“Aurelia snarled as the arid winds whipped her body The heat of the desert stripping away what little sanity she had left as she raced up the sand dunes. Her sweat soaked through her clothes had formed disgustingly moist patches within her clothing as she burned alive, the loose cloth just barely holding together.

Beyond the cursed dunes of the Dragonlands, rumors of her people, the last of a dying culture, stood strong in a bastion past the ‘sands that devoured’ , a stretch of the desert so dangerous even the local tribesmen have taken to avoid it. Blistering heat, particulates and a breeze that spat forth what felt like molten air in an attempt to break her spirit. Yet, she grit her teeth and trudged forward, the seconds turning to minutes, minutes to hours, hours to days, and days to weeks. Though truthfully she had lost all sense of direction in the sands ever since she tumbled down a dune as large as the giants of legends. Her map, instructions and all manner of supplies were last, what little chances further dashed by a vicious sandstorm that stalked the wastes.

Still, she was undeterred. No matter how dry her lips were, how broken her body got, she vowed to push on.

“I must save my people.” She croaked out to the sky, a dark shadow of a bird hovering nearby her only audience, “For only they can save Gunmar from the traitor king’s machination.” She tried to gasp for air only to cough from the heat and dryness, “Heed me now messenger of the Goddess, if these are to be my last words…then… know that I died trying, that even in the end, alone and exhausted, I, Princess Aurelia of The Forgotten, never faltered.” She whispered as she collapsed.

- The Adventures of Gunmar and Aurelia Vol.16: Through Snow and Sand - Chapter 15: Trials of the Forgotten

Heavy metal boots clanked loudly against the rough cobble roads beneath. The crackling of fires and screams of the dying filled the air as the grotesque abominations hunted down each and every survivor. Bones crunched and snapped as the gluttonous feasting carried on throughout the carnage. But throughout it all, the faint presence of something else lingered at the edge of her perception.

She hid her own terror and continued following the figure who she now recognized as the same armoured demon that she saw emerge back at the barrows, the very air around it turning foul from its presence. It stalked through the rubble and she felt a sense of unbridled disgust as her stomach churned in agony. Emerging from an alley, she saw the town’s square, here too the demon had also paused, it’s jagged spikes rising softly as it revelled in the carnage. A few squat, sturdy stone blockhouses remained standing, though their walls had unnatural protrusions tearing through the stone work to jut out like some demented devil was crawling its way from the depths below. But for the majority of buildings, their fate was much like the citizens they housed. Timber and stone alike scattered across the streets like the bodies, bones and viscera that still coated the area around them. From beneath the center of the town square, a light puddle that could just about coat the sole of the demon’s armoured boots rippled with every greedy step as the blood continued to flow. The corpses seemed unending from where she was, a mountain that reached to the very top of the three story fountain, the mound of limbs, bodies, and everything in between forming a tenuous tower of the dead.

The suffering of the people was complete; adults, children, beastfolk, priests, warriors alike were all thrown unceremoniously into the pile, their gruesome resting place disturbed by the wild gangs of goblin like demonic abominations that tore into their flesh. Limbs were ripped straight from their sockets as other entities of the darkness sought more carnal pleasures from the corpses and for a brief moment she swore she heard the armoured demon scoff in disgust at the sight. Trying to hold back her own disgust she turned to see strange bog coloured bird like iconography decorated the pauldrons of the armoured demon, whatever noble form they once had twisted into a horrid mockery from the corruption. Though a familiar feeling tickled her mind once again, she felt the very spirit of the armour itself lurch towards her, the eyes of the strange bird like creeping filling up with a malicious green light as it lunged at her.

Surprised she stumbled backwards and fell into a pile of bodies, the blood and pus covering her in a disgusting fleshy slurry that ripped what little composure she had left away. Barely stifling a scream, she felt herself forcefully thrown back as her mind dragged her straight back to the top of one of the marble brick towers. Unlike the horror far below, the soft ethereal blue glow that surrounded it had grown almost comforting to her, like a certainty that at least here, at the precipice of the strange tower would there be some semblance of calm.

