Chaos.
If a single word could be used to describe the situation, that would be it. At the base of what used to be a dormant volcano, an entire village scrambled in an attempt to escape a fiery and smoky death. Both the young and the old, the strong and the weak, the males and the females galloped as fast as they could, some carrying in tow whatever they could take with them. The volcano roared violently like a rabid beast, sending flaming rocks towards the village and covering the skies in a black and thick curtain of darkness. The screams of fear and panic echoed in the air, mixed with the rumbling of the once dormant beast, as well as the smell of charred buildings and zebras. Huge crowds raced towards the edge of the village, clinging on to the hope that they and their families would live. Their hopes, however, were crushed as the volcano suddenly released its blazing contents onto the village, covering it with a thick layer of molten lava. It burned fiercely everything and everyone there; huts made of leaves and branches, zebras of all ages and occupations. Everything was reduced to an unrecognizable charred carcass of what used to be a lively village.
Far away underneath the cover of some trees on an elevated terrain, a young adult zebra leads a younger zebra foal away from the village. Upon hearing the mighty roaring of the volcano, the foal turns back to see the volcano sending its fiery lava onto the village. The older zebra raised his hoof towards the foal's head to guide him forward and away from the demise of the village.
"Keep on moving, young one. We're not there yet." The older zebra said, lightly pushing the foal forward.
The foal, however, couldn't keep his eyes away from the spectacle. His muzzle was wide open at such powerful and natural display of force.
"What's happening there, uncle?" The foal said, releasing himself from his uncle's hoof to face the village.
The uncle's face quickly took a somber tone. He looked at foal, who then stared back at him with an innocent and curious expression. He stood there in silence for a few seconds, contemplating what he would say. The foal awaited patiently, observing in detail the young but well-defined masculine face of his uncle, his bright yellow eyes like the sun that shone high on the sky and his straight black and white mane.
"The gods have decided to bless our village, young one." The uncle said as he looked at the young foal.
The foal turned to face the village once again, taking in every detail: the thick layer of molten lava that covered the whole village and its outskirts, charring everything it touched, the dark and dense curtain of smoke overhead that emanated from the volcano and blocked the sunlight. He frowned, as his head turned to see his uncle once again.
"What sort of blessing is that, uncle?" The foal said.
"One of new beginnings, young one. The zebra there were sent to a better place by the gods." He said, still with a grim expression.
The foal sat on his rump, turning his head to look once again at the village.
"I don't understand."
The uncle let out a long tired sigh.
"Fire is life, young one. From the ashes shall emerge something great, but for now, we must go." He said, motioning the foal to move forward.
The foal stood and followed his uncle closely, the image of his burning village and the volcano still freshly etched on his mind.
The two zebras arrived at the outskirts of a neighboring village under the dark cover of the night. The foal trotted even closer to the older zebra, shivering. From where the foal stood, he could see walls of wooden spikes lined up neatly next to one another, that rose as tall as some of the nearby trees. He also saw long ditches filled with mud right in front of the tall walls and huge towers behind them, that overlooked the front of the village. There was a narrow passageway, which was too small for a crowd to go through, but big enough so that the two zebras could go through easily, between two of the wooden walls of spikes lit by two torches that stood parallel to one another, providing some dim illumination.
"What is this place, uncle?" The foal said quietly, his muzzle wide open, as his eyes kept surveying the outskirts of the village.
"It's a neighboring village, though it looks more like a fortress. We will live here. Let's go." The older zebra said.
As the zebras approached the passage, equine-like shadows, whose silhouettes contrasted against the night sky, emerged from the tall towers, taking menacing postures, with what seemed to be spears readied and trained at the zebras.
"Halt! Who goes there?" Said one of the shadows atop the tower.
The zebras froze dead on their tracks, before turning their view at the towers. The equine-like shadows watched closely every move they made, their spears ready to be chucked at them at a moment's notice.
The older zebra took a small step forward, clearing his throat.
"We have traveled from afar in search of a new home. We request quarter at your village."
The shadows remained silent, looking at one another. One of them lowered its spear.
"Mwalimu, is that you?" The shadow that lowered its spear said.
"Yes, please, let us in."
The zebras could hear the figures atop the towers saying something to one another, but they couldn't hear well what it was due to the distance. After a few silent moments, the shadows seemed to relax.
"Go ahead, hurry." One of the shadows said, motioning them to get inside.
The uncle and the foal hurried up inside, crossing a small stretch of land above the ditches into the gap between the wooden spiky walls.
As they trotted through the walls, they could see what they guarded. There were many huts lined up, taking up most of the space inside the confines of the walls. Right in front of them were smaller huts which stood in neat rows and a campfire, where several zebras armed with spears sat, huddling next to the fire. To the sides were the towers, which seemed even larger up-close. The zebras at the campfire turned their view at the newcomers. From afar, their eyes scrutinized every detail of the two zebras. As they noticed the foal, murmurs began to fill the mostly quiet night. The older zebra and the foal approached the group at the campfire and sat nearby, trying to catch some warmth. The eyes of the zebras were still fixed on them, as they sat in an awkward silence.
Finally, one of them spoke.
"It's unusual for us to receive visitors this time of the night, specially foals. What business have you here?" A muscular male zebra said as he looked at the foal, who was staring idly into the fire.
The older zebra, meeting the gaze of the muscular zebra, sighed.
"I... we've been displaced from our home and were hoping to live here." The older zebra said, looking down at the fire as well.
The muscular zebra nodded solemnly and placed his hoof on the older zebra's withers.
"Well, make yourself at home. You can sleep in one of our huts for now." The muscular zebra said, before sliding his hoof off the older zebra's withers and staring into the fire as well.
The other zebras followed suit, removing their gazes from them. Some of them dispersed and went into the huts, presumably to sleep. The older zebra and the foals followed one of the zebras inside one of the huts. The interior of the hut was quite lacking, with only a few collection of leaves on the ground, where the zebras lain to sleep, and some racks that held spears. The newcomers, not arguing against a night of sleep, simply laid on the leaves alongside the other zebras and left the world of the conscious.