It was beautiful here, he acknowledged. So very beautiful.
Eric sat down on a sandy rise and rested his folded arms on his knees. A cool breeze blew past, ruffling his hair and he knew that the chill of the dawn would give way soon to the warmth of daylight.
A long body of water stretched out in front of him, glistening from east to west and meandering further than his eyes can follow. He knew that its waters flowed fast and he wondered with a sharp stab of pain when, and where, it would empty into the sea. In the forgiving light of dawn where the sun had not yet properly risen, the waters were inky-black and luminescent, softly glimmering in the light of the moon.
He thought of the silken fall of curls a similar hue on either side of his face.
He watched as cracks of a brilliant orange started in the distance where the line of the land met the dark of the sky. The cracks widened into fissures and slowly swallowed the darkness that was there before. He watched as day broke. He watched as a crimson sun rose and the waters of the river turned red.
Red.
The color of blood.