Fire swallowed the city.

Stone cracked.

Towers collapsed.

Screams drowned beneath the clash of steel and the roar of flames. Smoke choked the sky until day and night became meaningless.

A palace burned.

Inside its broken halls, a woman stumbled forward, one hand pressed against her side.

Blood soaked her gown.

Every step became heavier.

Beside her, a little girl struggled to support her.

A child.

Barely old enough to understand what was ending.

Small hands trembled beneath the woman's weight.

Tears blurred the child's vision.

"Mother—please."

Her voice broke.

"Please get up. We can still run."

The woman collapsed to her knees.

Yet somehow...

She smiled.

"My daughter..."

Her trembling hand rose and gently touched the child's cheek.

Her eyes were filled with love.

And apology.

A knight rushed toward them.

His armor was cracked and stained red.

"My Queen!"

He dropped to one knee.

"We must leave. Now."

The woman slowly shook her head.

"Not me."

Her voice was weak.

"Take the princess."

She looked toward the knight.

"Get her out of the city."

"My lady, you're bleeding—"

"It is an order."

The knight hesitated for only a heartbeat.

Then he bowed his head.

"Yes..."

"My Queen."

The child clutched her mother's arm desperately.

"No!"

"Mother, no!"

"I don't want to leave you!"

Tears streamed down her face.

"Oh, my child..."

The woman pulled her closer.

"I'm sorry."

"I'm so sorry to leave you like this."

She reached beneath her bloodstained sleeve.

Something metallic caught the firelight.

A small silver bracelet.

Delicate markings were engraved across its surface.

The woman's fingers lingered on it for a moment.

Then she pressed it into the child's trembling hands.

"Keep this."

Her fingers closed gently around the bracelet.

"No matter where you go..."

"...remember that you are loved."

Heavy footsteps echoed through the corridor.

The enemy was coming.

Black steel. Enthoriean blades.

Their banners burned beneath the palace walls.

The knight immediately stood.

"We have to go."

The child shook her head.

"No!"

But the knight lifted her into his arms.

Her mother watched them.

Her smile remained.

"To the Queen's chamber."

The knight looked back.

"The mirror behind the altar."

"Press the crest."

"The passage will open."

Steel rang somewhere beyond the doors.

The knight turned and ran.

Two enemy soldiers appeared at the chamber entrance.

The knight struck the first before he could react.

The second charged.

Steel pierced deep into the knight's side.

He grunted.

Then, with the last of his strength, he drove his blade forward.

The soldier fell.

The knight staggered.

Blood began pooling beneath him.

But he kept moving.

He reached the chamber.

The child cried in his arms.

"Don't cry, my princess."

The knight forced a smile.

"You must be brave."

He placed her on the ground.

"No matter what happens..."

"...you will always be a princess."

He pressed the crest.

A section of the wall shifted.

Stone groaned.

A hidden passage opened.

Darkness stretched beyond it.

The knight looked into the tunnel.

Then back at the child.

"I cannot go any further."

His voice weakened.

"This is where my path ends."

The child stared at him.

"No..."

He gently pushed her toward the passage.

"Go."

"But—"

"Go."

The child stepped into the darkness.

The hidden door slowly began closing behind her.

Then—

the bracelet in her hands began to glow.

Soft.

Warm.

Almost like a tiny flame.

The darkness ahead slowly became visible.

The child followed the faint light.

Step by step...

Until finally—

the tunnel opened into a forest.

Night had fallen.

Cold air touched her face.

She looked back.

The distant sounds of steel and shouting still echoed from the city.

She was alone.

Completely alone.

Then—

something moved between the trees.

The little girl froze.

A low, unfamiliar sound echoed somewhere beyond the darkness.

Another sound answered from farther away.

The forest had changed.

Night had come.

And night belonged to the monsters.

Then—

a woman's voice reached her from somewhere beyond the trees.

"Child..."

The little girl froze.

"Who are you?"

"Why are you alone?"

Fear gripped her.

She took a step backward.

The darkness around her seemed to grow deeper.

And then—

Gentle hands steadied her shoulders.

Familiar hands.

Hands she would remember for the rest of her life.

"Wake up."

The woman's voice cut through the child's terror—calm, firm, already protective.

"Wake up, my child."

"This is not the time for dreams."

"You need to move."

"Now."

Present — Somewhere beyond the borders

Elara's eyes opened.

Her breath came fast.

Sweat clung to her skin.

The dream again.

The same fire.

The same hands.

The same bracelet.

She was no longer that frightened child.

Years had passed.

She had learned how to run, how to hide, and how to survive.

She pressed her fingers against the bracelet instinctively.

Still there.

Still warm.

She had been running for two days.

No rest.

No shelter.

Her cloak was torn at the shoulder.

Mud covered the bottom of her boots.

Exhaustion had finally forced her to stop.

Around her, the forest was dark.

Cold.

She had fallen asleep against a tree.

A mistake.

She knew better.

Then—

a sound.

Distant.

But unmistakable.

Footsteps.

Not animals.

Not wind.

Deliberate.

Organized.

Night Hunters.

Elara was already moving.

She grabbed her cloak and pulled it tight.

Her feet barely touched the ground as she ran.

Branches scraped her arms.

Roots caught her ankles.

She didn't slow down.

