A small caravan with five bull-drawn carriages slowly made its way along a deserted dirt road in the dark of the night.
Each carriage held a dozen people which comprised of women, children and elderly, while the men walked beside them, surrounding each carriage from all sides.
In the second last carriage sat a young woman of around 20 years of age, tightly embracing an infant in her arms.
The temperature was around fourteen-degree centigrade outside and each of her breaths let out steam that was visible even under the torchlight.
She gently shook the infant back and forth with an anxious expression.
"Hildi, hold on my love, we'll be there soon," she whispered in the infant's ears who was had her eyes shut tight. Her face transitioned between a shade of red and white as she wheezed with some effort. Clearly she was very sick and the cold night was only adding to the pain she was feeling.
The woman placed the back of her warm hand on the infant's forehead and her eyes instantly became wet.
"Please honey, wait a little bit longer. Mommy will get help soon," she said in a trembling voice before taking off the only coat-like garment she was wearing and wrapped it around the infant.
The cold, dry air pierced her skin like needles but she didn't flinch once. Only staring at her daughter's face without blinking.
She wanted to cry, to let herself mourn the passing of her husband who had died just a few hours ago, but now wasn't the time. The only other person she had now was her daughter, there was nobody else left from her family and now even she was now in dire straits.
In the carriage around her were other women and children in much the same conditions. They had on rough animal hides that provided a little bit of protection against the cold. All of them looked weak and malnourished. Some even had their limbs tied up in bandages made from normal clothes.
The situation was the same even in the other carriages. These were the refugees from a small town about 160 kilometers away from their current location.
The town was attacked just before dawn. These people had no idea what or who attacked them. Loud booming sounds rang out when the night as was at its darkest followed by screams and cries for help.
The young woman's name was Luri. She was an orphan who had gotten married less than a year ago. And last night she lost her husband, leaving her alone to take care of her now sick child.
Her eyes quivered ceaselessly as she felt her daughter's body become colder and colder.
"No please, don't leave mommy, don't leave me too," finally a few salty tears dripped down her cheeks and fell on the child's face.
Luri couldn't continue looking at her anymore, seeing her slowly slip into the darkness. She hugged Hildi even tighter while raising her head to look at the cloudy sky above through the wide cracks in the carriage's roof.
Her right hand clutched a red ruby necklace in the shape of a five-sided star. It dug into her skin and drew blood.
"Please….help. I don't have anyone else, please protect my child," she mumbled.
In her palm, the ruby shone with a dim light and absorbed some of the blood, becoming dim once again.
She prayed over and over again without pause, on the verge of losing her sanity. Her eyes became dim, showing no sign of intelligence.
Just a couple of minutes had passed when a commotion broke out from the front and the carriages came to a sudden halt.
"Attention!" a man's loud voice was heard from outside. Luri peered outwards with a blank look. All the men had taken out their weapons and were facing the east side where the forest was.
She looked towards the tree line and saw a massive shadow looking in her direction. No, it was looking straight at her.
Luri's ears twitched and her face suddenly lit up. She pushed away the few people that were blocking her way and jumped out of the carriage with Hildi in hand. The nearby men were so focused on the shadow that they didn't even notice her until she walked right by them, nearing the shadow.
"Stop! What are you doing! Bring that crazy woman back!" a man in a black uniform shouted from a horse-like beast but none of the men moved an inch.
Their legs were shaking in fear already. Most of these were regular people that were forced to become guards overnight. And that shadow, it was over five meters tall!
"Cowards!" he said in a disgusted tone.
The man in the black uniform jumped down from his ride and unsheathed the sword hanging from his waist.
Keeping one eye on the shadow he quickly ran ahead and stead in front of Luri.
"Return to the carriage right now!" he said sternly, still looking in the shadow's direction.
But the response he was expecting didn't come. Instead, he felt a cold piercing pain.
Stupified, he looked down and saw the hilt of a small dagger coming out from his back. The blade had completely disappeared in his body and he could still feel it with every breath.
"Wha-" he tried to speak but only blood came out of his mouth. With a thud he fell down to his knees. He was just a mortal man after all.
Barefoot, Luri took a few more steps and stood right in front of the shadow. She looked up and saw the dead white eyes of the feline beast and nodded.
"I understand," she said softly.
Luri looked down at 'Hildi' and kissed her on the forehead, "Be strong my love."
Her eyes still empty and focused. It was like she had lost something important, but it was worth it if it could save her child.
She tightened the wrappings around Hildi before raising her into the air. The beast lowered one of its two heads and opened its mouth, swallowing the infant in one gulp. It then turned around and quickly disappeared back into the night.
Luri stared in the direction the shadow had gone for a few seconds before her body went limp and fell down lifelessly. She stared at the cloudy sky, not being able to feel the cold ground beneath her or the chilling wind caressing her body.
She breathed out one last time before closing her eyes. Her heart stopped.
The man in the black uniform could do nothing but watch as Luri gave away her child. Waves of pain rampaged through his body, churning his blood. His complexion turning whiter by the second.
The moment Luri's heart stopped, his eyes rolled back into their sockets and he fell over unconscious.