Darkness comes as light flickers into nothingness, the illusion of the Gods cast asunder

The shadow that slowly loomed over her trilled. Her skin tingled as she shuddered from the voice. Calming blues were washed out by the strange shadows it cast from behind her, the writhing mass of tentacles, appendages and eyes scanning the landscape around them.

Worry not, the machinations of chaos, and turn thy hallowed soul to the light that still shines bright. For they seek thine dawn, a race between three for answers, but only one may prevail.

She felt the slimy appendages coil themselves around her, but no matter how much fear she felt, her heart refused to react, even when her mind flew into a panic. It was why she felt so calm when her mind finally found itself staring at her goal once more. Goldenlight keep, vigilant high above the city of Melisgrad. The thousands of denizens unaware of the prying eyes that looked down upon it. From her perch above a knoll next to Melisi river, she stared at the structure, so close yet still so far when she felt the scuttling presence of two other consciousness around her, both turning their attention to the keep.

One mind felt older, ancient, and powerful. The other was young, curious, and strange. Whilst one was like a veteran knight, coiled and ready to strike at any opportunity with their thoughts carefully guarded. The other was fumbling, like a child wandering aimlessly only to accidentally set their sights on a goal. But that wasn’t the only thing she felt, she could also feel a sense of dread as she reached out to the young mind. It was surrounded by an aura that was oddly recognizable, a distant cousin perhaps to a feeling she had felt before.

Divinity

The entity trilled in annoyance to answer her, using its tentacles to turn her around and face it.

Time grows short

It was a familiar feeling for her.

Before the next solstice, heralded by the lunar tides, you must act

She grit her teeth as the tendrils coiled around her tightly, trying to wring every last drop of life out of her.

The cycle has begun, only in the dawn will you find answers

For a moment she swore the tendrils loosened their grip, wrapping around her like one would swaddle a newborn before it immediately pierced into her once more.

Go now, guide. Seek and ye shall find, the truths of the world, Little Sofi.

Excruciating pain wracked her body but even with her mind fading away from this hell, she couldn’t help but latch onto the hearty laughter that the entity trilled out. Little Sofi?

Soft ringing echoed in Sophie’s ear as her eyes fuzzily opened back up. Pain flared from the back of her head and she found herself staring at four pairs of eyes looking back down at her. Huh? She blinked slightly and a frenzy of noise and movement happened at once, meaty arms lifting her up as Annalise looked down from her horse with concerned eyes. Mila was scowling at her and the templar rolling his eyes under his helmet. She turned her head to find Taurox carefully helping her up and got placed upright, taking a few staggered steps before everyone else breathed a sigh of relief.

“By Astralis, you gave us quite a scare.” Taurox murmured from behind her.

“Nugh…? Ah!” Sophie winced when her headache finally took hold.

“Easy, easy.”

“Hells below you’ve got to stop hurting yourself.” Annalise huffed atop her horse, the creature too staring at Sophie in dismay, like she were psychopath.

Upon seeing Sophie’s confused expression however, the ranger let her shoulders drop with a sigh before she raised an eyebrow at Sophie.

“Hmm?” Sophie murmured, still half confused and dazed.

“You there? Hello? You alright Sophie?” Annalise prodded.

“Bleh?”

“You took a pretty nasty fall, you alright?” Annalise asked again and this time Sophie just nodded, the throbbing in her head still crippling her ability to speak.

“She’s fine, she’s blinking and moving about ain’t she?” Mila chimed in with a scowl.

Annalise rolled her eyes and just patted at the back of her horse for Sophie to hop on, the half elf giving a small grunt of irritation at the pain until she froze in her tracks, having processed the message in her head.

“Sophie?”Annalise queried, confusion colouring her face

“How long until the next full moon? The solstice?” Sophie blurted out suddenly, surprising everyone.

They all traded strange glances with each other before the templar finally spoke for the group.

“Roughly a week and a half if all this blasted sorcery hasn't changed anything.” Sergeant Wilde murmured, “Solstice itself is still a month away at least. Why?”

