))As the sky darkened, Katharina felt a weird sensation. Storms with rain, lighting and thunder were a rare occasion in Cadomyr and, while formerly being scared by every single rolling thunder, she had to admit that fascination dominated fear, as she now stood at the window and watched as the dark clouds came closer and closer. That, however, started to change when the windows began to rattle and the rain became more furious, hitting the roof right above her as if it was eager to break in. Feeling uncomfortable so close under the roof, she decided to head downstairs. She glanced around in the big meeting room and, in order to occupy her lightly trembling hands with something, she started to reorganize the chairs around the huge table, moving them closer to it. Just as she leaned over one of the chairs, trying to reach the chandelier, the world around her shook and a terrible noise made her ears ring. For a brief moment, the room, darkened by the thunderstorm, turned bright as daylight. Something exploded and Katharina could hear the sound of bricks violently hitting the ceiling above her. When the rumbling had almost subsided, she stumbled upstairs. She felt as if she was caught in the middle of a nightmare and her movements were those of a sleepwalker, as she emerged on the upper floor. At first, she noticed the fires. Then she noticed the rain falling down on the already soaked carpet. Her brain took a moment to take in the most obvious change, though. The gaping hole which, just a few moments ago, had been the roof of the villa and a good chunk of the walls. The flames. Without having any control about her limps, she rushed over, already shrugging out of her cloak as she did, extinguishing the fire with it. Luckily, the other flames were contained and eventually put out by the rain. Katharina stared at the ruined walls and the roof, which threatened to collapse even more. Her hair was already wet and stuck to her head, when she found herself standing outside the villa, staring up to it. To the huge hole, the thunderstorm had torn into it. She became aware of the harp she was holding clutched to her chest, almost like someone drowning would hold on to a lifebelt in centuries to come.
A charred Desert Fox banner flapped use- and helpless in the wind, half buried under debris, when Katharina eventually found herself out in the town, wandering the streets, the harp still in her arms and clearly in shock, her appearance with the wet hair and dirtied clothes in quite the contrast to her usual self...
