The straps on the guard's armor itched. The suit was still chafing him at the shoulders, where he hadn't grown into it yet. Barely old enough to shave, the young man – a boy for all intents and purposes – had volunteered for the wall watch, hoping it would be his ticket to membership in the Order. Now, though, with twilight setting in and the lights of the grand city of Daeron flickering on behind him, one by one, he was re-thinking his career choices. A low wind moaned by and he shivered as the sounds of night grew in the forest across from the east gates. As he walked his route, watching attentively for any movement, he heard a faint whisper below him at the base of the wall. Looking down, he was faced with a crowd of glowing red eyes, hovering in barely perceptible clouds of smoke.
It took him a few seconds to process what he was seeing – even as he shouted the alarm they were moving up the wall, floating in and out of the stone with ease. His stomach leaped into his throat and he stood there, paralyzed with … fear? Were they doing this to him, or was he just not strong enough to face this? His mind racing but his body unable to move, the ghostly apparitions reached up through the stone, ending his life with their cold touch. The boy slumped over, falling to the ground, and the phantoms continued past his body, making their way toward the large white building in the center of town. They were halfway there before the corpse of the guard started to twitch, and finally rose with a slow moan – his eyes red as hot coals, his hands twisted into claws. He turned with his own purpose and headed towards his former compatriots' posts. He nearly made it to the next post before he was riddled enough with arrows to die, once again, this time at peace. The wraiths seemed unstoppable, until they entered the building and were met by the holy light of the Order's guardians.
One of the guards moved to the arrow-riddled body; kneeling down to close the kids eyes, he shook his head and chuckled softly. "Welcome to the Northern Coalition, kid. We'll have you back on guard duty in a day or so. Next time, run."