Sena clutched the thick silver-grey fur of the wolf as she crouched above it. The wind stung past her cheeks and eyes, whipped through her hair as the beast ran through the woods beyond the capital. She had reached the city far faster than she had anticipated; though it was mostly thanks to the effort of the wolf pack. Despite travelling to the capital quite a few times through her life, she had never known that there were as many hidden paths as the wolves had shown her. But although she had reached the city, with so many beasts accompanying her, however, would she get near people? It would have been fine if they would just let her go alone, but the Shadewolf would never allow that.

Since they began the journey a week ago, maybe due to the little wolf sitting just behind her, the calling inside her had calmed a lot, but she could still feel the distinct pull of the beast from inside her. She did not know how long she could hold even now, but if she went against the Shadewolf’s wishes, she definitely wouldn’t be able to keep her sanity. She had to figure out a way to get inside the city without causing conflict.

The horde of wolves left the forest, raising a cloud of dust as they neared the road leading to the gate, and Sena couldn’t help but wince at the thought of the reaction of the people when they would spot the wolves.

But her worry did not last for long. As the last bunch of trees opened up before the wolves, the road came into view. And although the road did not have pedestrians, it was still full. Full of soldiers on their horses, facing the horde, and before all the soldiers, sitting on a pure white warhorse, was the queen of Robera, Shaela Arnet.

Sena’s heart leapt, but before she could tell the wolves to stop, the little wolf growled and the horde started to slow down. The great wolf Sena sat on walked forward, coming to a halt just before the horse.

Seeing so many wolves at once made the hearts of the battle-hardened soldiers behind Shaela twitch a bit, not to mention the horses they sat on. Except for Shaela’s great white mare, who actually looked down at Sena’s great grey wolf with a sense of pride and mild curiosity, all the other horses became restless despite their rider’s best effort to keep them calm. But was the restlessness of the creatures related to just the horses, or something more? As the soldier’s eyes landed on the gold and grey eyes of the girl sitting on the wolf, their fingers could not help but tighten on the shafts of their spears.

“Your majesty...” Irene, who was behind Shaela, readied herself to draw out her sword as she looked at Shaela for instructions.

“Calm!” Shaela said, her voice reverberating through the air, spreading a soothing warmth inside the minds of the soldiers and their rides and quelling the anxiety inside the hearts in an instant.

“Sena Moras.” She tilted her head, staring at the girl in front of her. “I never thought I would meet you under such circumstances,” she said as she ran her eyes over the horde of wolves.

“Your Majesty.” Sena bowed. “Forgive me for meeting you in my current state, but I bring urgent news.”

Shaela’s eyes narrowed. ‘Urgent news’ must be the popular term amongst the populace these days. But looking at the state Sena was in, if she did not hesitate to come here in such a condition, the news might really be urgent. And Shaela had an inkling she did not like at all.

“What news?” she asked.

“Undreil, Ragha, and Ruthberk have forged an alliance against Robera,” Sena’s words raised a wave of murmur amongst the army. “And they have launched a joint attack against Brigsar.”

“Brigsar, huh!” Shaela’s head hurt. She had considered the city as one of the possible targets too, but there were other, much better options. But now it did make sense. After all, the city being in a mountainous region, it was the perfect place to set up a defensible base from which they could invade the queendom further. It was too far for her to send any sort of proper reinforcement in time, even if she got the news. But the bigger problem was, she had expected only Undreil’s army to invade, but all three kingdoms allying against her was a hard blow, even for her.

“Sounds like Undril played his hand well,” she said, sighing.

“But why has there not been any news from Brigsar yet, your majesty?” Irene asked from behind her. “Should they not have sent a call for reinforcement already?”

“I suppose the army has a strict network of protection.” Shaela sighed as she looked up to the skies. “They would not be letting anything through. Not even birds.”

“I am afraid they have already besieged the city.” Sena gritted her teeth. “I do not know how long my father would be able to hold on, but I beseech your majesty to save my family,” she said before laying out the details of the enemy forces she had scouted before making her journey.

Shaela nodded. “Now that you have informed me, you can rest assured. I will do everything in my power to prevent the Moras house from being harmed,” she said to the girl. If she received the news later, it might have been impossible for her to do anything, but due to Sena, as long as Brigsar castle hadn’t fallen yet, she still had a chance.

“There is something else, your majesty,” Sena said. “Please Inform the heir of the Sergel house, Arakan Sergel of this matter too. Without the help his… cousin provided me, I could not have come here in time with the information, but now she is trapped because of this war.”

“Arakan…” Shaela nodded thoughtfully. “Alright, I will do so,” she said, scrutinising Sena carefully. “Anything else you wish to tell me?”

Sena shook her head. “No, that is all. Now if your Majesty will excuse me, I will take my leave.” The wolves behind her started backing up, disappearing within the shadowy undergrowth of the jungle behind her. But as the wolf she sat on was also about to turn around, Shaela raised her hand.

