Shouts echo over the stone walls. The sound of clashing steel draws steadily closer. Fire arrows tearing through the dark night are as beautiful as fireflies, eventually beginning to lick at the fortress as it burns.

You can only watch in a daze as the manor you called home begins to roar and collapse in flames.

The enemy forces are right before your eyes. You have few options. Surrender, or take your own life. Escape... was not realistic. If a woman tried to flee alone on foot, the outcome was already decided.

Even if you surrender, the future is bleak. Being taken as a hostage would be a lucky outcome; you might be executed or cut down on the spot. If you hesitate too long, the enemy will flood the castle, and you will become prey for the looters.

At that moment, the thunderous sound of hooves rings out from the gate. A single rider bearing the enemy's colors gallops fiercely through the dirt, weaving through the rain of fire arrows.