Chapter One

Everything was white. 

A thick fog covered everything as far as the eyes could see. And jutting out through the fog were tall trees standing like silent judges over the eerie scene. 

Gideon stumbled through the thick foliage that covered the forest floor, his steps the only sound for hundreds of miles. He finally stopped at the feet of one of the many trees that dotted the forest. He could not see exactly how tall the tree was through the thick fog but it was easily three times wider than him at the trunk.

"Where am I?" He wondered out loud and his voice carried around, echoing and multiplying until the previous silence was overtaken by a cacophony of voices seemingly mocking his question. 

Where am I? WHere Am I? WHERE AM I? Wheeere AM I?

And on and on it went. The voices grew in volume and intensity forcing the young man to push his hands against his ears in a vain attempt to block them out. Until eventually the voices stopped, and the stillness was restored to the forest. Gideon had learned his lesson. He wouldn't be talking any more. 

Adjusting himself, he continued his way through the obviously haunted forest. Every tree he passed seemed to watch his every move like stationary sentries. Gideon was no stranger to forests. He had been playing in the woods outside Mettledown since he was a boy. He and his best friend, Elias would often play pretend as some of the great knights of old, stalking through the forest in search of beasts to slay and princesses to save. His favorite knight to play was Ser Samson, the Lionslayer. However, this forest was nothing like the Mettlewoods. The Mettlewoods had never been this still, there was always the sounds of birds and squirrels and creeping insects and so on. The very atmosphere made him shudder. 

Where am I? This time he did not dare to speak out loud. 

Eventually, the trees began to thin out, growing sparser the further he walked. As a result, he became even blinder as the fog seemed to thicken even more without the obstruction of the trees. With nowhere else to go, Gideon continued walking in the same direction. One step after the other. 

And then suddenly, the fog disappeared. Surprised, Gideon looked backwards and saw nothing but a wall of whiteness behind him but it seemed to end just behind him and before him, just a few steps away, the forest floor gave way to a sharp cliff. Even more surprising was the man sitting on the edge, his legs dangling over the drop. Gideon carefully approached him but the man gave no signs that he was even aware of him until he was a step behind him. 

"They have no idea" The man spoke. His voice was soft, measured and soothing. Most importantly, there was no echo to it. 

The man had obviously been talking to him since there was no other person in their immediate vicinity. Gideon cleared his throat

"Who are you?" There was no echo to his voice either.

The man did not reply, his eyes were fixed on something at the bottom of the cliff, just beyond Gideon's view. He stepped around the mystery man to get a better view. 

At the bottom of the cliff was a sprawling city. Gideon had never been to any of the four great cities, he'd never even left Mettledown or been to Rushford like his friend Elias but he imagined the capital city Kanaan would look something like this. There were high towers and cobbled roads, people bustled to and fro – more people than Gideon had ever seen in his whole life. A massive wall surrounded the city on all sides like a ring and even from the height he was seated, Gideon could soldiers patrolling the walls. 

He breathed as he watched the city. "It's beautiful"

"Once upon a time it was" The man spoke again pulling Gideon out of his daze. 

A thousand questions began to flood his mind. Where are we? Who are you? Is that Kanaan? Why am I here?

Before he could ask any of his questions, the man turned to face him and Gideon almost fell off the cliff in shock. Even then, he still scrambled back from the mystery man. And not for nothing, the man's eyes were glowing gold – not just his iris but his entire eyes were glowing a soft gold color, like the sun. The man smiled softly as he watched Gideon scramble away from him, laugh lines stretching the sides of his face

"Wh... What are you?" Gideon asked.

"Fear not, my child" The man said as he pulled himself to his feet. His plain white robes fell to cover his bare feet as he walked...glided towards Gideon. Gideon could only watch frozen in fear as the man reached him and placed his hand on his head ruffling through his hair like his father did when he was a child. 

Gideon managed to summon some courage and asked "What do you want from me?"

"A witness" The man's voice remained as soft as when he started. Though suddenly, there seemed to be steel in his voice. "My people have forgotten me. My sheep have forgotten the voice of their shepherd. They have lost their way. And now the time of their destruction draws near. A people come fierce and strong and their swords sing for the blood of my people. They raze across the face of the world, spreading their blackness and blight. And yet my people wine and dine. Do they not hear the sounds of war?"

As he said this, the stillness of the forest seemed to break. The silence gave way like glass shattering and all of a sudden, there was noise. There were wolves howling in the distance, birds crying in the air as they took flight. He could hear massive drums beating, shaking the forest itself. And most troubling of all, he could hear the sounds of horses thundering on the ground as they rode.

The noise was so sudden that Gideon tore his gaze away from the man to look at the forest in shock. Through the thickness of the fog, he made out hazy outlines of horsemen with red glowing eyes growing closer and closer.

The man continued to speak; his soft voice somehow audible through the noise. "They may have forgotten me but I have not forgotten them. So, I send you, my witness. Show them the way once more." 

The horsemen were closer now. He could feel it, the sounds of their horses reverberating in his skull but he was frozen to the spot watching the nightmare unfold. 

"Now Go!" The man suddenly shouted placing his palm on his forehead and Gideon knew pain like nothing he had ever known. He opened his mouth to speak but no sound came out. As he slowly gave in to the sweet embrace of unconsciousness, he heard the man whisper, "Gideon my great General"