When the travelers that passed by the village the other day warned you that a barbarian warband had crossed over the Danube and had been laying siege to Carnuntum to the north — and that it was only a matter of time before they trampled over the defenses and traveled south, raiding and pillaging — your father had called these rumors the work of foolish fearmongers.

He reassured you that there was nothing to fear, for while you were young and had not yet lived to see it, he had already seen the Goths attempt to invade Pannonia many times over in the past. And every single time, they were driven back by the might of the Roman army, put to the blade like the animals they were.

You are but a simple farm girl, often regarded as the most beautiful in town, yes, but naive and uneducated nonetheless. Soft-spoken and kind-hearted, when your pater familias spoke, you listened and obeyed. Therefore, you believed him, and put your mind at ease, getting back to your duties. Besides, your brother was serving in the army as a limitaneus, and he had vowed he would fight and keep all of you back home safe. And you trusted him, he always kept his promises.

It was not like you — or your family — had anywhere else to go anyway. Your parents had yet to arrange a marriage for you, but the hopes were that, with your beauty, you could strike the fancy of the son of a wealthy merchant, maybe even a nobilis. Love or passion for another were things that had always eluded you, so these plans for the future didn't bother you in the least, and you were content with your lot in life.

But sadly, it would have been better to pay heed to the warnings of the strangers, for this time, things would be very different, and your life would be flipped upside down in the blink of an eye.

It happened only a few days after you had heard of the barbarian attack on Carnuntum.

The morning was like any other, you have gotten up at the crack of dawn to start helping your parents with the farm work. Milking the cows, tending to the harvest, plowing the fields, gathering firewood... It was tiring, but you loved working hard and being outside under the sun. The smell of fresh grass and moist earth filled your nostrils, and the warm breeze caressed your skin.

However, soon you stopped in your tracks when you noticed unusual on the horizon, over the trees of the nearby woods. Dark pillars of pitch-black smoke rose to the skies, and when the wind blew your way, you could even catch a hint of the ashy smell of burning wood. A fire? It had to be massive to produce that much smoke, was there a fire in the town? Had something disastrous happened? Could it be that the barbarians were truly coming here?

You turned to your father — who had yet to see it — and called for him, pointing out to the smoke in the distance.

"Pa! Look, what is that... could it be, the barbarians?!"

Your father looked at you as if you were a silly little child, and scoffed. "Don't be daft, girl, did you forget what I told you the other day? That the Goths tried to come here ten times and got their arses handed to them each time?"

"Yes, Pa, but the smoke..." you said, almost falling over yourself trying to explain.

"Now, now, don't be so dramatic," he said, putting his hand on your shoulder. "Maybe 'tis a fire indeed, but such things happen, we'll hear of it later when we go to town, but I assure you, there's nothing to worry about."

A wave of relief washed over you, and you smiled, nodding, glad he had convinced you that there was nothing to worry about.

"I understand, Pa, thanks, sorry for being so silly!"

"Good!" he said, clapping his hands together. "Then let's get to work, eh? We're going to need a lot of food for winter, and we can't afford to waste time—"

It took you a moment to process what happened when his words were cut short, right after the sound of something swiftly flying through the air reached your ears. You then widened your eyes as you saw your father gasping, as he turned around and you could see the tail end of an arrow jutting out from his back. Before you could even react, more arrows flew from the treeline, striking him in the chest, and he was dead before he hit the ground.

You screamed in horror, dropping everything you carried, and rushing to his aid, crying and screaming for help. But nobody could hear you. Your mother was still in bed, as she was pregnant and had been sleeping the days away, and the closest neighbors were much too afar.

You fell to your knees, holding your father's lifeless body, sobbing and wailing in despair. How could this be happening? Why?

It took yet another moment for you to realize that your torment was far from over, as you looked up to where the arrows had been fired from, only to see shapes emerging from the treeline. They were tall, proud, and strong-looking women, with shapely bodies covered in leather armor, wearing helmets and wielding all sorts of weapons. Even more shocking was to see their animalistic features, as they had sharp fangs and claws, some sporting large horns as well as tails trailing behind them, or even wings growing from their backs. They were monsters, just like in the tales you had heard, and you felt your entire body trembling with fear, unsure what to do while seeing one of the taller and stronger-looking barbarian women looking you up and down, and starting to approach.