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# [TGT] 0. Night of Terror
- URL: https://www.fieryzard.com/0-night-of-terror/
- Published: 2026-09-18T16:00:31.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-13T19:08:20.000Z
- Description: Prologue for the illustrated webnovel "The Golden Thread"
- Author: Fieryzard
- Tags: the golden thread, #story

## **Prologue**

They were there to kill the villagers. Even the warm ray of light that pierced under the door of the compact wardrobe did nothing to calm Elpis. He was alone. With his trembling hand clamping his mouth shut, he thought of the last time he saw his parents.

*Don’t come out until I tell you to. May the Wolf protect you*.

His mother’s words ran through his mind over and over, but the desperation of not knowing what was going on outside threatened to erase that memory. The Scorcan Army had come for them.

Elpis ran his free hand down his side until it found the wooden wolf amulet. He tried to tell himself this was all a bad dream, but just as he relaxed, a cluster of footsteps marched into the room.

Slowly, they approached the closet door, each thud heavier than the last until the distinct gold metal tip of a boot came into Elpis’ view: a Scorcan guard. On the tip’s surface, Elpis could see his own eye staring back at him. Moving would give him away. All he could do was hope that the person wouldn’t notice.

The door shook several times, but did not open.

“Tsk, it’s locked,” the guard said.

“It doesn’t matter—we’re burning this one anyway,” a second guard spoke from across the room. He could tell just by the accent.

“Serves them right.” The boot disappeared from view. “Glad we’re doing this; I was getting sick of them.”

Time elongated between their pauses. If only his heart would quiet down until they started speaking again.

“What are these? *Dogs*?” The first guard said, his tone mocking.

“Wolves,” the second guard corrected. “If I were to take a guess, based on how they’re arranged... Maybe their idol?”

*Idol?* Not quite—but they wouldn’t have cared to know anyway.

Crash!

One guard shoved his mother’s carvings onto the floor. Elpis closed his eyes until the noise stopped.

“So, contraband.” Disgust trickled from the first guard’s voice.

“We can leave them here. There’s no way they’ll survive fire.”

Fire? He had to warn the others. He had to tell his mom and dad about the plan for the other three villages.

![Elpis eye closeup as he trembles in fear. A tear falls from his eye.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/a0/6c/a06c9aa1-bfb0-4e81-bfd9-b92e4ea8714b/content/images/2026/08/tgt_s-01_01.png)

“These Karanans keep so much junk,” the first man said. “Garbage keeping garbage.”

The two of them walked out of the room.

“Alright, so after this village we only have three more. Smaller ones, west of here. Maybe we can split and get it done faster.” The voices muffled with each step, vanishing somewhere just outside his family’s house.

Elpis waited, and when he knew he was alone, he pressed his back against the wall and kicked at the doors with both of his feet. They didn’t budge, but the sound didn’t alert the Scorcans. He kicked again. As he prepared for the third kick, a scream pierced through the air from outside. And then a wave of panic overtook the villagers. He could hear thumping against the wooden walls of the house, stomping as if people were trying to climb atop the roof. A savage chill crept up his spine and halted his attempts to escape.

A repugnant stench of burnt flesh wafted through the air, threatening to choke Elpis. He pushed the doors, shaking them as viciously as he could, while the ceiling screeched high above him. The light in the closet dimmed for a minute until he couldn’t see his feet and then turned into a hot and violent yellow. Beads of sweat rolled down his temples and evaporated almost instantly.

His limbs tired from kicking. But the doors wouldn’t open. Not one bit. He was trapped. He couldn’t get to them. He couldn’t warn them.

“Stay with me!” A frenzied voice called. It sounded familiar but when he shouted for help, his voice was swallowed by the sea of screams.

Elpis tightened his fingers around the amulet once more and squeezed his eyelids together. He was not yet old enough to understand the connection to the Thread that the others spoke so much about, but holding the Wolf between his hands, he focused on its light weight, on the grain of the wood that had once guided his mother’s carving tools. As the fire burned brighter, Elpis braced for pain, and wondered what it would be like if he could carve like her.

![A village on fire.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/a0/6c/a06c9aa1-bfb0-4e81-bfd9-b92e4ea8714b/content/images/2026/08/burning-village.png)