The morning came with a silence unlike any before.
The wind did not whisper through the trees, the birds did not sing, and even the ground beneath my feet felt still, as if the entire Vale held its breath for what was to come. It was as though time itself had curled into a corner, waiting.
Mist clung to the earth like a veil, the kind that made everything look distant, dreamlike. My breath hung in the air, despite the summer season, and with every inhale, I felt the ancient pulse of the Vale stir beneath my skin—deep, slow, steady.
Orrin stood before me at the mouth of a hidden cave carved into the side of the eastern cliffs. Time had not touched the stone here. The entrance looked like the mouth of a sleeping beast, fanged with hanging crystals and jagged rock, and yet it radiated peace, not menace.
"This is the final step," Orrin said. His voice, usually firm and grounded, was quiet, reverent. "The Moon Pool lies within. Once you enter, you must not turn back."
