The southern villages were the ones on the other side of the forest; that is to say, Uwielbinie! I couldn't stand the sight of the place where I was born mistreated and sullied. But, as I was crossing the town's main plaza, where most of the shops were, I saw the colorful sign of Bolesław's Weaponry.

'Basch!'

I entered the shop and quickly scanned the empty shelves and broken glass cases, but no sign of Bolesław anywhere. The place had been stripped of the majority of its once-radiant weapons, and there was a smell of burning all over. I moved forward, near the counter, and abruptly heard a muffled sound.

'Mister Bolesław?' I asked as I made an effort to lift myself to look on the other side.

The shop owner was lying behind the counter, motionless; a heavy brick was near his head – I guess he had the misfortune to receive it as it fell from above. But that was without mentioning what was happening outside. Any madman could have taken the opportunity to enter and hit him. Was he… dead?

'What… do you want?'

'Bolesław!' I smiled.

'Didn't I tell you to leave? Why did you come back?' he frowned.

'That was my twin brother, Basch', I explained. 'We're both from Uwielbinie. Did Basch tell you where he was going before leaving the shop? Please, remember!'

He let out a deep sigh as he tried to get up in the middle of the wood and stone fragments. I lent him my hand to help him out and he finally managed to get on his feet.

'Who did you say you were again?'

'Noah. Fon Ronsenburg. From Uwielbinie. Nevermind, I'm the twin brother of the boy who came to the shop earlier. That's why we look alike.'

I was so much in a rush to get this damned answer that I did not exactly know what I was saying. And I did not care much.

'Wait, wait… What did you say?'

'Please, remember!' I repeated, joining my hands in a useless prayer.

'Oh, yes, a boy! You say he is your brother? But that was you! No way… How did your hair grow so fast?'

'Please, tell me what did this boy… or I tell you the last time we met!'

'But… Uwielbinie… Yes… You told me you were going there as soon as you saw the army outside! That you had to go back there.'

'Thank you, Bolesław!'

I left him scratching the top of his head in confusion.

He was right. Basch had to have the same idea as me: that he had to go back to the village. I continued running south until I reached the edge of the forest. I could already hear the noise of battles, so I systematically chose the opposite way to where they came from. That made the journey a little longer, but I had to avoid fights by all means. Like, what was I even supposed to do if some Archadian bucket head appeared in front of me with a sword? I wouldn't stand a chance. So I ran.

I entered the wood with a feeling of sweat rolling down my back. The evidence was there: I did not know who could be hidden in the bushes, where the safest way to home could be, or even if such a way existed. I was only used to crossing a small portion of the forest while visiting Naria, and never paid attention to its size while going to Waldgott with the cart. Crossing it entirely, all afoot, seemed for me impossible. But the thought of my mother being alone with the Archadian soldiers was even more impossible. I tried to focus on this thought and moved forward.

I was walking at a fast pace, approximately knowing where I was going. As I kept going, I could hear far-away noises. I walked farther and understood there were noises of battle. As of that moment, I felt stunned and my legs wouldn't move. Battles… near home? Could I still call this place home at the moment? No, but there was Mom. Mom! I could never let my mother down and run away after all she'd done for Basch, for me, and for so many others. Where would I run away, anyway?

'Aaah!'

I let out a frightful scream as soon as I heard a gunshot just some meters away. As I heard footsteps coming from the same place, I jumped in the nearest bush and kept myself hidden.

'Hey! Did you hear that?'

Someone was indeed there. I heard another person sniffing before answering:

'What?'

'That sound.'

Archadian accent. I gasped.

'Wait, did you just say there was someone here? Come on mate, there's just the two of us waiting for orders as we've been told two hours ago.'

