Alexa

A very, long, long time ago in Asia

The villagers heard them coming from far off, but there was nothing to be done and no where to go. They were boxed into a small valley with all their crops terraced along three hillsides. There was only one way in and one way out. Everyone stopped what they were doing and stared in the direction of the approaching nightmare.

The war lord thundered in on horseback with more than thirty warriors. Man and mount wore full battle regalia; some men in studded leathers and others in chain mail, helmets adorned with antlers and a broad assortment of terrifying weapons. One thing they had alike was the look of cold, heartless death in their eyes.

The first villager they passed was an old man who had spent a life time designing and making farming tools, utensils and delicate art work from hard woods. His head rolled onto the packed earth with one swipe of the war lord's sword. The village exploded in panic. Women screamed and children cried. The riders made pass after pass killing all the men, older people and the tiniest of children. Some were chased down in the rice paddies and trampled to death under the hooves of the war horses.

The younger women were herded together and surrounded by a circle of riders. The village was littered with the bloody corpses of fathers, husbands, sons, babies and old women. All but the warriors wailed and wept. The warriors leered with lewd smiles as they surveyed the terrified women.

"Take them!" The war lord shouted standing up in his stirrups. His soldiers leapt from their saddles and each one grabbed the nearest young woman, dragged her outside the ring of horses and clawed off their clothes. The screaming intensified as the raping began. The mighty war lord, Magus Khan watched dispassionately as his men claimed their reward for the latest battle victories in the North. But this little village was more than a victory prize. It was the sacrificial lamb to show all the other small villages what will happen when tribute isn't paid. He looked over the remaining women, and only one stood unflinching in the center. Her eyes fearlessly drilled into him, and he drew out his throwing dagger intending to hurl it into her young chest. An older, white haired warrior came alongside.