Your magic strikes the creature with the force of a cannon. A deafening crack of thunder shakes the small room. The blast tears right through the center of the smoky form. The blue vapor scatters wildly, and the creature lets out a high, piercing screech of pain.

For a second, it looks like the blast destroyed it. But the smoke swirls back together with unnatural speed. The creature reforms. It looks ragged now, its form unstable and flickering, but its hate is focused entirely on you.

It finishes its lunge. You try to step back, but you are not fast enough. The shadowy talons swipe across your chest.

The hit connects. It does not feel like a cut or a bruise. It feels like plunging into a frozen lake. A terrible cold spreads instantly through your veins. It sucks the warmth and energy right out of your body. Your muscles turn to water. You feel your physical strength vanish, leaving you too weak to even stand.

The world tilts sideways. The silence of the room is replaced by the roaring of blood in your ears. Then, everything goes black.

---

Kalila remains tense as the blast hits, but the vapor reforms into that hateful creature. It finishes its lunge, and she can't move out of the way. She had backed herself against the wall with no room to move out of the way! She gasps as the creature's talons swipe across her chest. Instead of a cut or a bruise, she felt cold! That cold saps her of her strength and before she even knew it, she had fallen unconscious in this small room.

As she drifts in this darkness, she couldn't help but wonder to herself,
"How did things end up like this?"
"Where had I gone wrong?"
"Am I going to die here...?"

She then tries to will herself awake, trying to push past the cold of this darkness and try to force herself to wake up,

"I can't just die here...
People are in danger...
I need to find my sister too...!"

The cold is heavy. It feels like you are sinking into the bottom of a frozen ocean. The darkness presses against your eyes, your ears, your chest. It wants to keep you there forever.

You try to swim up. You kick and fight against the weight.

For a moment, you see a light. It is faint, like a distant star. You reach for it, and you feel a spark of warmth. But then the cold grabs your ankle. It pulls you down again. The air leaves your lungs. The darkness wraps around you like a shroud.

You think of Leila. You remember why you are here. You kick again. You push through the freezing water. You break the surface for a second, gasping for air that isn't there. Then the exhaustion hits you. Your heart beats slow. So slow. It would be so easy to just close your eyes and sleep. The cold is almost comforting now.

No.

You scream the word inside your mind. You gather every last drop of your will. You reach out with your hand. You grab the darkness and you pull yourself up. You refuse to drown.

---

The water vanishes. The cold fades away.

You are floating in the void again. The thousands of pinpricks of light surround you. You are back in the center of the night sky, suspended in the velvet quiet of the cosmos.

One star shines brighter than the others. It descends toward you. It does not turn into smoke or fire this time. It shifts and grows solid, coalescing into a form of regal elegance.

He is beautiful and strange. His skin is the color of the pale morning sky, smooth and unblemished. His dark hair is wild and thick, resembling feathers that cascade down his broad shoulders in a river of midnight blue. He wears heavy gold chains around his neck and arms, gleaming with an inner light. On his forehead, small, dark horns rise from his skin, marking him as something ancient and powerful.



He floats before you, his hands pressed together in a gesture of serenity. He looks nothing like the terrifying shadow creature in the shop. He looks calm. He looks like the eye of a storm.

He looks at you with eyes that shine like turquoise stones. He smiles gently, a expression that holds centuries of patience.

"Alas, not all of my servants possess a heart as kind as yours," he says. His voice is deep and warm, vibrating through your bones like a hum, carrying a hint of apology for the violence you endured.

He unclasps his hands and makes a small, fluid gesture. The lingering cold in your veins dissolves instantly, replaced by a soothing warmth that feels like sunlight on water.

"Let your fear be washed away. You are safe within my gaze."

He drifts closer. The stars behind him begin to swirl, moving faster and faster until they become streaks of brilliant light, framing him in glory.

"The tide has turned, little one. The silence breaks, and the answers you seek shall finally flow."

---

You open your eyes. The light is blinding. It burns. You try to move, but your body feels heavy and weak. Your limbs shake with the effort. You feel like you have only a tiny spark of life left inside you.

---

You are not in the dark room anymore. You are outside. You hear the rhythmic crash of waves against the shore. You smell salt and woodsmoke. You are lying on the sand. The sun hangs high in the sky. It is the peak of the day.

A small bonfire burns near you. It warms your cold skin, fighting off the chill that nearly killed you. You look around. You are on a beach, but it is lonely and quiet. There are no ships, no busy docks, no city noises. Just the sand and the water.

You struggle to push yourself up. That is when you see it.

The shadow is there. It sits across the fire from you. It is the same presence you felt on the roof and saw in the shop. But now you can see it clearly.

