As we are sitting near the fire while my father is telling us the story of how our family, the Dardonos, comes from a long line of warriors and why we still train in and carry swords, he suddenly stopped talking and stands up. Which was when I noticed just how quite it had gotten so I ask "dad wha-"
"Shh… we're not alone out here anymore Damon, go get your brother and sister and stay with your mom." my dad says. "Alice, stay near the fire and keep them with you no matter what happens."
After I grab Stella and Kade and go to my mom there is this loud humming noise and then a pop, almost like there was a change in pressure and then it went back to that eery silence, which didn't last very long this time. That was when the monsters showed up. I say monsters because although they looked like wolves, they were as big as some of the bears we saw at the zoo earlier that year. As I watched them walk into the clearing we were in I heard my mom ask my dad "Derek what's going on? I've never seen wolves that big before." but I don't think my dad heard her as he just remained staring at the beasts that had appeared. As they came closer to him I saw him unsheath the sword he always carried with him and settle into what I recognized as one of our families defensive stances. Him getting into that stance seemed to be a trigger for the fight to begin because the wolf on the left lunged forward towards his neck, the next moment was one that I will never forget as long as I live. My father took a short quick step forward as the wolf got closer and pulled his sword across the wolf's throat as though it were the most natural thing in the world. Afterward he immediately feigned towards the wolf on the right and then slashed at the wolf in the middle, catching it along the side of its leg and swiftly finished it before moving back and waiting for the 3rd wolf to make a mistake. Which didn't take long as it charged toward him from the side only to be met with a slash across the neck. Thinking it was over I tried to rush towards my dad only to be stopped by my mom as she grabbed my arm and pulled me back to her.
As my mom pulls me back I say "it's over mom, he got all of them." Only to be met with a shake of her head as she points at my father and asks "does that look like your dad is done fighting yet?"
And as I look over I can tell she's right, my dad is still in his stance and after looking around I can see why. All over in the forest in front of my dad are a bunch of red dots floating about 3 feet off the ground which I quickly realize are the eyes of the other monsters. The things that happen next would build the image of the man I believed could hold the world up and never bend, the image I would later work tirelessly to live up to. The moment my dad stood face to face with death while fighting tooth and nail to defend us for what felt like eternity.
As Derek looks over and sees his wife holding his children and hiding behind him, he can see the fear in their eyes. All but little Damon's, he can't seem to find fear in his expression, a little awe and some excitement but not fear. As though the thought of his father losing this fight had never even crossed his mind. Seeing that expression reminds him of how he would find him trying to copy the stances he would see Derek practice or when he asked him to train him in the way of the sword. Damon was one of the few people that Derek would admit had more talent than him in swordplay. What took Derek months would take Damon weeks. Whatever Derek taught him was absorbed and ingrained like he wasn't learning, just remembering. That was when Derek realized how far his son would go in the art of swords, that the Dardonos would once again have there name known again. Looking at them all hiding behind him he knew what he needed to do and turn back towards the monsters before settling in for what would be the most important moment in his life so far. He knew he would fight here until every ounce of strength was gone.
As Derek fought and Damon watched, time passed before finally 4 hours had gone by. There was a flash like the sun had risen for a split second and then the monsters seemed just stop and time itself seemed to stand still.
As Damon finally looks away from his fathers fighting, he sees an obelisk bigger than anything he's ever seen before hovering above the city. As he's looking at it the obelisk starts to lower itself into the city without a sound, as though it was just returning to its rightful place. The strangest part of this wasn't the Tower itself, it was when the world seemed to click back into motion as soon as the tower touched the ground. The same monsters that were just jumping over the bodies of their brethren to try and get at his father, the ones that had not so much as flinched while his father butchered their kind were now running away into the forest as though the fallen had nothing to do with them.
As he watched the rest of the monsters run away, he realized whatever was happening had passed and looked at his father to see how he would respond only to find him kneeling on the ground with a blank look on his face. Worried something was wrong he turned to his mother only to realize that she had the same look on her face. As he began to think something was wrong they both seemed to snap out of whatever it was at the same time. Derek looks at his wife and asks "did you see that as well, Alice?" And his mom nods yes while saying "what do you think it means?". "I don't know" Derek answers " but something big is happening"