Behind her—

the glow of a staff pulsed through the trees.

Faint blue light.

Searching.

A voice carried through the dark.

"She's close."

Elara's heart pounded.

They had found her again.

She cut through the underbrush and dropped into a ravine.

Water splashed against her boots.

She pressed herself against the stone wall.

Held her breath.

The glow passed overhead.

Footsteps moved along the ridge above her.

One.

Two.

Three hunters.

Then silence.

They moved on.

Elara exhaled slowly.

Not safe.

Never safe.

But alive.

She climbed out of the ravine and kept moving.

Ahead of her—

She needed rest.

Just one night.

Present — Edger

The sun was already sinking behind the hills.

In a quiet valley far from fallen kingdoms, another life continued as if the world were still kind.

Edger.

A small village hidden deep within a peaceful valley.

Most of its homes were built partially beneath the earth, with only their rooftops, entrances, and upper walls visible above the ground.

The underground rooms stayed cool during summer...

warm during winter...

and, most importantly, offered protection after nightfall.

It was a way of life that had protected the villagers for generations.

As the sun lowered, most of the villagers had already begun returning underground.

No one seemed willing to remain outside once darkness settled over the valley.

Ashren wiped the sweat from his forehead.

He tightened his grip around the wooden sword in his hands.

"Again."

The voice came from behind him.

Calm.

Firm.

Ashren turned slightly.

His uncle stood several steps away.

Orin.

He had been Ashren's teacher for as long as he could remember.

And more than that...

He had been his protector.

His family.

The closest thing to a parent Ashren had ever known.

Ashren raised the wooden sword again.

Orin watched his stance.

"Back foot steady."

Ashren adjusted it.

"Balance first."

Ashren inhaled.

Then swung.

THWACK.

The wooden blade cut through the air.

"Better."

Orin nodded.

"Again."

Ashren sighed.

"How many times?"

"Until you stop asking."

Ashren smiled faintly.

"That's not an answer."

Orin crossed his arms.

"Strength won't save you."

Ashren swung again.

"Think before you move."

Another swing.

"Move before danger reaches you."

Ashren stopped.

Orin's expression softened slightly.

"You won't always have someone beside you to protect you."

Ashren looked down at the wooden sword.

"I know."

The sun slowly disappeared behind the hills.

The valley was turning gold.

Smoke drifted from chimneys.

Most of the villagers had already begun returning underground.

Ashren finally lowered the wooden sword.

Orin nodded toward the village.

"Enough for today."

Ashren smiled.

"Finally."

He slung the practice sword over his shoulder.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm hungry."

"Of course you are."

Ashren smilled and started walking.

Orin followed a few steps behind.

The village was quiet.

Peaceful.

Almost too peaceful.

Then—

a shadow crossed Ashren's path.

He stopped.

A hooded young girl had stepped into the street.

She moved lightly across the cobblestones, almost as though she didn't want to be noticed.

She suddenly noticed Ashren.

"Oh—sorry!"

Her voice was soft.

Musical.

Ashren blinked.

Visitors were rare in Edger.

Strangers...

even rarer.

He looked at her for a moment.

She looked close to his age—no longer a child, but still young.

"Are you lost?"

The young girl shook her head.

"No."

She adjusted her hood.

"I'm looking for the inn."

"I need a place to stay."

Ashren pointed down the road.

"The Running Kestrel."

"I was heading there."

He paused.

"If you want..."

"...I can show you."

She looked at him.

For a moment, surprise appeared in her eyes.

Then she gave him a tired but gentle smile.

"Thank you."

"You're very kind."

Ashren scratched the back of his head.

"It's not far."

They began walking together.

Orin followed behind them.

His eyes remained on the young stranger.

Careful.

Observant.

They reached the inn.

A wooden sign swung gently above the entrance.

THE RUNNING KESTREL

Ashren pushed the door open.

"Here we are."

She stepped inside.

The common room sat half above the earth.

Deeper rooms waited below, where the village slept after dark.

Ashren's uncle entered behind them.

His gaze immediately sharpened.

"Newcomer?"

Ashren nodded.

"She needs a room."

Orin looked at her.

Then toward the innkeeper.

"The innkeeper will handle it."

The young girl approached the counter and paid for a room.

She bowed politely.

"Thank you."

Orin nodded.

Then his voice became slightly more serious.

"Stay inside once the lamps begin to go low."

She looked toward him.

"I will."

She disappeared down the inner passage toward her room.

Ashren watched her go.

For a few seconds...

he remained strangely quiet.

There was something about her.

Something he couldn't explain.

She didn't feel like someone who belonged in a quiet valley like Edger.

There was something bright about her.

Something distant.

Something...

different.

Orin placed a hand on Ashren's shoulder.

Ashren looked at him.

"Strangers rarely come without reason."

Orin glanced toward the staircase.

"Sometimes they bring luck."

A pause.

"...Sometimes trouble."

Ashren smiled faintly.

"She doesn't seem like trouble."

Orin said nothing.

He simply looked toward the darkening sky.

The last light of the sun disappeared behind the mountains.

One by one...

the lamps of Edger began to dim.

Far beyond the village, somewhere in the darkness, a distant howl echoed through the mountains.

No one came outside.

Ashren didn't know it yet.

But this would be the last peaceful night the valley would ever know.