Sartore is a young boy in a village, quiet and shy. He seems left out, both by the village's celebrations and whatever friends he thinks he has. Amidst one of those traditions, something snags Sartore's eyes and ears: an inaudible whisper in the back of his head. He follows where it seems to lead him, to a lake behind his house, to watch the sunset.
Behind him, all the villagers freeze halt their revelry upon the approach of an army.