On their way towards the forest, a woman said to the scarred leader "Teka, we have already lost some people back there. I believe we should all return home, the children might not even be in this forest. Besides, it's so big. The chances of finding them is very low".
"We have the numbers Hanna. Why are you suddenly having cold feet? You forget that these are witches we are dealing with! Denverion hasn't known peace and it is our responsibility as the nobles of Denverion to make sure our kingdom is peaceful for all or did you forget that our so-called king has shown little to no concern on these pressing issues?" Teka asked.
"I only lay my concerns because I do not have a good feeling about going after the children" Hanna responded.
"If we don't eliminate them they might come after us eventually. So we have to" the masked man said this time.
Hanna was the wife of a Lord of Denverion. She hated Michal Zennor solely because of her beauty. Hanna's husband had eyes for Michal despite knowing the woman was married.
But Hanna's husband wasn't the only man in Denver (which was formerly called Denverion) who had eyes for Michal.
Michal's features were delicate yet alluring and both married and unmarried men had eyes for her which caused the hate from Hanna and other women. Hanna wasn't entirely concerned with the claims and rumors that the Zennor family practiced witchcraft. Her only concern was her husband's attention and after knowing that Michal was going to die in the fire set in the Zennor home, she didn't really care about Michal's children. Thus, the reason why she wanted to return home.
Her main objective was already achieved.
Hanna decided to go along with the group as they ventured into the forest because she didn't exactly care if the children were found or not.
Deep in the forest, Mahalalel and Esther were hiding behind a boulder, patiently waiting for Ezekiel. Minutes had passed and Mahalalel began to worry but he held his little sister close and closed his eyes, trying to be patient and hopeful.
As he lay there quietly, he slowly fell asleep and his grip on his little sister loosened.
After what seemed like a long while, Mahalalel opened his eyes slowly but he began panicking. He was holding his little sister in his arms but now she was no where to be found.
He quickly stood up from the ground and began calling his sister's name "Esther! Esther!" He called out repeatedly but got no answer.
He felt his chest tighten, temporarily unable to breathe as fear gripped him. He ran with his little legs around the forest but he couldn't find her and finally, he ran towards the entrance of the forest in direction of the home and what he saw temporarily immobilized him.
It was his little sister's severed body. Her blood had tainted the lush green color of the grass.
"Es-ther" he said through a cracked voice.
His innocent pretty sister had been killed. Few steps away from her was a mask and more blood stains. He picked the mask and wondered if the owner was the murderer.
Tears flowed uncontrollably from his eyes as he gripped the mask tightly in anger. He carefully picked up her severed little body and walked towards the direction of his home.
Arriving close to his home, he looked up and saw a thick black smoke rising from the building which was his home while fire still consumed some places.
He trembled as he looked on but still walked towards the house but unfortunately he couldn't enter. The smoke was so much it could choke to death and the fire still raged on.
Though she was dead, he held his sister's body in his trembling hands as he sat outside his burning house.
He remained in that exact spot even after night time came but he didn't care if any wild animal attacked him because the pain in his heart was worse than any pain an animal could cause him.
That night, it felt like the earth decided to mock him as it began to rain but he still didn't move an inch. The rain drenched him and eventually quenched the fire in the house.
By morning all he could perceive was wet earth and the faint smell of smoke and burnt flesh. He still held his sister's body close though her body had turned cold.
With the fire put out by the rain, Mahalalel finally walked into the house.
He reached the living room and saw his parents and brother. They had all become unrecognizable due to the impact of the fire.
He slowly placed his sister beside the body which looked like his mother's as his little arms had began to hurt.
He looked around and noticed that his father's head was cut off and there were bodies of some humans lying, burnt and crisp on the floor.
He noticed the Gleed men Shmaya on the floor also, covered by ash and he began to wonder why it was out of it's hiding place.
He sat on the floor and immediately hissed because it was still warm from the fire.
As he sat there thinking about how cruel humans had been to him and his family, something in him snapped and hate cloaked his heart.
Still holding the mask in his hand, he said "I'd avenge you all and give you all a proper burial".
At that moment, he decided to stop going by his first name; Mahalalel because it reminded him of everything that had happened.
He picked the Gleed men Shmaya which was almost his full height at that time.
He pulled the sword with him and tied the mask to his abdomen as he walked out of his family home.
There was nothing there for him so he had no reason to stay.
He looked rough and unkempt as the last twenty-four hours of his life was nothing but terror.
He walked back into the forest, not knowing where to go and though he doesn't usually eat much, spending days in the forest without any proper meal made him weak and terribly hungry.
He slept under trees and leaned on rocks for even the slightest form of comfort but luckily for him, he hadn't been attacked by any wild animal yet.
He was yet to find a river or spring as a source of drinking and bathing so whenever it rained, he'd put his little hands together, letting the rain water fall into it and drinking it.