Part 02 - The Old Barrier

"There! What is it? "...

Shouted a scout from one of the watch towers. It was late in the evening, and the scout was calling down to his comrades on the lower Barrier wall. "What do you mean?" one Barrier guard shouted back to his comrade in the watch tower. "Don't you see it?" He continued, "From the edge of the forest pours a black fog..."

And so it was. Like a dark cloud from the deep shadows of the forest, the fog crept closer and closer. From the thick black wood of the trees it seemed to gather itself at the edge of the clearing. Closer and closer, then higher and higher as it rose up against the impenetrable walls of the Old Barrier. By now, all of the Barrier guards were on alert...

"See, a fire!" another scout called. But the whole forest would have had to have been on fire to produce such a large cloud of smoke and soot. Also, no flames were to be seen anywhere. The first man who became fully conscious of this mysterious threat was Revilo, the young son of the King Lrak. Revilo, like all high born residents of Nelaa, was serving his voluntary enlistment as a plain soldier in the ranks of the Dragon Knights...

"Evil magic had to be at work here. Magic that could only be known from the old records, " thought Revilo. He quickly reported his assumption to the commander of the Barrier guards...

However, Revilo received only scorn and ridicule from the commander of the Barrier guards. "Pah! Does our king's young son have fear of the darkness? How shall a fog be a danger to us humans?" The commander laughed. But, just then, the commander's breath turned to a short gasp...

In a moment, the entire sky was covered by a threatening darkness. The peaceful night had lost the light of it's stars and a deep blackness made it very difficult for the humans to see even a meter ahead. Immediately the commander of the Barrier guard called for the alarm...

The horns of the Barrier were blown and their mournful tone resonated throughout the roads and lanes of a city already sound asleep. Nelaa's inhabitants awoke with the chilling and horrifying memories of cruel times past...

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