“Wait!” she said. “I have something to discuss with you.”

To Sena’s surprise, the wolf beneath her, that even refused her words, actually stopped. Disregarding that, she faced the queen once again. “What is it, your majesty?”

Shaela smiled and turned to look at her aide. “I wish for some privacy, Irene.”

Irene frowned, taking a glance at the great wolf in front of Shaela. “But her majesty—”

“Irene.” Shaela raised her hand, stopping the other woman. “You should know better than anyone else that I am perfectly capable of protecting myself.”

“But that is a wolf, your majesty.”

“Yes, I’m not blind enough to miss that,” Shaela said with a mild hint of annoyance in her voice. “But you should know I hate being coddled.”

Irene opened her mouth, but nothing came out. In the end, she sighed and bowed towards Shaela. “As you wish, your majesty.” She signalled the other soldiers to come with her and left the area, leaving Shaela and Sena alone.

“So you bear the curse of the Shadewolf now,” Shaela said, glancing at the little black wolf sitting behind Sena.

Sena’s eyes widened. She hadn’t expected Shaela to have knowledge of it. “Yes, I do,” she replied.

“You should know as time passes, this curse would slowly eat away at your humanity. Leaving you in a state worse than a beast.”

Sena smiled as she stared at the sky. She was well aware of that, but it was no more than what she deserved.

“It is a pity,” Shaela sighed. “I wish I could help you, but I can not intervene in this matter.”

“Do not worry, your majesty. It is my burden to bear,” Sena said. “And I don’t think the curse would affect me for long.”

Shaela raised her eyebrows, surprised by those words. But Sena did not say anything more. It would take a long time for her to lose her humanity. But being guilty of causing the death of the daughter of the Shadewolf, she would not have that time.

“Send out messenger birds to every corner of the kingdom,” Shaela said to Irene as she poured over the map of her queendom in the war council hall of the palace. “Any noble house with more than a thousand people in their personal army must send at least, half the amount of soldiers they have towards the city of Brigsar.”

“As you wish, your majesty,” Irene replied. “But I do not know how many of them would be willing.”

“As long as some are, that would be enough. What we need right now, is time. And even small skirmishes in the rear of that army would buy us that time.” Shaela pointed towards the mountains before the city of Brigsar. “If the city defends itself well, which, since it is under the protection of a warrior house, I trust it would, then as long as smaller armies take advantage of the situation and use the fight and flight situation, it should be able to stall the army long enough for our main army to reach Brigsar.” she looked up from the map at the gathering of nobles who had come to the war council. “Do any of you have your own opinions?”

“I do, your majesty,” said Relfin Bravos, a noble with a short stature from an average noble house of the capital, house Bravos. “Since the other kingdoms have withdrawn most of their armies from the borders, we should inform our border patrols to start attacking them from there. That may force them to withdraw the invading army.”

Shaela nodded. “That is a good strategy. Though I do not think they would withdraw the army, it might prevent them from further reinforcing it.”

Such discussions went on for a while, strategies considered, discarded and reassessed, for the better half of a day. At the end, when the final conclusions appeared, Shaela announced her decisions.

“Seven thousand of my Valiars would join this battle. Other than that, every noble house of the capital must provide two-thirds of their own personal army to the main attacking force,” she said. “And I will personally lead this army towards the battlefield. In my absence, sir Giraldi would be in charge of managing the affairs of the queendom.”

The meeting ended after her declaration, and each noble in the hall left to make their own preparations for the upcoming battle. Only Arakan still remained behind.

He bowed towards Shaela. “I have a request, your majesty.”

“Request?” Shaela raised her eyebrows. Since the beginning of the meeting, she had noticed a worried look on his visage. Come to think of it, it was after she informed him about Brigsar that he had looked somewhat dismayed.

“State your request, lord Arakan,” she said.

“I wish to join this expedition with you, your majesty.”

“You wish to head to the battlefield personally?” Shaela was somewhat surprised. “Are you worried about your cousin?” she asked, looking at him with thoughtful eyes.

“My cousin?” For an instant, Arakan looked confused. But he recovered immediately. “Ah yes, I am worried for her. So I would like to head there personally.”

Shaela tilted her head. “Why? Do you doubt my ability to save her?”

“No, your majesty,” Arakan shook his head. “it is not that. It is just...” he hesitated, not sure what to say.

“I think your presence here at the capital would be more beneficial to your status as the new head of Sergel house,” Shaela said. “Heading to the battlefield with me instead might be detrimental instead.”

Arakan gritted her teeth. “Still, I would like to go there, your majesty. I... need to see her safe,” he said. “Besides, my mother has years of experience above me in these matters, so I think there would be no problem if I were to head off to battle. It might even help increase my fame.”

Shaela narrowed her eyes, studying him as he explained his intentions. Only the first part seemed to come genuinely from his heart. The talk about raising his fame… that instead, seemed perfunctory.

