The Price of Victory

Madison's grip tightened on her bloodied sword as she surveyed the carnage surrounding the fallen form of Karnath-Gor, the dreaded Mad King. The Kragmoor keep's vaulted ceiling seemed to press down with the weight of their hard-won victory.

All around, the battered but unbowed warriors of the Resistance tended to their wounded and mourned their fallen brothers. Rendal, the grizzled captain of the Bloodfang Guard, was being carried out on a tattered banner, his rent armor leaving a macabre trail. So many brave souls had made the ultimate sacrifice.

A soft sob drew Madison's eye to a slouched figure cradling the broken body of young Lily. The poor maiden's delicate features were frozen in an endless expression of terror, those warm hazel eyes now dull and lifeless. Lily's light had been so cruelly snuffed out before her story truly began.