Darkness. A voice rasps; “Where twelve become one twelve can release him, where twelve become one twelve can renew him, where twelve become one twelve can destr-“
“Wake up, Sylvire! Please, quickly!”Sylvire blinked blearily as she felt a hand on her arm shaking her, and heard a voice urgently calling her name. As sleep faded from her eyes, the sorceress made out the figure of Selwyn standing over her. The blood elf was clearly distressed, and frequently glanced over her shoulder.“Selwyn..? What is it? What are you doing here?” Sylvire asked, rubbing her eyes and sitting up. Beside her, Seridur was doing the same, frowning faintly at the intrusion.“You need to dress quickly, both of you. The city has been attacked – it’s like they came from nowhere. Suddenly all around the city there was fighting, the guard have barely had a chance to react. It’s a massacre out there!”Sylvire’s eyes widened in disbelief. “Attacked? But what by? Who by?”Selwyn shook her head, “There’s no time. I’ll explain to you on the way – you have an escape route, yes? You’ve mentioned it before, a way out that takes us away from the streets?”The sorceress nodded, as adrenaline began to kick in and push back fatigue. Slipping out of bed, Sylvire grabbed her robes from her wardrobe and quickly slipped them on. On the bed, Seridur was still confused. “What’s going on, Sylvire?” he asked.“We’re in danger – get dressed. I need to go and get Elias. When you’re ready lead Selwyn down to the cellar, quickly!” Sylvire instructed, taking her staff from its position against the wall and hurrying out of the room without a backward glance.As she rushed along the corridor she passed one of her servants, who she gripped by the shoulder. “Run down to Carya, tell her to organise everyone and get them to the cellar. She’ll know what I’m talking about. Go, run!”The frightened young girl nodded and ran, sprinting down towards the servant’s quarters. Sylvire herself reached the door to Elias’s room and pushed it open. “Elias! Wake up, sweetheart, we have to go.”The young boy turned over in bed, blinking. “Huh..?” he murmured, as Sylvire crouched down beside his bed, stuffing a few clothes from his drawers into a bag. “Where’re we going? What time is it?”“We’re going on a trip.” Sylvire said, “We can’t stay here anymore, it’s not safe. Can you get dressed for mummy, please? Quickly!”Elias frowned, but reluctantly acquiesced, slipping out of bed and into his clothes. As soon as he was dressed, Sylvire grabbed her son’s hand and left the room, running towards the stairs. As they reached the top, a sudden echoing boom resonated through the house, and Sylvire’s breath caught.That had come from the entrance hall – it sounded rather frighteningly like the doors being blown down. Elias opened his mouth to ask what was happening, but Sylvire hushed him and hurried down the stairs. As they passed through the ground levels, Sylvire caught sight of the battle spilling into her home in brief flashes. Passing a doorway she could see guardsmen and women battling strange, distorted creatures. At their head stood some construct of metal, crushing the guards with sweeps of a massive scythe-like weapon. Remaining unseen, Sylvire pulled Elias down towards the cellar, where Selwyn and Seridur were waiting.Panting, Sylvire released Elias’s hand for Seridur to take and made for the wine box to the back of the room. Prying the lid off, she twisted a bottle in the centre, and with a grinding of gears a section of the stone wall swung back to reveal a passageway. “Selwyn, take Seridur and Elias through. I’m going to wait here as long as I can for any others, but you get a head start!” she instructed.Selwyn nodded, and ignoring protests from Sylvire’s family ushered them into the passageway. Before long they disappeared around a corner, and Sylvire waited. The sounds of battle were drawing closer, and she was about to abandon hope when footsteps on the cellar stairs caught her attention. The sorceress lifted her staff, ready to defend herself, but the figures that appeared at the bottom of the steps were of Carya, and half a dozen other servants.“This is all you’ll be saving tonight, Miss Nasazura, I tried to get to the others but it was too late.” The cook said, scowling. “May their souls go into the light, those creatures are horrific.”Sylvire nodded. “With me then, quickly. I’ll close the door behind us.” The group made their way past her and into the passage, and Sylvire joined them moments later. Pulling the wall section closed and twisting the handle to prevent it from opening again from the other side, Sylvire let herself breathe.Aurion had been right. She only prayed that the others would be so lucky.