***
Tan, awakened by a woman screaming. This scream was like a bolt from the blue. He jumped out of bed and immediately grabbed the scabbard, in which was his faithful friend and companion, the sword that was forged for him by the masters from Ancalite, a place where good steel is valued. Places where weapons for the king's army were forged.
Everything was like a fog. With an uneven, staggering gait, Tan moved toward the door. Grasping the handle, he pulled towards himself, but the door would not budge. Then he pressed harder, but the door, as before, stood on its own, like a silent guard. Tan felt as if someone had taken all his power. Suddenly he heard a noise in the opposite part of the room. Tan turned around and saw a gaping hole in the wall, from which screams and bright light could be heard. So bright that it is impossible to see through it. Tan swallowed, from the fact that his throat was wildly dry and went to the doorway with full determination to find out what was going on. But the body did not obey him and instead of the usual speed, Tan barely moving his legs, dragging his sword in its sheath, across the floor, moved towards the light. Entering it, Tan found himself on the street … The small village in which he was was half engulfed in flames. Some of the houses had already burned down, and some were just beginning to burn. People, women and children were running around, terrified trying to find salvation. At the end of the street, he saw a silhouette of a man emerge from behind a blazing house. He had a sword in his hands.
Dressed in all black, with a hood on his head, he began to look around. Noticing Tana, the stranger moved towards him. As he approached, there was a tension in the air. Suddenly, next to him, a shadow jumped out of the door of the house, it was Aengus, a neighbor's boy of about fourteen. The man cut off the guy's leg with a sharp movement of his hand, and with the second movement, he cut off his head just as quickly that Aengus did not even have time to utter a word. He did it without fuss, without unnecessary movements, as if he had swatted a cockroach. This was Wotan's representative. The territories of Wotan and Arkon were bordered by each other. However, a peace agreement was concluded between the rulers of both peoples, which had lasted for hundreds of years, and the representatives of Arkon were not afraid to build their houses near the borders. It is obvious that once it was one people, one tribe, but for some reason they split up. They were distinguished by the complete absence of hair and eye color. For Wotan's representatives, they were bright blue, which glowed in the dark. But this one was different. When he looked up, Tan saw that from the seemingly bottomless darkness in the hood, bright blue eyes with red blotches of bloody color were gazing at him. Tan waited, preparing to fend off the attacker. As the man in black approached, Tan began to realize how impressive his size was. Approaching a sufficient distance, the man in black lunged to the side. At the same time, with a lightning-fast movement, he raised his mighty hand, in which was a sword, and with deafening force sent it directly to Tan's head. But Tan managed to raise his hand and his sword took the blow.