It is a person, but also a bird. It looks like a great owl standing on two legs. Its feathers are as black as the night. As you watch, the edges of the feathers seem to dissolve. They are liquefying into the same light blue smoke that made up the little creature in the shop, or the wisp of vapor you glimpsed outside the Panther's Rest the night you arrived. The figure wears a heavy dark cloak that wraps around its body.

The owl person pokes the fire with a stick to keep it burning. It turns its head to look at you with those piercing yellow eyes.



"Took you long enough," the figure says. Her voice sounds feminine but sharp. "I don't know why he'd pick a weak princess like you."

Kalila fought and fought to surface from the cold ocean, but it was fighting just as hard to keep her. She could feel her heartbeat slow, and the cold was becoming so comforting. It was tempting to just give in and to just go to sleep. But she didn't dare close her eyes. She remembered Leila, and the events that led up to this moment. She screamed her refusal and managed to pull herself free from Death's Grip to live another day! She didn't drown! She is breathing!

Or…so she thought…?

The next thing she saw after taking in a sharp inhale of air, was the familiar landscape of stars around her in the darkness. Was she dreaming again? Or is this the afterlife? It was genuinely hard for her to tell at this moment. She still felt the cold clinging to her body despite her efforts.

Her attention is drawn to the brightest star moving closer to her. That star took an actual form instead of just smoke or fire! She couldn’t help but stare in awe and wonder. Who is he? Whoever he was, Kalila immediately got the sense that he is ancient and powerful. Despite that, he doesn't resemble the shadow that had been following her at all! That ominous feeling is practically non-existent with this figure. Before she could say anything, he speaks!

He mentioned a servant of his not possessing a heart as kind as hers. Despite the casual statement, she could hear the hint of an apology in there. She hadn’t expected an apology for the violence she endured. One fluid gesture from him was enough to stave off the cold! By the time he spoke his reassurance that she’s safe, the fear and anxiety was already gone for the moment.

She was about to ask questions, but she couldn’t as he drifted closer and made it clear that she will finally have the answers she sought. And the dream ends as abruptly as it started…! Bright sunlight breaks through the night sky and almost burns her eyes.

---

Kalila groans as she wakes up. She coughs and spits out any sand that may have gotten into her mouth accidentally. She was glad to feel the warmth of a fire nearby but she noted that she still felt so weak. Just getting herself to a sitting position was arduous! Despite the pain, she didn't give up on trying to move.

She notes that she has been displaced again. This definitely isn't the back room of Miller's shop! And she's not alone: The shadow who had been following her and Garrek was in front of her and not hidden! Her gaze becomes cautious and somewhat guarded as she takes in the Owl's appearance. Was she the one who summoned that monster that almost killed her?

Kalila had no idea what to expect, but she certainly didn’t expect an owl humanoid with feathers evaporating into that blue vapor. She heard her words while Kalila sat up, and that just brought more questions! "Pick me? Pick me for what?!" Kalila couldn't help but think to herself. She groans in slight annoyance to the owl, “Not a princess! Ow! How would you like it if I just called you an owl instead of your name?”

After she manages to get herself into a stable sitting posture without worrying about falling over from her lack of strength, she looks at the owl woman, and speaks, “I have so many questions. But let's start with this: Who are you, and where are we?”

The owl woman rises quickly from the sand. She walks around the small bonfire toward you with sharp, economical movements. As she gets closer, you see her belt. The white porcelain mask that the shadow creature wore is hanging from it. A dark cord is threaded through the mask's right eyehole and tied securely to her leather belt.

Strix lets out a short, sharp laugh that sounds like the rustle of dry feathers. Her tone is precise and utterly focused on the facts.

"I heard your challenge, 'Not-a-Princess'. You may have spirit, but time is wasted. I am Strix." She looks back at the vast ocean. "We are near Thornwood. I brought you here to talk. You need to understand, I have very little time."

She looks back at you, her yellow eyes serious and demanding attention.

"I am a Herald of the Noble Starweaver. You were already chosen by the Weaver. Your survival of the drain simply proves His choice correct. Yes, you're one of us now."

She touches the mask hanging at her hip, a gesture of cold analysis. "The attack was necessary. It was a gauge of your raw power, and clearly, I miscalculated the necessary force. That creature was mine."

Strix then reaches into the deep pocket of her dark cloak. Her hand pulls out a small glass vial. It holds a white, translucent liquid that catches the sunlight. She holds the vial out to you.

"This will make you feel better," she states plainly.

