1. CRIMSON FIELDS

                                    

                                          
The sun hung low in the sky, casting long shadows over the scarred landscape. This open field was once open to our cattle, home to so many memories shared and now here it is ravaged right before my eyes.
The air was thick with the acrid smell of smoke and the coppery scent of blood. My footsteps echoed in the silence that had settled over the scene, each step a reminder that I had arrived too late.
Bodies of my kin lay strewn across the field, their lifeless eyes staring into the void. Each face I recognized brought a fresh wave of grief crashing over me. My father, his strong arms that had once lifted me high, now lay still. My brother, who had always protected me, now lay broken and bloodied. My friends, my comrades, all gone. My clan was armed to the teeth, generals and archers and only the most talented of the soldiers in all of Ravenspire. Most of them were now brutalized beyond recognition, with mangled remains left behind, with no one left to carry them, no one left to bury them. No one left to mourn them except for me.
I fell to my knees beside my mother's body, my hands trembling as I closed her eyes. Tears streamed down my face, and a guttural cry escaped my lips, echoing across the empty field. I had known we were facing a formidable enemy, but nothing could have prepared me for this. The angels had come with their ethereal beauty and devastating power, striking down my people without mercy.
Why had I been spared? The question gnawed at me, a bitter seed of doubt and confusion. I had been miles away, sent on a mission by my father, the clan leader, to seek allies in a neighbouring village. But it was all a ruse to keep me away from a war he already knew we were destined to lose. I was taken far away on horseback to a secluded area of the woods by the thicket of which our village was hidden by. Kicked off the horse with enough supplies to last me a day or two, the horseback rider was none other than my lover, Hadi.
"Why are you doing this?" I yelled in despair, my bones definitely broken.
"You will understand." 
That was the last of all he said whilst riding away with my armour still intact on his horse. I didn't stand a chance to fight anyone without my weaponry and armour.
I rose to my feet, my legs unsteady, and surveyed the carnage around me. Heat rose to my neck and chest, the stench of rot and blood in the air suffocating me more than ever now. My lungs burned with every breath like the air was mostly acid. Angry, hot tears sprang to my eyes. I should have died here with him, like brave warriors do like his parents did and mine. He had abandoned me in the woods, left me secluded and unable to join the war. But it wasn't enough—the angels came armoured with spears and swords made of light. The flashes of light each time it claimed the lives of my people were visible far and wide across the country, all of this happening while I laid there on the ground horrified and paralysed knowing what was to come next.
When the divine light struck down upon the earth, the sky split open with a thunderous roar. The clouds tore apart, revealing a brilliance that blinded anyone who dared to look. Angels descended in a cascade of shimmering light, their wings unfurled like radiant banners. The air itself seemed to vibrate with their arrival, a hum that resonated deep within my bones. They moved with terrifying grace, their faces devoid of mercy, eyes burning with divine fury.
Each angel wielded a weapon forged from pure light, their spears and swords gleaming with deadly intent. They descended upon my people with relentless precision, striking down anyone in their path. The ground trembled beneath their might, and the cries of the fallen were drowned out by the thunderous clash of divine power.
It was an execution, not a battle. The sky wept fiery tears as the angels unleashed their wrath. They, who were meant to be the gatekeepers of our heavenly father, had turned their backs on him, hunting us down for an agenda of their own. The earth shook, and the heavens split open, pouring forth their rage upon us.