Haydi

Smoke and the crackling sound of burning wood filled the air. Venozar's base, hidden in the forest thickets, was ablaze. The attack was lightning fast and brutal. The elf, his blond hair blackened by soot, fought desperately at the threshold of his refuge, but the enemy was too numerous.

"Venazar! This way!"

Heidi, the boy next door, was pushing his way through the fire toward him. His face was contorted with terror, but his eyes blazed with determination. He grabbed Venazar by the cloak and dragged him toward a narrow crevice in the rock.

"Run! It's over!" Heidi screamed, but Venazar, with a bloody shoulder, could not accept the destruction of everything he had built. It was a miracle they escaped. They fell into a cold stream behind a cliff, and then Heidi practically dragged the elf along paths familiar only to him to his lonely base at the edge of the forest. Venazar sat silently by the fireplace, clutching a cup of tea in his white fingers. His ears, usually held high, drooped limply. He stared into the flames, seeing in them a reflection of his burning home.