulder, "You should get some sleep. We all should. Kyra will you be okay to take first watch?" he said in his usual gravely and melancholic voice, a playful smile tugging at his lips. But I couldn't really tell due to the flickering firelight casting strange shadows across his face. "Sure, I'll take first watch," I said.
The others grabbed their bedrolls and placed them on the floor a safe distance from the fire, "make sure the kid doesn't catch alight." Zero said as he adopted a more joking tone. I nodded curtly and faced the fire turning my back on him and his chuckling. The others looked amused as they lay down and closed their eyes.
My attention was then quickly trained onto the bundled-up boy. He looked even more vulnerable and weak, he looked dead. His chest barely rising and falling, his breathing silent and his body still. It broke my heart to see someone so young in such a state.
About two hours passed without anything happening, then the boy's eyes shot open, his eyes were glassy and black with purple flecks, just like a shard of obsidian. His eyes would've been beautiful if not for their lack of emotions. He attempted to sit up, "who are you? Wher-!" he winced curling up around himself as he grabbed his chest. I rushed over, "don't worry your safe here. We're still in your village," I spoke soothingly, "lay back down. I'm Kyra." I went to help him lay back down but he flinched at my touch. He lay down by himself as he regarded me with those dead and emotionless eyes. "what's your name." I spoke softly and carefully like he was a wounded animal. He stared at me for a while before speaking, "I'm Kaisen." he spoke quietly and politely but strangely alien almost like he was no longer living. "Okay Kaisen don't worry your safe now, no one is going to hurt you here child. You're in the presence of God and he'll protect you." I smiled warmly. The boy seemed unaffected, in fact he seemed distrustful and weary. I couldn't really blame him either. "Get some more sleep Kaisen, I'll introduce everyone in the morning" I smiled and spoke reassuringly. Kaisen looked at me funny, his hair had fallen in his eyes, but he didn't seem to notice, he just turned over and went back to sleep. I could tell he was asleep because his chest went from the normal noticeable rising and falling to the barely noticeable death like rising and falling. "Dear God, please bless Kaisen with an uneventful and peaceful sleep." I prayed.
I would have to warn Kevin about the boy waking up when it was his turn to keep watch.