22nd of Fall, 516AV Syliras Region, North Kabrin Road, Approximately 20 Miles outside Stormhoid Morning The mists rolled between the thick trunks of the Bronze Woods like spirits, drifting lazily with the subtle shifts of the northern winds. Usually, the forests this time of year were a comforting sight - or at the very least, a breathtaking one. The touches of yellow, red and orange across the leaves mixed with the early morning beams would cast a luminous, almost golden halo across the forest canopy as it broke through. From the top of the city walls, it was a vast field of pure light, like Priskill herself smiling upon the denizens of the city. But there was no light to be found here. Erick wasn’t even totally sure if it was morning. The fog had rolled in weeks prior, shortly after summer had ended, and hadn’t abated yet. It choked the flow of light from the heavens, like so much debris strangling the the life out of a creek. All that was left was a vast, unsettling grey expanse in nearly every direction, shifting and swirling against the forest floor like smoke. The horse let out a disturbed whine, pausing momentarily, and Erick leaned in, gently resting his hand on the beast's mane. “Easy there, girl.” The young squire did his best to sound reassuring, but it was difficult. Each tree that lingered just at the edge of sight, between the small circle of space in which the fog would allow him to see and the vast grey void just beyond, shuddered and twitched like an aberrant shadow. Out of the corner of his eyes Erick could see figures hiding in the underbrush, peering at him from the tree canopy, but whenever he snapped his head around to look, there was nothing there except the unyielding emptiness. Closing his eyes, he let his head hang limply over the reins as he began to mumble to himself: ”Lady Priskill, Lady Priskill, lend me your light, So though the darkness may seem unyielding, I will not fear this night.” His eyes slowly opened, resting naturally on the glowing vortex emblazoned on the back of his palm. He flexed the hand a few times, before raising it up ahead, A long beam of focused light erupting from his palm, and he meticulously combed back and forth along the visible treeline with it. It was bad enough he had neither seen nor heard any animals since leaving north on the Kabrin, but even more unnerving, it seemed as if the insects themselves had grown silent. If this fog hadn’t been going on as long as it had, Erick would be suspicious that he had ridden straight into a dream. Or else a nightmare. He shook the thought from his head, gripped tightly onto the reins, and gently nudged the horse forward. Typically making the trip north and south along the Kabrin to restock the firewood in the safehouses that the Knights maintained was a task that Erick relished, particularly as winter began to approach. Recently, though, he loathed to leave the city. He felt sympathy for the hunters and others who earned their keep every day outside the walls, now forced to brave the mists in addition to the all the danger that had always been associated with the untamed wilds of Mizahar. |