Tale of Kairu

Novella woke up to the sound of the villages alarm bell. As quick as she could she got out of her bed and dressed herself, grabbed some things from her room, including a small, simple, dagger. When she came down the stairs she noticed that the house was filled with smoke and fire. Her dad was waiting downstairs holding several large bags, filled with anything he could grab in his panic, and her mom was holding Almo, Novella's 4 year old brother. Novella had always taken care of Almo when her mom was cleaning the house, or helping her dad in the corn fields.  "Hurry, through the back door!" Novella's dad said inbetween his frequent coughing.  As they ran to the back door Novella's eyes filled with tears. She wasnt sure if these tears were caused by the high density of smoke, or from the fear of seeing her home burn down. As they opened the back door someone broke through the front door. Novella looked behind her to see a group of skeletons plated in black armor, darker than the night.  Novella had heard about skeletons like this. They were the henchmen of Kurime, the incarnation of death. In Kairu there was 1 god, Venturo. Venturo had died during the creation of the world and his power was split between 4 incarnations. Kurime, incarnation of death. M., incarnation of wisdom. Elune, incarnation of nature and Karlek, incarnation of love. Kurime's job was to act as a grim reaper, a neutral guide to the underworld, but in the last few years the divines, the incarnations and their children: the demi-gods, had changed. They started breaking their own rules and some even started attacking settlements.  Novella's dad pushed her through the door after her mom. He rushed through the door himself too and immediately turned around to shut the door before the skeletons could come close. But he was already too late, as he turned around he stood face to face with the skeleton that had broken through the front door. As the skeleton lifted his sword Novella's dad pushed Novella away after her mother.  "Run!" was the only word her dad could yell before the sword hit his body. His voice stopped in an instant. Novella stood frozen with fear and despair but her mom grabbed her hand and pulled her along. For a moment Novella couldn't hear anything. She saw everything like an old movie, in black, white and gray without sound. She saw her mom talk to her in a panic, but she couldn't understand what her mom was trying to say.  She snapped back to her senses when an arrow flew past her arm. Her mom was still pulling her towards the woods, while telling her what to do if anything happened to her. Novella tried to listenen but was too distracted by everything that was happening. Right when they reached the edge of the forest an arrow hit Novella's mom in her left leg. She stumbled and fell and Novella stopped running to look back. Her mom tried to hand Almo to her, knowing she would not be able to get up and outrun the skeletons. Novella realised that she didn't have time to pick up Almo and get away. Her mom realised that too after a moment, and protected Almo by hunching over him, then told Novella to escape without looking back.  "We love you Novella" where the words she heard as she ran away. She did as her mom said. She didn't look back, not once, she just ran and ran, seemingly without end.  When she stopped running the sun was already high in the sky, the adrenaline in her body had ran out and she realised how tired she had gotten from running so much. She knew there was a neighbouring village on the other side of the woods she ran through, and that getting there would only take 1 or 2 hours by foot, so she decided to start walking after resting for half an hour.  The skeletons didn't seem to have followed her so she didn't have to hurry, though the idea of sleep and friendly faces at the tavern seemed very inviting.  As she walked through the woods she held on to her dagger closely. She had been too scared to use it before, but she didn't have anyone to protect her now, and she realised that meant protecting herself. "I'm an adult already so it shouldn't be too hard" She whispered those words to herself repeatedly, until she finally reached the village.