The rain continued to patter downwards, turning from droplets into a soft veil. It was more of a heavy mist now, a damp blanket over the entirety of the evergreen forest. And it was within this silent world that a fact became obvious to all those who had paid attention.

In the absence of the rain’s melodies, the absolute, uncanny silence of the forest stood out even more than before. Though filled with verdant vibrance in comparison to the more barren, wind-sculpted parts of Illiserev, not a single thing moved outside of the humans and the beasts of burden drawn into its embrace. Migratory birds no longer flew through the skys, and no forest critters could be seen at all. Worms didn’t wriggle out of the ground to soak in the rain, nor did foxes scamper within the thick brush. There was a distinct nothingness to the forest now, as rain turned into heavy mist, a white silence.

But there was nothing more to that silence.

Nothing but an arcane flicker, tracing through the minds of the attuned for but an instant. A premonition that something had changed. Something had happened. Something had arrived.

A moment of unease, followed by the self-same scenery.