Saellend: Prologue

�A walker? That�s impossible. No one walks down there!�

His boss exclaimed. Turmglai, who was on tower duty, had ran down the spiral staircase from the top of the tower to the Watchman�s office in the fortress below. His old legs were stiff and slow but felt young in the excitement of it all. He looked his boss in the eye, rested his arm on the desk. �I saw a man, I think it�s a man, walking down the valley towards the fortress.�
�But no one walks down that valley. Maybe you�ve gone senile old man!�

Turmglai clenched his fists in anger. �I saw a figure clad in red about a mile down the valley.�

�Fine. I will assemble a dozen men and check it out but it better not be a wild goose chase or you�ll be retired to some icicle of a shepherds hut.�

Turmglai stormed out of the office and down a set of stone stairs to the courtyard then he turned right and went through a double set of doors that led out to the valley. I�ve worked on this tower for forty-seven years, he told himself, and I�ve seen no one in that valley. Forty-seven years and nothing to do. I�ve never seen anything, none of my fellow watchers have seen anything and people they worked with before I was born saw nothing too. I am not going to sit back and watch as some young kids go out and get the glory.

The thick oaken door led out to a thin path that ran beside the river. The landscape was just barren rock. To the left a cliff began to rise up. To the right was the river and another cliff beyond. Up river the path was strewn with boulders as it rose and fell. He could not see the figure. Quickly he strung his bow, checked his quiver, one arrow, cursed and strode along the path. As he began to clamber over the first set of boulders he heard the horns of Wenden Watch, the great fortress, blared out.

Then he saw it. A figure dressed in a reddish cloak stood a bowshot away on another pile of rocks. He could not see a face, hidden as it was by the hood, nor hands beyond the sleeves. The thing made no attempt to move towards him. It just seemed to wait for something. Turmglai began to regret coming out. he gripped his bow so hard his knuckles turned white.

�Creature!� He called out and notched his only arrow. �Show yourself!�

The creature did not move. Behind him, he heard the bells of Wenden Watch join the horns. �Be gone back beyond Bordstane Mountain where you belong! You will not find peace here. Be gone!�

The creature pulled back its hood to reveal nothing, no head nor helm, just hazy air as if above a fire. Yet whenever Turmglai blinked, he saw a face of twisted, charred, flesh and melted bone. He tried not to blink as he lifted up his bow. �What do you want?�

The creature spoke words that he could not understand. �Kuasais seginas measa mamais, kuana kitoa maba Aelesar? Kuasais seginas measa mamais, kuana ang Wentas mapaladas? Kuasais?�

The air where its hands should have been wavered like its head as it pulled out pulled out a golden disk. He released the arrow. It flew straight and true into the Withan�s eye. It did not move. The shaft just turned to dust and fell away. Turmglai drew his sword and made to attack. �Withan-Naer, I will send you to the Hell-fires of Brondfell!�

As he advanced, the creature threw its disk towards him. Then suddenly his whole vision turned, span in the air then slowly dimmed to nothing as his head was cleaved from his neck.