Fire

"It's an absolute wreck! Damned it all! My collection of mushrooms! all of it is gone!" One soldier wailed in pain. Mournful for the loss of his lifetime collection of mushrooms. Buried under the rubble to which most of the collection is gone. There were some on the top of the rubble and he salvaged anything he could get.

Renzia saw the wailing man whom he had known. Beckert Adlers was an acquaintance of his. He had known him for a year but they never communicated that much. Nevertheless, both of them already knew their identities.

Sweat ran down Renzia's cheeks. Heavily drained after carrying many injured people to the nearby church. It was only just an hour after the shockwave. The Marcian Church of Farley was already overwhelmed with victims searching for help. A large majority of them were not even injured. Hysteria ran to the minds of these people.

A large portion of those came to the church to pray but the priests tried their best to prioritize those who had fallen injured. Majority of them were the poor, desperate to pray to their Goddess Marcia. Church servants running around gathering the herbs and incenses in the storage room of the church. The Bishop of Farley, Parthus Orgia stood in the church gates. Wearing a black alb while also wearing a white chasuble with an ingrained X on the back. He raised his hands and shouted loudly. "Citizens of Farley! Do not fret! Do not fall in fear! The devil has attacked Farley! The Goddess has promised to protect us from the devil as long as we serve under her! Do not worry! She will save us all from this tragedy!"

He tried to appease the crowd. And to Renzia's surprise it worked. Although he never believed in the Goddess, he was not a man to defame others for their harmless beliefs. The crowd calmed down and went silent. However, the soldiers were still blocked by the civilians concentrated on the church gates.

Soon an orange glow rose into the sky. Earlier, there was a large shockwave that toppled houses. Alongside those were lamps on wooden houses. It consequently burned the wooden rubble and created a large fire in the poor residential district. Many more soldiers have arrived in the area to aid the people but it seems the damage also spread to the entirety of the city.

Fire slowly spread among the rubble. Houses that were maintained were starting to get affected by the raging fire in the district. Minute by minute it grew large and larger. It became more dangerous to the point panic ensued on the face of the citizens.

Renzia couldn't just stand there and wait. He had already brought a bucket full of water to a nearby well. But it wasn't enough. Other soldiers also joined in on the effort but it wasn't enough. As more time passess the fire almost reached the Marcian Church of Farley. The crowd had already run away to safer areas in the city. But the injured situated inside the church were still stuck there. The church servants desperately brought the injured away from the raging fire.

Seeing that their attempts were of no fruit; The soldiers chose to help the retreating civilians in safer places. Places made with stone and materials more resistant to fire. Renzia glanced cautiously at his surroundings. He witnessed that his acquaintance, Beckert Anders was still kneeling on the rubble. With the fire heading their directions- Renzia ran towards him and pulled him out of the danger area. The armour coupled with the heavy weight of Beckert made it hard for Renzia to retreat. Yet his persistence took fruit, they managed to bring him to safety.

-----

Anatolia knelt in the meeting room. Count Seif Agrasis sat on the grand chair. The room was filled with lavish decorations. A red carpet in the middle serves as the pathway to the main throne. Two long tables beside the pathway bearing no chairs nearby the carpet. Rather it was placed on the opposite side of the table.

The place was empty and only the Count was present in the room. It exuded a tense atmosphere but Anatolia never gave in to pressure. He lowered his head and body in front of him and informed the Count of the situation.

"My lord! I have news to report to you! A large shockwave struck the city! I do not have any knowledge as to what caused this but I think the cause of this incident was the falling star!" He reported formally in front of him. Hands on chest and right knee on the floor.

The Count nodded at his report. Seemingly thinking of what to do next. Even though the current count has no experience on events outside of warfare and trade. Nonetheless, he made a decision. "I see... Gather a small man and head to the other side of the island. I also witnessed the star fall from the sky. From what I deduced, it headed west to Tromarie."

"Head there and check the town, maybe we could find that fallen star." Evidently, the count was intrigued by the shockwave. Smiling a little as if he showed interest in the situation. "Go on, I'm waiting for another report from my young General."

"Yes, my lord!" As he stood, he bowed to his lord. He left the room in order to prepare for the task. For Anatolia, he never accepted a small mistake. Always focusing on the best strategy just so he could appease the Count. It had been his dream to go lead an army in the military. Although he had already achieved that dream, he realized that there was more to the world than leading an army. When he finally became the general of the Farley Army. He met more powerful individuals in the battles outside Farley. It reinvigorated his dream. This time it was to pursue greater heights to become an exalted general.

For now, the mission was a survey of the whole island. A small group of soldiers led by Anatolia would be sent to explore Farley Island for fragments of the Falling Star. Momentarily, Anatolia had one plan. It was two bring 30 men to Tromarie and survey the area first. After the task with Tromarie was done he would then task the 30 men to survey the entirety of the island. Farley Island may be large but a large chunk of them are plains. Only grass and small patches of trees grew in Farley Island.

'Well, well, well, Looks like another mission. This time around, it would be a learning experience. He gave a low sounding laugh in the air. Slowly looking at the blue sky with an orange hue coming from the west.

'It's morning time as well. Naturally children would come and play. But I guess circumstances ask.' He leaned back slightly into the wall. For a short time he wanted to take a breather. He swept his eyes on to the sky once again before leaving the area and sprinting towards the Barracks.

-----

Renzia sat on the dusty rubble. The fire was still raging, consuming every piece of fallen wood as fuel. It was like a beast of urban legends. From his point of view, it felt like an event caused by the gods. Despite him having no interest in religion.

His face was dirty. The sweat had already dried but he could not help but feel tired. As the other soldiers who had more vitality than him helped the civilians. Only he was sitting among his colleagues. Almost disgraceful in the eyes of a strong man. But luckily there was no strongman in the area. Focused only on the disaster at hand.

'Being a soldier sucks huh? But I guess this was the only way out from homelessness. Worth the risk isn't'. Just for a few minutes he finally mustered enough energy to keep on going. But for him, he could not go on. He decided to retreat to the barracks and take a rest.

Wailing children sitting in the streets. Parents running around, frantically searching for their kids. Pastors and church servants trying to calm down the panicking civilians. People of higher classes were also affected although they had more peace than those lower than them. Some soldiers also decided to retreat for a while. one of them screamed as loudly as possible to the others. "There is no more out there! We can finally retreat.

It was a lie with half the truths built by lack of information. Yes, a large chunk of people had evacuated in the area. But many were buried under the rubble to the point that guards never noticed their cries for help due to the overwhelming sound of the fleeing civilians.

A woman was buried under wood and bricks. She couldn't budge her arms. Relying on the orange light that pierced through the small holes. She realized that there was a bump on both of her arms.

But that orange light would also kill her. The fire absorbed the wood as a great fuel. Her legs started burning and from then on, her whole body. Very horrible fact, why? Because nobody even noticed her excruciating pain and screams.

Even then it was the harsh reality. It was too dark and too chaotic. Renzia himself admitted he couldn't handle such a situation. When he finally reached the barracks there were 28 other men present. The barracks had more floors and rooms. When he stepped out of a balcony. He witnessed the entire poor residential district in chaos. "This feels like it came from an apocalypse." It looked like an apocalypse but that wasn't enough. What happened earlier was merely just a prelude for a bigger tragedy.