It was about two weeks later when the soldiers came. The hard footsteps of soldiers coming from the distance resounded loudly as they marched across the country as a display of the Empire's dominance and grandeur. The gold embroidered bright red uniforms were strongly out of place in our village of simple dwellers.

From the textbooks I've read, you would've thought that the people would worship and sing praises to the soldiers, but you could tell from the hushed whispers and tense bodies of the villagers that they were in fear.

Their immaculate uniforms and perfect marching form made me feel as though they were like puppets being controlled. Father told me that the soldiers were going to stay in the village for a day for inspection and that I should stay completely silent.

With the village void of its usual hustle and bustle, I felt ill at ease as the day went by.