“It told me, it warned me. Something…something is happening then…at the keep.” Sophie struggled to say as her moment of clarity began fading.

“What?” Taurox asked.

“I…it showed…it showed me of the north, more burning and the dead.” Sophie dropped to her knees and waved her arms around to emphasise her point, “Bigger this time, more dead, more suffering. But then the capital, the Goldenlight, it…it showed me we are not the only ones looking for it.”

“Are you alright young elf? Was training perhaps too harsh again? The minotaur looked at her with kind eyes.

“What no? I mean yes? But no? Argh, it’s the nightmare…”

“Sorry Inquisitor Taurox, it is my failure to have remembered to update you and I offer my humble apologies. My apologies to you too, Sergeant Wilde.” Mila quickly interjected, drawing a curious glance from the two men, “She uh…has visions of some blasphemous entity that haunts her mind…” Sophie watched as Mila squirmed from what must’ve felt like the absurdity of having to make such a statement, “Right, and she also spoke on the topic of a tower that was part of a fortress, bathed in golden rays of sunlight. Which I, err we assumed to mean Goldenlight Keep in the capital.”

Taurox nodded approvingly as if he had just begun fitting all the pieces of a complex puzzle into place. Sergeant Wilde on the other hand, seemed perplexed by this strange explanation, his armoured form leaned forward as if trying to catch just a few more words that might explain the strange statement.

“Apprentice…” The man began but Mila quickly interrupted.

“I know, Sergeant, it sounds bizarre to me too, but…well she…she ah…” Mila faltered as Sophie could tell she was struggling to recount the painful memories.

“Apprentice?”

“She…she could see into my past…”

“A seer?!” Sergeant Wilde turned to Sophie in shock, the surprise evident in his eyes behind the helmet’s slit, “It would certainly explain her addled state and often questionable behaviour. It makes sense that a seer wouldn’t attract that much attention if she didn’t flaunt her abilities and given that she’s an elf…”

At that Annalise failed to contain herself and burst out with a giggle.

“Something the matter, Ranger?” The templar whirled around to face her.

“Oh man, Sophie? A seer? This Sophie? By the divines if only.” Annalise laughed.

“And how would you explain things hmm? Only seers can peer into someone’s past effectively and perhaps glean knowledge of the future. But, such powers, as all magics must. Come with steep costs, most suffer some form of magick branding from their knowledge whilst others might lose life and limb. Cognitive impairment and fragility of the body are what tends to affect seeresses or other psychic based magisters the most, druids aside given their natural constitution and connection to nature. Furthermore…”

“Sergeant.” Taurox spoke and at once the templar stalled his words, his body craning forward to lecture the ranger but he remained frozen.

“Yes lord inquisitor?”

“Whilst the idea is certainly amusing and based on Astralian doctrine, I can assure you that whatever deficiencies the young elf suffers from are not the results of being a seer.”

“Of course my lord. My apologies for my hasty speech.”

“Nonsense, you speak from what you know.” Taurox chuckled, “Ranger if you would continue?”

Annalise nodded and flashed a small smile at Sophie, the gesture bringing some measure of calm to the maid.

“Ahem, well sir templar and apprentice,” Annalise spoke theatrically if a little somberly, “I too doubted our companion here given her shyness but let me assure you, she is indeed a little touched, if by things beyond comprehension.” She quickly added to everyone's horrified faces at her wording, “What I mean to say is Sophie is touched by some creature that lurks in the shadows, not divine or necessarily malevolent…just…wrong, it just felt wrong.”

The others gave her their full attention as Taurox mimed drinking to Sophie and she understood the message, use this time to recover. She stumbled languidly over to the side of the path and leaned against a tree, taking small sips from her canteen as Annalise retold the story of the ruins, particularly that of the monster that she saw. Though they had told the blademaster as well, the pain they felt from thinking about the ruins had held back most of the details and Sophie found that the minotaur’s features grow increasingly worried the more Annalise spoke.

