I think that if you looked at it from a technical standpoint you could call Serene a battle, but after reminiscing on events left to pass, the term slaughter feels more appropriate. Where children and families once ran along the lakeshores, frozen, shattered bodies lay scattered across the ice and blood stained snow.
If you had asked around on how to find Serene, many would have given you quite the stare. “That place is an old wives’ tale!”, some would shout, others would simply laugh and walk away. If you caught the right ears however, some would tell you otherwise. “Follow the lost and the damned,” they would say with eyes staring blankly, as if those repeating the words were not truly present in the alleyway or dimly lit bar you might have found them in. The truth of the matter is much more simple, Serene did not want to be found.
Long before humanity became a unified species, Serene served as a refuge for marauders and outlaws. Deeply isolated within jagged cliffs, the landscape offered safe harbor to any person willing to make the journey through the treacherous trails and collapsing rock formations. For many seasons the surrounding countryside would be plagued in bloodshed as the roving bands would strike without warning only to retreat into the protective cover of the mountains once pursued. Having had enough, several armies were gathered and marched through the snow and ice, ultimately slaughtering the outlaws and razing the village to the ground. Time would eventually forget Serene as the years and decades dragged forward but chance would have a different plan.
“Wind and ice swirled all around us, freezing the tears in our eyes to our cheeks as they fell. To turn back meant certain death, the only chance to survive was forward. We were losing the path and those who could not keep up were left behind. The limits our vision shrank rapidly, and before long I struggled to see those in front of me, yet still I pressed onward. As the wind howled I heard something ahead of me, something I could not believe.
“Shelter! There is shelter ahead!” Someone was shouting over the droning sound filling my ears. I had surely misheard! I pressed forward finding several of our party gathered, “There! I saw a building!”, an older man pointed blankly into the abyss.
I thought him mad, only death awaited us in this frozen hellscape. Then I saw it too. I rubbed my eyes with renewed fervor, it was surely nature playing tricks on me. Then I saw it again. A gap in the raging maelstrom revealed a lone building before quickly being swallowed once more. Our bodies were renewed with adrenaline, we had either found refuge or our final resting places.”
That was the first recorded documentation of Serene being rediscovered. When the storm ended the weary group would find themselves rewarded with abundant natural resources untouched by human hands for generations. It was in that moment they decided to stay planting roots and bringing new life to the valley. Secluded from the world, those who had made it through that first winter found true peace in all things, especially within themselves. As the outside world continued to advance, Serene would remain a place of simplicity.
When the first weary wanderer from outside the village stumbled through the mountain trails falling exhaustedly at their gate, the villagers found themselves frightened. Years had gone by without contact and the villagers feared the problems of the outside world may soon be at their doorstep. As the mysterious traveler remained resting and secured, the villagers gathered to discuss their options. Did they let him go? Did they make him stay against his will? Or…did they ensure he was “lost” to the mountain? Another statistic for the outside world to record.
After much debate those present decided to return the favor granted to them by this place when they needed it most, allowing this outsider to remain as long as they wished. As a shining example of good, villagers began to ponder if opening their gates to those who needed it wasn’t such a bad after all. As the idea became plan, several villagers were dispatched to the outside world, to operate in secrecy and shadow, only to return with those in need or in search of true inner peace. Those assigned to this mission would hide themselves amongst the crowd seemingly always able to find those at their lowest in need of help and return them to their new home.
Before long the rumors reached top leaders in the outside world, several spending exorbitant sums of money on expeditions and ventures in desperate attempts to find Serene. Until one morning, the villagers awoke to an expedition force outside their very gates. How had they made it through?
No one is quite sure of what was spoken of that day between the two peoples, but is said humanity’s strive for unification and Utopia can be credited to this moment. Half of the expedition force would stay after witnessing the valley, the village, and all that it stood for. Those that returned would begin to embody and spread the message of peace, so touched by the moment they bore witness to.
It would be said in the days leading up to ‘The Night’, Serene had been voted to be fully preserved from the event. Serene’s gentle people would be needed in the days to follow as, “those capable would need to provide humanity forgiveness from itself“. Those in need after that fateful time would find themselves led or upon the gates awaiting their redemption. None were judged and all were accepted, no matter their past.
It had been many ages since the first soldier had set foot within the village walls, but the practice of peace did not mean the lack of ability to fight. There was an untold number of creatures lost to the snow, but somehow an unimaginable number of them still reached the pass. Growls, snorts, and inaudible words bounced across the range, hanging on seemingly every peak, waking the villagers from their nights rest. Whether it was by accident, chance, or some unseen guidance – Serene had been found.
The beasts crested the ridge to find their journey ended. They outnumbered the humans waiting below, over ten to one. The monsters unleashed a roar heard all the way to Bindevana. When the noise finally escaped the bowl of rock, the wind seemed to shift, and with it carried something that even gave the beasts pause – the only time ever recorded to have shown some sort of unease within the creatures. Serene had benn birthed in violence and found peace, but it would return to its origins, one last time. While outnumbered and facing the mouth of darkness itself, villagers of peace stood more than ready to commit atrocious acts of violence.