“You really care for this cousin of yours a lot, do you not?” she asked.

“That…” Arakan scratched his head. It was going to be revealed later anyway, so he did not hide it anymore and explained the relationship between him and Laureen to Shaela. As well as his reasons for accepting the marriage proposal Robert had sent.

“Love, huh…” Shaela smiled, shaking her head as she looked at a blushing Arakan. “All right! You have convinced me,” she said. “I allow you to head to the battlefield with me.”

The cold glow of the curved new moon scattered on the dark water of lake Rejya. The last obstacle before Erhan and his team could reach their destination, the Mountain of Hungerjust beyond the lake. Its dark colossal form dwarfed every other peak in the dreaming mountains, towering over them like a giant amongst men. Erhan turned his eyes upward, observing the silhouette of something that seemed like a building at the peak of the mountain. The Temple of Dreams. His grip tightened on the shaft of his Staff.

The Book of Dreams should be enshrined there. And as long as he could reach it, he would have his answers.

“So we have to cross this lake now?” Harker asked, staring at the depthless water below them. “These waters look somewhat… dangerous.”

“Yes.” Arda nodded from beside him as she rubbed her palms together. “And how is the water still so fluid? In this cold, should it not have been frozen?”

Erhan shook his head. “There is no cold strong enough to freeze these waters,” he said, sighing. “But you are right about one thing. This lake is dangerous. It is not one we all could cross.”

Arda frowned. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, the three of you had best stay here and not attempt to cross this lake. Even I am not confident enough to take care of you in these waters.”

Harker frowned. Coming this far, they had faced many dangers together. Especially, Nightmares. Even ordinary people like them who were far from the druid had learned how to fight back against those under Erhan’s guidance. But even after being through so much, what could be there in the lake for it to be even more dangerous?

“But...” he began, only for Erhan to shake his head.

“The path of druids that lay ahead is not one on which mortals can tread,” he said. “Setting foot upon it means certain death, so treading upon it would be a futile effort, anyway. So you must stay here until I come back.”

“I agree,” Garan, who had been silent until now, said. “If the druid finds it to be dangerous, then there is no question it will be. So I will be staying here.”

Arda also nodded her agreement. So in the end, Harker had no choice but to shrug and accept. Erhan sighed. He turned around and looked at the top of the mountain again. The path ahead was the final test for the sadhus. And stepping on it would be fatal for those three, no doubt, but the peril he would face would be no less than them. He had stepped away from the path long ago. But today...

He still had to return to it.

Sena looked through the gaps of the trees at the faraway peaks peeking above the clouds on the horizon. The Dreaming mountains. She had returned once again. Other than the little wolf, the one she rode, the other wolves had already left them. They travelled through the night forest, surrounded by tall ancient oaks. Their dense canopy overhead gave way to one or two scarce rays of moonlight, their thick roots spreading over the moss-covered forest ground like a net. The more they travelled, the thinner the woods became, but a thick mist still floated through the forest, obscuring Sena’s vision. Suddenly, her ride stopped its steps.

“We are here,” said the little wolf as it leapt down from the back of the great beast. It looked at Sena. “Do you need an invitation?”

Sena did not answer. Instead, she stared at the massive cliff before them, reaching up to the skies, and on the face of the cavern, lay a huge cavern, able to accommodate at least seven to eight carriages side by side. Looking at its dark depths, the rhythm of her heartbeat increased. She could feel it. Her destiny. It was incredibly close. After all these years, she would finally find out who killed Sara.

Slowly, she climbed down from the back of the great wolf. The little wolf looked at her once, before sending out a growl towards the beast, and it slowly backed into the forest, disappearing inside.

“Come with me.” The little wolf turned around and walked towards the depth of the cavern, and Sena followed. Red, yellow and green fireflies danced around her as she walked, a thick grey mist wound around her ankles, as if intangible shackles of smoke trying to bind her in place. But they parted in front of the little wolf. Instead, the deeper they travelled through the cave, the more tendrils of shadow spread around it like smoke, obscuring its form from Sena’s eyes. At last, it stopped, and as it did, the voice inside Sena’s heart that had compelled her for so long, suddenly fell silent.

In front of her, just peeking out of the shadow, lay a pair of massive paws with claws as long as her. Dark ropes of shadow slithered out of every crevice of the claws, slowly flowing inside and mixing into the darkness that writhed like it was alive. Her eyes traced the roiling shadow, climbing ever upward until it came to stop on two whorls of golden fire. They stared back at her, the eyes that had always haunted her nightmares since that night. The eyes of the Shadewolf, the one who knew who killed her dear sister. It opened its black maw, its white sword-like fangs glistening in the moonlight streaming through a crack in the roof that did nothing to disperse the shadow around it, but its ethereal voice, reverberating through every fibre of her being, seemed gentle, just like her Sara’s.

“You have kept me waiting for a long time, girl.”