Darkness was their cloak. Moving swiftly through the trees, they were as silent as shadows in the shade. Their speed would have been impressive to witness were anyone there to view them. But they knew they were alone here. Just several dark shapes bolting through the forest.

Suddenly, the figure in the lead broke through the tree line and skidded to a halt. Black capes rippling in the night air, they all stood now on the precipice of a grassy outcropping, overlooking a valley and the city of Ingvald miles beyond, bathed in the full double-moon light.

The leader turned, nodding, their face wrapped in a dark fabric, and only eyes were visible. They were as dark as blood, and had the authority of a killer. The others nodded as well, and they all turned as the shortest of them at the very back, faced away and removed their mask, and pressed their fingers to their lips, releasing a high, piercing whistle. It rang clear, and the echo stretched off into the distance.

There was a vacant silence, like the moments before an execution. After a moment, there was a loud and terrifying crunch that reverberated from somewhere in the trees. This was followed by a deep and unwholesome groan, like the upheaval of earth during a quake.

The group took a few tentative steps back. The sound continued to crash, and pick up speed, until suddenly a massive silhouette exploded out of the trees and flew over the gathering’s heads and over the edge of the rocky plateau.

The group straightened themselves. There was a terrific roar as the creature that had emerged charged through the valley far below. Those on the precipice waited for a beat and then nodded at one another. They each chose separate directions and shot off, on their individual tasks. All that remained was the calm silence of the night in the valley, punctuated by an occasional distant bellow.

—

“Where are we going?” I asked, as we raced along the dim streets. The lampposts became more infrequent along the darkened streets the farther we got from the center of Ingvald. We’d been running ever since we left the Drunken Beggar, but I had remained quiet until now.

“Almost there,” was Nox’s only response. He was fast, and as we ran, he led the way through various alleys and side streets. I couldn’t see Ragna, but that wasn’t a surprise. She seemed pretty advanced in age, and likely would not have the endurance to keep up a prolonged run through the gutters of the capital.

My head was screaming at me, and my left eye felt like it was on fire. It was a sensation I didn’t get used to, but had stopped being surprised by.

One must be close.

But, I was concerned about facing the situation without Father.

“Nox!” I called ahead at the boy. His mud-stained traveling cloak was whipping behind him in his wake, and he turned to look at me over his shoulder.

“Do you know where the other Adventurers are?” I asked, “like the Equites of Aries, shouldn’t they be able to take care of this?”

Nox smiled wide.

“Why would we let them have any of the fun?” he asked, “besides, most of them will be occupied by the Appointment Ceremony. None of the newly christened hopefuls will be able to leave, and the Aries that are left will be overwhelmed once this all gets chaotic.”

He faced the path again.

“You act as though you already know what’s going to happen,” I said.

Nox looked back at me again, but didn’t say anything. He merely winked.

What a strange little boy.

--

We arrived at the edge of the city. Before us was the swath of the vast Grimheldr River. It was the mile-wide torrent that separated the southern point of the city of Ingvald from the rest of the Garnet Province. I’d been awestruck by it upon our arrival, but it was even more impressive now that night had fallen. The cloudless sky peered deep into the depths of the indigo heavens, and the sparkling starlight lit the surface of the water. The moons as well, both full and magnificent, were reflected against the contours of the waves. Fifty feet to our left was the entrance to the humongous Bridge of the Victories that spanned the length of the waterway, ending in Heldrtown on the other side.

But I didn’t have time to gawk. Beyond, I could see the mountains that indicated the border of the King’s Valley, and already there was an indication of trouble.

Fire.

There were dozens of glowing blazes in the distance, and I knew that if I could see them from here, they must have been large.

“It will take us forever to get across this bridge,” I said.

It had taken the better part of an hour to cover it upon our arrival earlier in the day. If time was truly of the essence, it wouldn’t do.

“No it won’t,” Nox said, and hurried to the column at the head of the walkway. More of the ancient, chipped architecture of the First Lords greeted us, this time in the shape of a bare-chested woman holding a scepter of vines. Her face was slashed away, and along her arms were cleave marks. Nox held his hands up to the sculpture and lowered his head as if in prayer. Then, the boy lifted his gaze and slashed his hands through the air.

Where he moved his fingers, brilliant, sparking magical energy appeared, following his lead and tracing a symbol in the air. A ram’s head. Before I knew what was happening, the statue of the woman began to hum, and her eyes lit up with the same purple glow. The light from her gaze struck the symbol in a solid beam, and the pattern began to shift, forming a concentric circle of magical shapes that rotated in the air.

