@heiminhost | Starter Call
The dim light of morning streamed through gaping cracks of the barren tree branches that hung low over the dirt road. Their weak limbs clawed scars into the ashy earth, as the soft breeze nudged them downwards into the thick powder the wind coughed up. Painting the sleek, black coat of his steed’s legs a deeper shade of gray with each step the animal took, and matting the beat’s generally well kept mane with thick clumps of dust. Earning an uncharacteristic snort from the horse that made his reins tremble, as his nostrils were forced to suck in the vile stench of burnt wood, earth, and metal while his filthy hooves dodged the collection of fallen trees upon the path.
Pressuring the creature’s sides, Leon recaptured his attention, as he shifted in the horse’s heavy saddle. Gaze dancing along the lifeless land, as he tried to identify the varying remains littering the side of the road. Wood, and brick scattered about one another in scarce piles of fabric, furniture, and pillars. None of which were large to be anything other than homes belonging to the small village that had lined the road and served as a popular resting place for traders on their way into Nohr. But his memory of it was too fuzzy to peace together in the ruins that remained of it.
Agitation lined his smooth features, as his lips curled into something akin to a snarl at the sight, making his forehead crease and jaw clench. His fingers tightened their hold around his horse’s reins until his knuckled turned sheet white, and his muscles tensed beneath his armor. A thousand bitter, angry thoughts flew through his head, but the worst of which were the what ifs. What if he had sent soldiers to patrol the area? What if his men had gotten there sooner? What if he had noticed the increasing issue of bandits sooner? He could have dealt with the issue sooner; he could have saved more lives. But even as those ideas flooded through his mind, he was all too aware of the fact that there was simply nothing he could have done that would have prevented bandits from raiding the village.
Easing the breath he had been holding in his frustration out, he shoved aside his regrets to return his focus to the subject at hand. it was not typically a king’s place to meddle in the affairs of his citizens when something went wrong, but Leon hadn’t quite accepted his role in a traditional manner, nor did he govern in a manner that Nohrians would expect. He could not, and would not sit on the sidelines as his country fought to recover from the burden of war.
He felt a sudden jerk within his fists, as animal slowed to halt before the former heart of the village. Tearing his master’s attention away from his grave scenery, and back onto the messy, cluttered road where he could make out a figure among the debris that had made the animal stop; unsure if he could wiggle through the scarce area where the road was still usable. “Hey,” It was a stern, unfriendly greeting that displayed Leon’s distrust of the stranger. “What are you doing here?” His voice was commanding, and almost cruel in the silence that plagued the area. He couldn’t have possibly placed a face to anyone who might have lived in the village, and the fallen trees made it impossible for him to make out what the individual was doing, but he would cut down those who threatened his people without hesitation.
