The Breaking of the Dawn

Lucia, grab the book and run! I’ll get Lucas and we’ll catch up to you! Don’t wait for me; I’ll meet up with you soon!” But in the confusion of the moment, Abner did not see which way Lucia went after she rushed out the doorway of their dwelling. As a result, Abner ran in the opposite direction with his son; and so, the two frantic parents and their child hastily and unintentionally parted ways with armor-clad, sword-wielding soldiers in fierce pursuit. Even though the din of clanking metal and shouts from the oncoming warriors rang out all around him, Abner heard only the labored sound of his own heavy breathing, the muted sound of his shoes pounding the mossy forest floor as he ran, and the arrows of his enemy whizzing wildly past him. As he fled with his son through the ancient woods he had grown to know and love over the years, all he could think about was catching up to his wife and protecting his child. Abner ran as fast as his leather-shod feet would carry him while clutching his young son in his arms. The soldiers in pursuit were unable to keep pace with Abner because of the weight of their cumbersome armor and because of his extensive knowledge of the region. He eventually came to a particular spot next to a wide and raging river where he thought he might find his wife waiting for him. As Abner drew close to the water’s edge and did not see Lucia anywhere, he realized he had not been following his wife as he had intended. Realizing he had little to no hope of ever seeing his beloved mate again in this life, he quickly assessed the situation as it now stood. The enemy was rapidly closing in on him. He knew he had no choice but to jump in the freezing, turbulent river if he wanted to escape. With a loud splash, the desperate man plunged into the icy-cold waters of the swift river with his small child grasped tightly in his arms. Abner and Lucas could hardly breathe as the shock of the cold water gripped them. The soldiers made it to the water’s edge just as Abner jumped in, but they did not dare try to follow after them because they knew their armor would undoubtedly sink them like rocks. They decided instead to run parallel with the river in hopes that Abner would not attempt to swim the nearly one-hundred yards to the other side, and that they might find easy passage along the rough banks of the river. If Abner did try the daring escape across the wide waterway and was somehow successful, the pursuers feared that he very well might get away. Abner was quite aware of his inability to swim across the rushing river with his son in one of his arms. They needed to get out and warm themselves if they were to have any hope of survival at all; yet, Abner felt that if -- or rather, when -- they were caught, at least his death was certain. He held out hope that somehow Lucas would survive, and he earnestly prayed for such a blessing. The river swept the father and son very rapidly downstream and out of the sight of the soldiers who were having great difficulty navigating the large, slippery, moss-covered boulders, and tangled branches and logs strewn along the riverside. Functioning on pure adrenaline, Abner eventually made his way to the near bank of the river where he and his son, both barely alive and becoming hypothermic, crawled onto the shore. Though they were in the water for less than a minute, it seemed like an eternity to the exhausted and freezing Luchnian. Abner gently laid his shivering son on the gravel at the river’s edge where his tears wet the stones below him while he prayed intensely for his son’s life. He believed that unless Lord Elyon himself came to their rescue, their doom was sure. Presently, he recognized the immediate need to somehow make a fire to warm himself and Lucas so they did not freeze to death first. Meanwhile, his wife, who was now over three miles away, was not faring very well either. Lucia ran breathlessly as far and as fast as her petite body would take her, but she was unable to outrun her persistent pursuers for even a few minutes. She did not have the benefit of a river as her husband did, though she doubted any assistance would delay the inevitable. After less than five frenzied minutes, Abishaqar’s soldiers who were tracking Lucia caught up with the weary woman and fell upon her with dreadful fury. Knowing that her end had finally come, Lucia clung tightly to the book, quoting some of its contents. Most of the soldiers could not bear to hear the words of the Book of Light and, covering their ears, shrank back from the quiet sound of Lucia’s soft voice. “One of you cowards shut this stupid woman up now!” hissed Daemon, Abishaqar’s top general, as he rode up to the scene of the encounter. “If there is one thing that I absolutely cannot stand, it is the foul words of our enemy! Sikarios, since none of these worthless men are able, would you do us the honor and courtesy of quickly ending this woman’s babbling?” Before Sikarios, another of Abishaqar’s generals, could even lift a finger, a fiery dart flew out of the dark forest and struck Lucia directly in the heart. As her lifeless body crumpled to the ground, the dark lord himself came out of the woods and hailed his favorite general for finally discovering the Book of Light. The flaming dart that pierced Lucia’s body smoldered for a moment before it was quenched by her blood as Abishaqar spoke. “Daemon, you have proven your worth to me once again. I knew I could count on you to find that appalling book; though, I must admit it has taken much longer than I have wanted. But not to worry, it seems apparent the book has not done much to threaten my dominion while in the possession of this foolish woman. “You have always served me well, Daemon, even when we were subjected to the service of our tyrannical enemy. If I recall correctly, you were the first one to join me in the revolution against that despicable oppressor, am I right? I shall give you your due and make you Steward of the Realms, second only to me.” “Thank you, your highness. You are correct about my willingness to be the first to pledge my allegiance to you. I humbly accept the promotion -- well, as humbly as someone like me can,” Daemon replied arrogantly, laughing briefly with his commander. In an instant, Abishaqar refocused on the situation at hand. “All right, enough of these formalities!” he barked. The Ruler of Darkness violently snatched the Book of Light out of Lucia’s motionless fingers, closed it tightly and bound the cover so that no glimmer would escape from its radiant pages. Now that the book was finally in his possession, his next goal was to destroy it since that was absolutely necessary to completely rid his realms of light. Recently, Abishaqar had a hunch that he would find both the book and the last of the Luchnians together; and to his ego’s delight, he was right. The dark lord was finally nearing the end of his sixthousand- year-long crusade to rid Choshek of all remnants of light. His only vexation now was news that one other Luchnian had evaded capture…for the time being. Abishaqar quickly mounted his massive black horse and rode off toward his castle cursing the light bearer for escaping, although he would not have been so angry had he known that at that moment another band of his men were drawing ever closer to capturing the sole remaining Luchnian.