Crimson runes covered the walls of the Ruens temple as they hummed, projecting a soft, white glow. With each step that the ominous stranger took towards the arch priest, he stumbled backwards until he was pushed up against the chilled, stone wall.

A black robe draped the strange woman. The symbol of her guild, a black snowflake with a threaded white outline and twin blue moons, marked her a member of Dead of Winter. Her red-runed skin flickered by candlelight from the shadows of her hood. She had desecrated the temple with her cursed aura.

“How dare you…” the priest croaked out. His frightened voice shook with each word. “...How dare you enter this place of worship!”

She stopped, caressing a finger down his cheek. “Your gods can not save you from the heavens. Ret sel ahv’los Al’unis,” she finished with the ancient language of the angels, although she was the farthest thing from one. A thin smile appeared on her face.

“What you bring can’t be hope. We mortals could never experience the raw power of the gods. Their presence alone would destroy us. They must be revered from afar."

The light of the runes faded as the woman’s mood fell dark. “So you will not tell me where the seal of Dragon Realm Blight is?”

“Let me answer it in the tongue you are familiar with, MERA!” The priest gnashed his teeth.

The woman’s face soured with disappointment. She pushed her thumb against his forehead. “Never is a long time, and an answer I do not seek,” she snarled with the final word.

A brilliant red light engulfed her thumb. The priest's eyes rolled back into their sockets and his face withered until his skin stretched thin over his cheeks. He crumpled to the ground, gaunt and starved of his life essence. Where her thumb used to be now appeared an abstract, divine symbol.

She huffed with her failure to obtain her information. The air around her cooled. Surprised, she quickly turned her head. Peering into the shadows of the now vacant temple she spotted a scaly figure emerge from the darkness. His hair shined silver, long springbok horns protruded from his head, and a spaded tail swished about behind him.

“Oh, it’s just you, Calsoon.” she sighed with relief. “I thought you were him.”

Calsoon knelt before her. “Lady Sable, my assignment has yielded information you might find interesting.”

Sable nodded for her servant to continue.

“The Mage King may have discovered the location of a Celestial Seal.”

Sable’s eyes lit up with excitement and intrigue, but kept the composure of a stoic elder.

“New Estinia may have an ancient city underneath it and a seal may hide there. Koda seeks an alliance with the nation’s queen.”

“You will be at his side?”

Calsoon grinned. “Yes, m’lady.”

Sable stroked her lips in thought. “Div’Rah Tashna rules New Estinia within her iron clutches, much like her father does with their old country. She will be hard-pressed to join the side of the Dawnedge brat. This may work to our advantage.”

“Master Wraslyn would part with anything to get his hands on Blight’s Celestial Seal,” added Calsoon.

“Indeed.”

“Do not forget that we have been expressly forbidden to bring harm to Koda,” Calsoon reminded the mysterious woman.

It was true. Wraslyn, the master of the Dead of Winter cult, expressed a deep interest in Koda. Neither Sable or Calsoon knew the reason why their master bothered with the likes of the elf. He only served to stand in Wraslyn’s way. To Sable and Calsoon, as well as the rest of the guild, Koda was the opposition to their plans. One that needed to be crushed.

“I will make sure the elf is kept alive, but I will not guarantee what state of health he remains in. This is not my priority or duty as Wraslyn’s Runecarver.” Sable brushed past Calsoon to the temple’s exit. “If Wraslyn so desires me to be a babysitter, then he should send his whipping boy. Who was he again? The shadow elf?”

Calsoon turned his head to answer. “Inle, m’lady.”

“He earned the respect of the Collector, but if he wishes to earn my respect, he will need to show he is more than some mere assassin.” She stopped at the archway.

“Inle is more than a mere assassin. His skills have grown considerably in these last two years. I and the cat have seen that.”

“I suppose.” Sable was still unconvinced, but she left it at that. “You and I shall meet the Div’Rah ahead of the Mage King and see to his capture. We must find this seal before him. Return to your post before you are missed. You will be called again when I need you.”

Calsoon nodded. “As you say, Lady Sable.” He sank into the ground as his form melded with the shadows.

Sable smirked with satisfaction. Finally, something was going her way, but she would be apt not to fail her master once more. Wraslyn was notorious for his lack of empathy. If she wanted to keep her head attached to her shoulders, then this mission would need to be conducted with delicate hands. If Tashna was anything like her father, any misstep could spoil her chances at obtaining her goal.