'But… Maybe you're right. Two hours, you say? I'd have sworn it was rather two days…'

I sighed, as quietly as I could, and kept on listening to the voices slowly fading away. I remained concentrated until I could hear them no more. Then I stood up, first inside the bush, and after making sure there was nobody, outside of it. I removed the leaves stuck on my skin by sweat, and began running. I had to make haste: if the Archadians were indeed in Uwielbinie, the situation could be far worse than what I had imagined. I ran for an unknown duration; as I was too busy observing the surroundings to have the slightest idea about time. At times, I would stop, listen carefully to the battle noises and adapt my path accordingly, without straying too much. But I kept on running. Slowly, I began to realize I had travelled a big part of the distance to the village. Half of it – maybe two thirds. Which meant one hour. But I didn't have time to feel terror's shiver shake my legs and scream to stop. Nor had I the right to feel any kind of exhaustion or discouragement. I had to make it, just like Basch had to make it. We would both make it. And join Mom. That was all.

Suddenly, I joined a portion of the forest where birds were leaving the trees by ranks. I took fright and hid again in the closest bush. But after a minute, I noticed there was no one around. I left my hideout carefully and put, once again, my feet on the ground. I took the time to breathe a little before concentrating on what could be happening. I was about to give up and hide again – too afraid to run where there could be soldiers – when I heard a group of voices. I turned towards them – they were hopefully far away from me, at least three hundred meters. That's when I saw them: several men, maybe a dozen, aligned in front of shorter humans… children.

I heard them laugh and talk to the children, who could be friends or part of the same family. I could not, however, distinguish their words, for they had been mixed with the sudden sound of guns and steel, coming from a further distance. The children were gathered between a couple of trees, and didn't seem to move. Then one of the grown-up voices barked something and the kids screamed. I tried to observe them and, from what I could see, noticed the eldest of the group could be my age or younger than me. The adults began to make big gestures and move along their line – and I realized they could easily turn their heads and see me. I tried to hide behind a tree and continued observing – for running at that moment was far too risky, and my legs wouldn't follow.

The path of the adults led them to the group of kids, with each one eventually holding one of them as they were probably trying to escape. Each adult led his hostage to a tree in front of him and ropes appeared. It was inevitable. The adults were certainly Archadian, but why weren't they wearing armors? And… And why children? I suddenly felt that if I was in Basch's company, I would have tried something to help them, to take them out of there, no matter what was going to happen. But I was alone. All alone. And I was a coward. I knew that any attempt would lead to nothing but my mother losing a son. So I kept on waiting. Yes, I waited.

My fears were suddenly shaken by the foreigners laughing again. I held my breath and raised my look to the scene. Between two gunshots, I heard:

'Let's go! Let's do it!'

'Isn't this what we came here for?'

'Nobody can see us!'

I held the tree tightly with my hands until they began to hurt. The ropes had been tied to the trees, and now the Archadians were approaching them to the children's necks. One after the other, the kids had been tightly fastened, and all their moves were soon in vain. I could hear some of them cry, others began to panick and screamed at the top of their lungs. But it was too late. It all happened too quickly.

'All at once! All at once!'

'Slowly… don't kill him yet! Oh, this one's dead, dammit. Let's play with the other!'

My stomach began to send alarm signals. I kept my eyes wide open and abruptly felt like struck by a thunderstorm: I knew these kids. They were… They were the group of boys Basch used to play with.

'Come on, let's not miss it, this time! One! Two! Threeee!'

'Hahaha! Almost perfect!'

They were the ones who applauded at my dance with Naria during the village feast.

'Look, this one's still jiggling! Should we try something?'

'Wait! I have an idea!'

Riza. Masyn. Kovt. They all had names and families that were closer to me than I could have imagined.

'This one's colour is so funny! Does it remind you of the same thing…?'

'Heh heh heh! Ho ho… To adjudge, I want to see him naked!'

'All naked! All naked!'

And they began stripping the boys of their clothes. One by one. They continued to laugh, and my mind was devoid of thoughts when I suddenly heard a child's cry. My nausea accentuated and I felt like I could take no more. But there was no way out; there was nothing I could do, and nowhere I could go safely. I was forced to see and to hear what I was seeing and hearing, and that was tearing my body to pieces.

