"TRITON!" a faint voice rings in my head.

I'm sweating and my chest feels tight, but I'm staring at the evening sky again and the rocks of the Stoneseeker nest. Duncan and Alistar are both nearby, Alistar kneeling down to me while the former stares up at the top of the quarry. The Stoneseeker King lies dead, his entire body cleaved in half from his shoulder down to his opposite hip. A lake of blood fills the quarry.

I notice a lone shadow casting down from above, and a figure staring down at us. I know that man- that's the knight we saw at the bridge, with the beautiful greatsword and the eyes of ancient rage. He just stares down, squinting at us while his blade drips with blood. He walks off, dragging his sword along the ground.

"He killed it with one hit..." Duncan said, absolutely gobsmacked. "Just how strong is he?"

"Triton, can you hear me?"

Ameline's voice rings in my ears again, causing me to break from his trance.

"Ameline, I can hear you. What's wrong?"

"I hear noises outside! I think someone just got killed!"

With that vision still fresh in my mind, I have a sudden realization- Torvald mentioned a man named Drago Cascavich. He has already found me, and possibly them back in Pirema too.

"Where are you now?"

"I'm under Charlotte's bed. I can hear Mr. Winsmore talking to some-"

And then her voice stops. There's a small whimper in her throat.

"I heard him scream... I think he... ow... my chest is starting to hurt!"

What felt like only minutes of running back towards Pirema leads to an unwelcome sight. Shadowhearts, in abundance, align the road while others crept into the residential houses. Duncan, Alistar and I have to hide behind the village's massive gates to stay hidden. Alistar looks on with his eyes already bursting with heartbreak.

Just coming out of the Winsmore household, I see two hooded men drag out Mr. Winsmore- a trail of blood follows him, leading from the gash in his throat. His eyes are sparkless when they used to be so vibrant. Alistar whimpers so loud, he has to cover his mouth. His own father was butchered like a pig by those men.

One Shadowheart stands out among the rest, a tall man with a long crimson cape. His men approach him with the body of Mr. Winsmore and they salute him proudly. On his dark armor, right on the breastplate, was a bronze badge.

"Have you dealt with it?"

"Yes, sir. This was the patriarch, we assume."

The Shadowheart leader steps toward Mr. Winsmore's bloody corpse, and he stares into the poor man's lifeless eyes.

"Contumacy devoured your heart, friend."

Alistar is crying so hard that his jaw is twitching. "No..."

"Don't let them see you!" Duncan says. "We're outnumbered..."

"Severus," says a shaky voice. "I do not approve of this."

Torvald steps into view, the matching bronze badge on his tunic looking pale in comparison to his colleague. "Macalosh was our doctor! Now without him, illness can take this whole village."

"Any disease can be cured, Torvald," the bastard says. "Treason is not an illness, it is a crime. These people were guilty, as you have confessed, and so they have paid the price." Then he raises his voice. "These people have committed a serious crime against the Empire! Housing criminals under any circumstance shall not go unpunished! One measly ember from the accursed Flamekeeper's ember, and your village will be engulfed in flame within seconds! These are the precautions that we must take, to ensure your safety!"

He then looked at Torvald. "Do you understand?"

The old man cannot speak any of his true feelings by the look on his face. His shoulders are limp and boneless compared to his colleagues, and all he had for a weapon was his voice.

"Yes... I understand."

"Good. Now then, we shall return in three months to collect the spawn."

"Spawn?! Severus, you couldn't have!"

"'Tis all the best for our future, Torvald. You know of our policy, your village shall be rewarded for the gift of a new life. As long as you nurture the female with only the finest your people can offer. She is royal property now."

"Of course... of course," Torvald said while lowering his head in shame. "As you wish, master."

"STOP! RELEASE HER!" another Shadowheart shouts.

He is pointing up to the top of the Winsmore cottage. And standing on the roof were two figures- one is a familiar woman, whose bareness is shown through her torn dress. Blood trickles down her leg. The other figure clutches her tightly, with a sword pressing against her neck.

Mrs. Winsmore is being held by a cloaked figure dressed in a flowing white cape, with an almost exact replica on his breastplate of the emblem imprinted on my arm. His face is covered in a mask that only shows his neck and long black hair behind his shoulders.

One Shadowheart thrusts his hand at the figure, but the swordsman uses his free palm to release a burst of light. The same burst of light little Ameline would use, only this is a much more masterful and disciplined spell cast. The trees shuffle aggressively from the gust of wind produced by the spell's impact.

Then, the whole village fell into utter silence. Mrs. Winsmore's neck is sliced in one clean cut, and she drops lifelessly off the roof. As soon as her body smacks the ground, Alistar chokes on his own tears, and the Shadowhearts collectively gasp in shock. That same figure leaps off the roof, his bloody sword looking weightless in his palm.

"STOP HIM!"

"Charlotte! Ameline!" Duncan shouts as he ran into the village.

"MOTHER!" Alistar shouts while drawing his bow.

The thoughtless son, with his face coated in tears, cannot even aim properly. He yells a loud cry like a wolf hunting for meat as he fires arrows straight at that warrior. He is so blinded his arrows flew into the windows of nearby buildings. Meanwhile, Duncan and I just shove our way through the crowd to the cottage.

I then notice a floating ember that bounces along like it was dancing in the wind. Shadowhearts attempt to chase and catch the orb, but it slips by them with ease as it races past me. I can briefly see the ember's true form, as it reveals the masked warrior faded within a tranquil blue color. Like a voice in the wind, I hear his voice. Only his voice is sweet and gentle. Like a woman's.

"Be strong. We will rescue you."

And just like that, the ember whizzes past me. I watch the bouncing ball of fire shrink smaller and dimmer with every leap it makes. It's gone before I can even take a breath.

But with my guard down, I feel a strand around my neck as I'm dragged by the Shadowheart leader. I'm displayed to the crowd, helplessly dangling while the dark burns my skin. Two other Shadowhearts have captured Duncan and Alistar, the latter still crying hysterically at the sight of his parents.

Several Shadowhearts suddenly rise and pull Alistar's arrows out of their eyes and bodies. They wear blank, expressionless faces like they feel no pain.

The leader brings me closer to his eyes, forcing me to stare into his bright red portals for only a brief second before everything slowly goes black. My mind is going blank, my body is turning numb, and all he can hear is that same man's dreadful voice.

"Assemble the Council... we have the Flamekeeper."