It took almost a full hour for the inquisitors to pry every possible detail out of her companion, their inquisitive instincts perked up by the potential intrusion of some unknown entity lurking in the shadows. Though Sophie did notice Mila grow increasingly tired, the scowl almost falling off at one point. All Annalise’s words did was to further cement the idea that whatever the entity was, it specifically allowed Sophie to see into her past, marking her as a potential accomplice in whatever plot was hatched in the great beyond. The other two, whatever conclusion they drew they kept to themselves though Taurox did signal for Sophie to finally join the conversation as he began interrogating her and her recollection of the nightmare.

Admittedly she did flub a few things here and there with her nervousness at being cross examined by three inquisitors. But grim faces were her only audience by the end of her words, even Annalise looked a shade more dour at the thought of the entity inserting itself back into their lives.

“It is as I feared then.” Taurox broke the silence, “There is a grander conspiracy at play within the kingdom and time is not on our side.”

“My lord?” Sergeant Wilde chimed in.

“With the farmstead cultists, I already suspected the Lionshunt to be involved given their suspiciously delayed reaction to the cult. But if what the young elf says is true, then it is likely something that is far more entrenched.”

“Because of the orcs…”

“Indeed Sergeant.”

“The orcs indict a conspiracy?” Mila asked with a frown.

“They, the Lionshunt, barely reacted to the presence of the orcish corpses. If you recall this land's history, Melton is a land under constant raids from pirates, beasts, and orcs. To have on so far from the Frostwind should surprise any citizen, but not them.”

“So they might’ve already known they were there?”

“Exactly apprentice, either that our all of the cadre happened to be veteran hunters, but judging by his swagger, I would reckon the knight commander present nary had a proper clue on how to handle a real fight. Regardless, the orcs being this far in can only mean a few things.” Taurox trailed off and Mila struck a pensive pose before she responded, her scowl turning into a small frown that Sophie found quite adorable.

“So they were likely allowed in? Or allowed to roam at least, by someone with authority over those hunters.”

“Precisely.”

“...but that means that someone is also with the cult.”

A silence descended upon the group as they pondered the revelation. If someone high up was with the cult then no matter what they did, they would likely not be able to escape detection. Grim looks descended on the inquisitor’s faces and Sophie too, felt her mood drop as the others did.

“Ahem, that sucks and all, but if we are going to the capital we you know, keep going? Especially if we have a time limit and don’t want to run into delays.” Annalise cheekily suggested as she unclasped her bow from the horse’s side much to everyone’s surprise.

“Ranger?” Taurox raised a skeptical eye at the weapon, echoing the sentiments of the other two warriors as they looked uncertainly at each other.

“Because we’re about to run into our first delay.” she pointed with a free hand down the road.

True enough, while their eyes traced the horizon a cloud of dust and rock was being kicked up as what looked to be a dozen odd large figures pointed toward the party whilst racing towards them. Though they had the advantage of time and distance, Sophie realised that the way to the capital lay through them. Worried, she sought reassurances from the inquisitors only to find the Astralians double checking their weapons as a grim look overtook their expressions and movements, any friendliness or doubt having vanished at the sight of potential threats.

“Sergeant Wilde, eyes on the flanks. Apprentice, keep the two of them secured.”

“Yes lord inquisitor!”

“Yes my lord!”

Sophie stared at them preparing until Annalise gestured for her to hurry up. Confused, she strode closer only to receive a vicious rapt in the head from Annalise’s bow.

“Guh!”

“That was for scaring the shit outta me and falling off the horse.”

“Nuh!” Sophie yelped as Annalise rapt her head a second time.

“And that was just because I can. Now get on! I don’t think I’ve ever tried to make him gallop with the both of us so you better hold on. But I swear if you fall off or puke on me…” Anna jokingly growled but Sophie sensed a slight hint of sincerity coming from the ranger’s voice.

Fearing her wrath, she quickly nodded and climbed onto the mount, wrapping her arms tightly around the ranger as the party trotted forward to meet the oncoming foe.