Toya could hear the pounding of hooves as the raiders came closer. They had been approaching for some time now, and the men of the village were ready for battle. She sat in her hut, listening to the sounds of combat as the raiders collided with her fellow peasants. She could hear the cries of pain as the men she had grown up with were butchered in defense of the little hamlet. She heard the elder yell for the women and children to escape the village, to flee to freedom.
Toya reached under the pile of blankets for her short sword. She spun around in time to see a raider step into her hut. His leather armor had specks of blood drying on it, and he held his axe out warily. She backed up until she was against the wall of the small home. The raider lunged at her, teeth bared. With a deft sidestep, she parried his swing and aimed a kick right between his legs. As he doubled up from her attack, she plunged her blade through his spine.
She let the dead raider collapse onto the floor as she took his axe as well and ran outside. Two more raiders began to circle her, weapons held high. A few swift attacks with her two weapons left both of them lying on the ground. The rest of her village was already being taken over. She saw one of her fellow villagers, Ayana, being dragged out of her own hut. Ayana's husband was lying face down in front of the tiny building. Toya dashed forward and jabbed her sword through the raider holding Ayana. A large raider with a lot of gruesome trophies on his armor, probably a commander of sorts, looked towards the two women.
