A smile touched her lips as she began to walk. Her long strides carried her past villages, where windows shuttered against the overwhelming aura; past towns, where cursed beings emerged from their homes to kneel along the roadside; past great cities, where shadows gathered in vast crowds, their beautiful form bending low in reverence.
Everywhere she passed, mortals trembled and cursed spirits prostrated. A silent procession unfurled before her, stretching across the land like a living hymn.
She did not entirely understand why she came here, only that something compelled her, some pull that gnawed at her essence and whispered of inevitability.
And with each step toward Erik's capital, toward the throne room that awaited her, the compulsion grew stronger, thrumming like a heartbeat.
Until she now stood here, before Erik.
And then she understood.
