Caruna ran from the screams, the burning city lighting the night
sky behind her. When they took down the outer wall she had ﬁrst
tried to ﬂee to the higher levels of the city, but the soldiers
refused to let them through the gates. She had been separated
from her family amidst the ﬂaming buildings and smoking streets
and resorted to escaping the city as a whole.  Her torn boots
carried her away from the carnage and towards the forests past
the northern farms. The ﬁelds around her were already demolished
and the ﬁres quickly spread to the trees. Caruna left her home
behind as she crashed through a stream and stumbled onto the
opposite bank, exhausted.  She crawled forward and sank into the
hollow of a tree trunk, curling up into a ball as tears stained
her cheeks. The mud beneath her soaked into her blonde hair and
ripped dress as the aching spread from her feet to her mind and
the mucky smell of the forest wafted her nostrils, but did
nothing to calm her. Her head pounded, the adrenaline still
coursing throug