The third night...
The refugee group had already moved; left behind was a strong smell of iron, crimson soil, and dozens of unmoving bodies.
Sacrifices had to be made, it was Dawn herself who had put them down.
She could only leave the few awake a message. While most couldn't respond, the rest acknowledged their fates.
How could they resist their harsh realities anyways?
Dawn swung, crushing each head under her spear.
The subtle noises of wheezing and breathing had died down. Yet the noises didn't stop there.
Cutting and carving each body, she released the foul odour of blood and guts.
It would be more alluring this way.
Soon, Dawn leaned on her spear, the near-silence fell into total silence.
Of course, the thunderous sounds of collisions had never stopped, but it felt so much quieter now.
It tickled her ears like a reminder; faintly, but she would never let go of that sound.
She had a duty she couldn't give up.
Crossing the river, the water picked up hints of red from her robes.
...
The group of refugees moved quietly and cautiously through the forest, now descending the mountain's slope.
The shaking ground and roaring air ceased and resumed in discordant intervals.
Dawn regrouped with the people and led from the front once again.
She was silent, and so were the hundreds of people behind her.
Sun was still mourning, and Selene was distant but unfazed.
There was no stopping; the nights ahead promised nothing better.
...
The fourth night came. They descended to the foot of the mountain, resting before moving towards and through the next. Miraculously, they had not been attacked by any beasts, yet.
Although to their horror, the fierce battle, despite being left far behind, soared abruptly in intensity.
Violent tremors shook the ground, the trees flailed helplessly, and even the mountain wavered in the face of such might.
The earth roared, the lands creaked before rupturing; the mountain suffered a heavy impact as the slope caved in and cracks ran up the mountain's peak.
The refugees were on the opposite slope, but they still suffered the aftershock.
Clouds of dirt loomed over the sky, and shattered rock from the mountain's peak came tumbling down towards the helpless party.
Dawn burst out with a tremendous and desperate aura as she ran to the back of the group. Grasping her spear tightly, the blade burned white hot.
She swung upwards, drawing a beautiful, white arc that tore the air.
A crescent blade flew out and whistled, flying up the slope of the mountain and towards the first few boulders.
It smashed into one, erupting through it and smashing into another.
Rock burned into cinders and ash.
The other guards followed Dawn's lead and unleashed their own attacks.
Half an hour passed, and the avalanche of rock and dirt had ceased, too.
Some people were inevitably injured, but they were quickly tended to by Sun.
Tiredly, the guards fell to their knees. Dawn stood tall before trudging back to the group. The lands stopped shaking.
When the dirt finally cleared, gentle starlight glazed over the lands with a grey hue.
The clouds were broken in streaks due to the mere shockwaves of fighting, but it helped to reveal even more of the starry sky.
Dawn left her absent gaze high, the stars pierced through Night's sky and the dark lands below, shedding gently unto her skin.
Solemnity fell upon her face, too, and she breathed out a thankful sigh.
With the clouds parted and the stars above shining brightly upon the land, it felt like a small bit of salvation given to them.
Although the fighting hadn't ceased or hushed, the starlight gave them the hope to move forward once again, as it always had.
With an order, the refugees quickly reassembled under Dawn's command, moving away from the now-battered mountain.
...
There was a story told throughout Dawn's home Settlement.
The Star Gazing Settlement, not only founded on their fascination for the stars, but also on a story.
A story that every refugee present knew.
A story that was told by her Father...
'The stars above are archaic, but Night had existed since time immemorial.
The early years of the world were ruled solely by Night, glazing the skies in an abyssal black, the seas like rippling ink, and the lands no more than a bleak expanse.
There was no Light, no 'Passage of Time', nor a 'Sense of Direction'.
Night existed as an absence. There was no Salvation, no Will, no Hope.
It was Hopelessness incarnate.
Until...
A golden youth pierced through Night's embrace, descending to the lands below and scattering the near dark to mere shadows.
Walking along the soil, he travelled North's plateaus, teaching its denizens how to walk.
Swimming in the water, he roamed East's seas and isles, teaching its denizens how to swim.
Flying through the clouds, he soared above South's cliffs, teaching its denizens how to fly.
Suddenly, time could be measured, and direction could be guided.
Everywhere he traversed, he left behind a 'Way of Life'.
Eventually, he would tread West's mountains, leaving behind his last teachings.
"I know the world, not the dark. I know my Way, not your Way. I know of stars, not of the Hopelessness of Night."
Raising his finger to the sky and shedding into particles of light, he would speak his final words to the whole world.
"All stand below Night, Night stands below the Heavens.
Heaven is indifferent, its benevolence does not extend past life.
Night is also indifferent, its malevolence does not extend towards death.
It is your choice to embrace Heaven, otherwise is to be embraced by Night.
But! There is always a Way..."
His golden wisp would be assimilated back into Night, but not to be forgotten...
There, lonely in the sky, was a golden speck.
There, lonely in the sky, was a golden light.
There, lonely in the sky, was the first star...
Thus, he brought Light.'
Dawn's father explained that the very world had changed thereafter.
Night no longer ruled the lands of seas so dominantly, its domain pushed to the skies.
Even then, with the countless people finding their 'Way', they could rebel even against the sky.
The 'Starry Sky' was born, a challenge against Night's authority.
Some called it the 'Sea of Stars', others the 'Starry Canvas'.
Collectively, it represented the change of the world and humanity's ascension against hopelessness.
It was especially moving in this current situation.
Where Star Gazing Settlement has fallen, and higher powers fight in the background.
Salvation. Will. Hope.
During these dire times, it was what they could draw from the Starry Sky above.
...
The fifth night came in.
Dawn was silently leading the group as always, but the feeling of dread had stuck with her mind.
The air was quiet, the lands and sky barely shaking, like a waning storm, or the hour before one.
None of the other refugees could sense it, and few of the guards carried uneasy expressions, founded only on suspicion.
Selene had no questions, but could read the complex emotions on Dawn's face.
Sun had many questions, feeling a cold shiver rake down his spine, but with Dawn's absentminded expression, he kept them to himself.
Just before the sixth night's eve, the world trembled with unbelievable might.
Dawn, Sun, Selene, the guards, and the refugees all fell to the ground.
Dawn slowly rose to her feet and scanned the surrounding area. Mist had flooded the forest, a great fog had swallowed the mountain; the world was obscured. Unlike the gentle light grey of the starlit sky, this bluish-grey was murky and thick.
A formless force washed over them.
A domineering force fell from above.
A terrifying malevolence seared into their minds.
Looking up, a great flood of mist plummeted from the sky, swallowing the entire refugee group.
...
After what felt like a few minutes, or a few hours, or some other definable amount of time, Dawn had awoken.
Raising herself from the ground, she looked around.
She could only see two dozen meters around her, the mist thick and a greyish blue.
Everyone was scattered. Dawn had no idea where Sun or Selene were.
Eyeing close to fifty people around her, she gathered the little group and tried to establish some sort of order... and some sort of goal.
The ominous foreboding that loomed over her had finally been realised.
Hopelessly, she cast her gaze to the sky above; nothing but clouds and mist hung high above.
The stars were obscured once again...