[That's easier, somehow. A question like that, direct and straightforward? It helps to solidify things, to remind him of what he remembers, what he feels is real.]

The invaders came from the water. We didn't know why they were coming, not at first. The water started rising before they landed, it flooded us out of the low country and drove us up towards the mountains. Then we saw the boats. [He remembers the boats, wood and reed and straw. He remembers their weapons, the arrows, the deadly accuracy. His father's funeral.]

We've been trying to drive them back, but the War Units can't handle being flooded, so it's taking longer than anyone wanted.