Ekkehard: A Tale of the Tenth Century. Vol. 2 (of 2)

A stark, moon‑lit battlefield stretches across a pine‑wood valley, where the thin line between the sacred and the savage blurs. A weary watchman, his prayers trembling in the cold night, witnesses a fleeting, child‑like figure that seems to hover above the fallen, hinting at an unseen presence that marks the dead for a future resurrection. The atmosphere is heavy with the scent of iron and incense, as monks and soldiers grapple with the horror of what they have wrought.

When dawn breaks, the survivors must decide whether to pursue the fleeing enemy or tend to the dead before the holy Easter rites. Reluctant yet resolute, they dig massive graves for the slain Huns, their motions accompanied by the mournful cries of ravens and the uneasy whispers of a deacon sprinkling consecrated water. The scene captures a world where duty, faith, and the lingering echo of violence converge, setting the stage for the characters’ deeper struggles in the days to come.