text: The stranger, the man with eyes far older than he, stepped out of the caravan. He stared down the group of soldiers they had sent for us. As if one man could stand against Imperium soldiers. If we had double their numbers it wouldn’t make any difference, yet he stood there as if understanding something we don’t. My people hid behind our wagons, watching, not fully understanding the stranger, or his intentions. I was hiding in the mud underneath the same caravan the stranger had just stepped from. I was close enough that I could see him trembling, apparently, whatever he planned on doing, he was just as terrified as the rest of us. I don’t blame him. The Imperium were infamous for their cruelty. They’d been known to kill men for far less than his current actions. Yet, when the stranger spoke, his voice was a contradiction to his trembling body, and it came out resounding and sure. “You tyrants need to leave now. Tell your lord you were not able to find what you were seeking” A tall, ugly solider with a cruel face spoke in a demeaning tone. “Well well, look here boys! it seems we have ourselves a hero. Try to use *creativity* when you kill this one. Hero’s love the idea of dying as a martyr.” That same soldier glanced down and noticed me watching from underneath the wagon. “Hello little girl...” He almost whispered, with an evil grin. “It appears our hero here has a couple rats he is trying to protect! How noble of him! Look closely boys, you can see one of the smaller rats hiding in the mud, just under that wagon.” He stepped closer to me, bending slightly to get a closer look. “I guess our little hero here doesn’t know the dangers vermin like these can pose! Rats, like the one under your wagon can carry nasty diseases. Just killing them doesn’t quite do the trick though. You see that just allows their corpse to rot, spreading more filth and disease. No, the trick is you need to use fire!” With that the soldier pointed at me, then, suddenly, a thin line of bright flame shot from his finger tips directly at me. I attempted to move out of the way but the flame hit me on the hip and immediately caught my clothes on fire. I screamed as the burns lanced my torso. Frantically, I patted the burns with my bare hands causing burns to my palms as well. Eventually the flames stopped and I laid there and wept from the terror and pain of what had just happened. As I composed myself I looked back up at the Soldiers to find that they were *laughing* at what had just transpired. I glanced up at the stranger and found him staring at me, and for the first time I could see his eyes. The strangers trembling had become more intense now and suddenly I realized, from the fury within his eyes, he had never been trembling from fear ..but from rage.