Image found on ebay.

After such a long trek, the three were happy to have arrived at their final destination. The excitement in the coach was palpable. The vista, well recognised by them, would soon open, and they would be “home”.

Turning into the valley, everything changed. Something was wrong. The scene before them was as far from the expected, tranquil forest idyll, as could be imagined. Before them. Devastation. Bodies strewn everywhere. Dismembered limbs heaped in random piles along the highway.

“How could this have happened?” the Mother cried. The Maiden simply gasped in despair. The Crone, laying aside the weft she wove, sat in silence, observing the scene of unfolding horror.

The carriage moved on, the silent coachman searching for some word of comfort but coming up short. As unexpected as this was, there was an inevitability about it. Man, in believing he had come so far, still…