'Good boy! Aren't they better when they're dead?'

'Hah! Are you even sure he is?'

'Doesn't matter… Give me the dagger! I want his hand apart. I want a Landis hand in my living room.'

'Let's cut all their parts! A distinguished treat!'

I hadn't even felt the vomiting come. I threw up all sorts of food and emotions against the tree and immediately after my legs moved all by themselves. They certainly had seen – or heard – me so it was useless to hide anymore. I ran and ran until I noticed a clear path in front of me: it was the path to the Olszewski farm. But most importantly, it was on the opposite way of the Archadians, so I followed it without hesitating. As I was trying to breathe properly, I realized Naria's farm was the logical way to reach home, since it was just north of it. What would she say if I told her what I saw? How could I ever tell her anyway? I had to hurry to talk to her and make sure she's okay before heading to Mom.

At some point, I decided to stop and catch my breath. I turned back: no one was following me. At least something good: I had escaped… But there had to be soldiers – or maybe crueler men like the ones I saw – in Uwielbinie Village, which was not far away at that moment. What catastrophes were awaiting me there?

I took a long breath and hurried up towards Naria's farm. That was my first step, and the sooner I'd check what was happening there, the sooner I'd be at Mom's side. I almost smiled when I heard frenetic screams from my favorite chocobo:

'Kweh! Kweh! Kweh!'

Book was trying to say something as he ran towards me.

'Good… Good chocobo. Where is Naria?'

'Kweh! Kweh!'

Book's state was far from normal. He was possibly terrified – but I did not want to believe that something bad had happened there. Not there too. So I thought he might still be sick, or surprised. But that was no reason to slow down: I continued running until I reached the big property's limits.

As soon as I entered, I noticed the ravages made in the fields. There was absolutely nothing remaining: the flowers, the vegetables, the grains… all were severely damaged, upside down, as if a group with the sole purpose of ruining the harvest had passed.

'What is this?'

I turned left, where the workers' leader's hut was. I wondered if he was aware of the situation, and if he had warned his little mistress about it. Maybe he didn't want her to be involved in this most horrendous thing? Anyway, someone had to tell her, at least to take her to a safe place – although I did not know one.

'Aaah!'

I let out a scream of terror at lowering my eyes. Sydor was there, outside the hut, lying on the cold ground. He had been stabbed on the chest and was motionless. Only blood was flowing outside his body.

'Sydor! Sydor!'

I tried to wake him up but it was too late. Where were all of the other workers? They certainly had run away when they saw the soldiers. Why did this lovely farm have to endure this too?

'Naria!'

If Sydor was dead, that meant Naria was in great danger! I had to figure out where she was.

I finished inspecting the garden and the fields, and apart from desolation, I saw nothing special. If Naria was still in the property, she had to be inside. So I ran into the house where we celebrated so many birthdays, organized so many eating contests, and played so much, under the constant rumbling of Karol Olszewski against the Ronsenburg offspring.

'Naria!'

I jumped over the stairs, heading towards her bedroom, which, surprisingly, I did not know so much. I shook away the sheets, opened the cupboards, looked under the bed, but had to admit the truth: she was not there. I then examined the late parents' bedroom, the old attic, the bathrooms, but still found nobody. Disappointed, I returned on the ground floor, entered the kitchen, the utility room, and the main living room, and concluded Naria had escaped – which was good. Indeed, if she could escape Sydor's fate, and run to hide in my house with my mother, or elsewhere, I could hope for nothing better. I could already see the scenario: Sydor defended her and the farm against the Archadian soldiers, and stood fast in front of them while allowing Naria to flee. That's why I could not find her in the…

I suddenly gasped.

She was there.

In the small second living room of the house, behind the main one – the one where we used to play hide-and-seek and have a snack in the afternoon – I saw her.