Prologue: In Medias Res

  The forest whispered secrets in a language he couldn’t understand, yet its meaning struck a chord deep within him. Sam Faeloc stood in the moonlit clearing, clutching a jagged stone in his trembling hand, his breath fogging in the cold air. The torch in his other hand sputtered weakly, casting erratic shadows on the surrounding trees. Every muscle in his body screamed for rest, but he couldn’t stop now; not with the heavy, predatory silence closing in around him.

  His Display flickered faintly in his vision, casting a translucent overlay of information that felt both foreign and eerily intuitive. The faint warning in the corner of his sight was relentless:

  Health: 4/10

  Stamina: Critical

  Sam tried to ignore the warnings, focusing instead on the oppressive stillness of the forest. His eyes darted between the shadows, scanning for movement, but it wasn’t the trees that unnerved him. It was the weight of an unseen gaze; an electric charge in the air, as though something, or someone, was watching.

  The pendant around his neck pulsed with warmth, drawing his attention downward. He touched it reflexively, its surface smooth and etched with the image of a creature he didn’t recognize; a snarling beast with black and white features as well as saber-like teeth. The artifact had seemed lifeless when he first found it, but now it thrummed in rhythm with his racing heartbeat.

  A soft whisper reached his ears, carried by the faint breeze. It wasn’t the hiss of leaves or the groan of branches; it was a voice. Feminine, melodic, and far too close. Sam froze, his pulse hammering as the words reached him. They were incomprehensible, but they resonated with an aching familiarity.

  Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  The torch flickered again, the light dimming further.

  “Who’s there?” he called out, his voice hoarse and strained.

  The forest offered no answer, but the whispers continued, growing louder and more insistent. Sam turned slowly, the jagged stone raised in defense, though he doubted it would help. His Display flickered once more, briefly overlaying his vision with something new:

  Name: Vael Solmyre

  ???

  He blinked, and the words vanished.

  A shadow emerged at the edge of the clearing, stepping into the dim light. A woman stood there, her figure draped in tattered, dark fabrics that blended seamlessly with the forest. Her eyes glowed faintly, their intensity cutting through the night. She was beautiful in a way that unnerved him; sharp angles and delicate features that seemed almost inhuman.

  “You shouldn’t be here,” she said, her voice low and lilting.

  Samstepped back, his grip tightening on the stone. “Who are you? What do you want?”

  She tilted her head, as if considering the question, but her expression remained unreadable. The faint light caught her form as she stepped closer, bringing with her a scent that struck him as oddly comforting; a mixture of pine and smoke, grounding and wild all at once.

  “It’s not about what I want. It’s about what you’ve already done.”

  “What does that mean?” he demanded, though his voice wavered.

  Her gaze flicked to the pendant around his neck, and for a brief moment, her expression softened; an almost imperceptible shift. “You don’t understand it yet, but you will.”

  The air grew heavy, crackling with unseen energy. The whispers around them became a crescendo, drowning out the sounds of the forest. Samfelt rooted to the spot, his breath hitching as the woman took a single step closer.

  Before he could say anything else, a deafening roar shattered the tension.

  The ground trembled beneath his feet as a massive bird barreled into the clearing, its glowing eyes fixed on him. Sam turned, the torch slipping from his hand as the predator; a creature unlike anything he’d seen before; bared its teeth and lunged.