“Nox?” I prodded, but the boy wasn’t listening. He waited for the symbol to begin spinning at top speed and then traced a circle in the air. The pattern flashed and then the energy enveloped us, and before I knew what was happening, I was falling forward. I caught myself before striking the ground and looked up.

There was no statue in front of us. Instead, it was empty air, and farther, the familiar rooftops of Heldrtown.

“Wha…?” I began, and looked behind me.

We were standing at the edge of the bridge on the opposite side of the river! In the distance I could see the burning lights of the city of Ingvald where we had just been, moments before.

“Let’s go!” Nox yelled, and grabbed my arm, forcing me forward and down the bustling road.

“Wait!” I yelled, as he dragged me along, picking up speed, “what was that?”

“The Adonis Seal,” he said, not looking back at me, “I’ll explain later!”

“Yeah you will!” I returned, and pulled my arm away and fell into pace behind the remarkable young man.

--

“What in the hell is going on out there?” Chronos said, pointing into the usually dark King’s Valley. Dozens of fires were lit as if in warning. He knew that something was off.

“Are those signal fires?” Gennos, another town guard asked, resting his halberd against his shoulder and staring out into the pitch.

“Can’t be,” Chronos said, shaking his head, “they’re too low. The signal fires dot the ridge, these look like they’re in the villages.”

“Bandits, then?” Gennos ventured, now gripping the shaft of his weapon tightly.

“Could be,” Chronos said, “tell Marius to raise the alarms.”

“Aye,” Gennos said, but both turned at the sound of heavy boots rushing toward them.

“Captain Hyperion!”

A stout guard with ill-fitting armor rushed toward them. His belt was undone, and his sword was dragging along the street stones in its sheath. He was a fresh addition to the squad, and so far, hadn’t had much responsibility.

“Dyne?” Chronos demanded, “what’s going on? You’re off tonight!”

The new recruit puffed as he slid to a halt, bellowing out air.

“Marius told me to grab you,” he finally breathed, “there’s trouble in the Valley. Some sort of beast is loose!”

Captain Chronos Hyperion scowled.

“Good man,” he said, and peered into the valley again.

“Gennos, you come with me, Dyne, go secure Lord Falcrye’s residence.”

He was met with silence, and turned.

Both of his subordinates were standing still, just a few feet apart from one another, their eyes forward and uncomprehending.

“What are you doing?!” Chronos demanded, and then recoiled as both men fell to the ground in front of him, blood spurting from their mouths.

Standing behind them was a dark silhouette, completely obscured by the wrap of cloth around their body and face. Their only visible feature was a pair of cold, red eyes.

“Who are you?!” Chronos demanded, and reached for his weapon.

--

The town was quaint, with a rosy glow from the braziers hung from stone plinths along the main road through the settlement. The low roofs angled their way down, for the primary path cutting through Heldrtown was on a hill, and we were on the up side of it.

I could see shopkeepers closing up, and a block ahead, a full tavern with the sound of minstrels blaring from it. Though, with our haste, we seemed to make quite the spectacle. Everyone stared at us as we flew past. Some people called out to us, or whistled their sarcastic approval. One man even yelled at us to slow down.

We blazed down the hill, and I could see the edge of town ahead and the void beyond with the burning infernos on the other side. But, something was off. I could see two still forms on the ground, and in front of them, a pair of figures engaged in combat. A tall, powerful-looking guardsman was fending off extremely aggressive and agile attacks from a black-garbed assailant.

The guard’s opponent carried two matching daggers. They sliced through the air, connecting with the taller man’s weapon--a spinning polearm of some kind that I couldn’t intimate. I could see now that the two individuals on the ground were guards, and the blood pooling around their slumped bodies was a likely indicator that they were dead.

That made my blood boil, and I stopped in my tracks. Nox did as well.

The cloaked assassin spun high in the air, and delivered a kick that bypassed the other man’s attack. It found the side of the guards head and sent him sprawling to the ground. As he prepared to launch at him in full, Nox shouted.

“Back away, miscreant!” He commanded, lifting his hands in the air.

The enemy turned mid-charge at the guard, changed direction, and shot right at us. I watched as a magical display appeared in front of Nox-- a massive wheel made of energy, with runes emblazoned along its length.

I focused on the opponent barreling down at me, and raised my own hand as the pain in my eye exploded outward and my body was engulfed in a green flame.

I cried out in anger.

In the distance of the darkened valley returned an echoing roar.