---

Kalila meets the owl woman, Strix's gaze, but she does see that familiar mask that the creature wore. So she did summon it! Her eyebrows rose at Strix's words, and she speaks up, "Challenge? I think there's been some confusion, Strix. I thought you were one of those rogues calling themselves the Vultures. I had to chase one away earlier today! And my name is Kalila,"

While she is glad to hear that they are near Thornwood, she is still concerned about how far and what direction they are from the place. No doubt, Garrek and Gerta are probably worried by now...! She raises an eyebrow when she makes it clear that she doesn't have much time to talk. Seeing that she's serious and demanding attention, Kalila does indeed give her that attention.

She listens as Strix makes it clear that she's the Herald of the Noble Starweaver? Starweaver does sound like an appropriate title for the man she saw in her dreams. She then hears that the attack on her was meant to determine her raw power. She felt a bit of indignation as she thought to herself "So that was some kind of initiation?!"

When she hands her the vial of white, translucent liquid that catches the sunlight, and informs her that it would make her feel better, Kalila accepts it gently. She answers Strix, "Thank you, Strix," She remembered the man's words. There was nothing to fear if he was watching. Besides, what's a worse risk? Not drinking it could potentially mean that she would be stuck and left at the mercy of the wilds. At least there's the possibility of recovering if she did drink the contents. If Strix wanted to kill her, she would have done so already...

So she quickly drinks the contents of the vial. She looks to Strix as she asks, "What does it mean to be 'one of you'? To be chosen by the Noble Starweaver?"

---

The liquid tastes like sweet nectar mixed with liquid fire. It slides down your throat and instantly explodes into warmth in your stomach. The numbness in your limbs vanishes. Your heart beats strong and steady. The magical energy you spent earlier floods back into your veins, stronger than before. You feel awake. You feel powerful.

Strix watches you recover with a critical eye, nodding once she sees the color return to your cheeks. She crosses her arms over her chest.

"The Noble Starweaver is a Genie," she begins, her voice crisp and matter-of-fact. "A Djinni of the Elemental Plane of Air. I have served as his eyes and ears for decades. But years ago, he simply... vanished. The bond I shared with him went dark. I could barely sense he was still alive."

She paces slightly, kicking a small stone into the fire.

"Last night, for the first time in years, I felt his presence return. It was blindingly bright. I tracked the magical signature to Thornwood, to the very alley where I found you sleeping. I expected to find my Master restored." She stops and looks directly at you. "Instead, I found you."

She gestures to the air around you, implying the invisible magic you now wield.

"The Weaver does not always speak plainly, but the conclusion is logical. You freed him from whatever prison held him captive. In return, he has invested a spark of his power into you. That is what makes you a Herald."

She steps closer, her voice lowering slightly, becoming more intense.

"He told me why he sent you here. This kingdom can offer you the three things you desire most: Distance, Truth, and Power."

Strix pauses, letting the words settle before delivering the final piece of intelligence.

"And he confirmed what you are looking for. Your sister, Leila, is in this kingdom. She is to the North. I tried to scry her exact location, but I cannot see her. Another powerful force is hiding her from my sight, shrouding her in a veil I cannot yet pierce."

Over the years of her life, Kalila had her fair share of bitter medicines and tonics. She thought it would be no different with the liquid Strix gave her. Upon raising the mysterious liquid to her lips, she had braced herself for what bitterness awaited her. But it never came...! Instead, she was surprised to find that the liquid tasted as sweet as nectar! What surprised more than the taste was the heat. It felt like she drank the very same liquid fire that coursed through her body!

If she hadn't been sitting down already, she would have fallen backwards in surprise as her strength returns to her. The flicker of light she had for a life in her heart, was now a blazing bonfire! She was dazed for a moment as new knowledge of magic flooded her mind. She could also feel the wind surround her in a protective manner, while her eyes were alight with that magic again.

Evidently, the magic settles into her being, and her eyes stop glowing. Thanks to her recovery, she is able to stand up. "You really undersold that potion...! My goodness...!" She does stumble a bit, but quickly recovers.

She listens to Strix as she explains the situation. She blinks in surprise when she hears that the Starweaver in question is a Genie. She read at least a little bit about them in the history books, when they covered Oxium the Omniscient!

She thinks over the events of the Genie's disappearance, and the how Strix felt him reappear in the alleyway. Her eyes were wide with realization as it's confirmed that Strix was indeed the person who followed her last night. Then she explains the logical conclusion: Kalila freed the Genie, and in return, she gained this power from him and became a Herald.

But...if the Genie was imprisoned, then he would have to have been in her mother's laboratory during that argument. Which means...

The Genie is yet another one of her Mother's secrets!

When Strix accurately listed the three desires mentioned in last night's dream, reality truly struck home for Kalila: She was indeed here because of the wishes, and the dreams were no mere dreams. They were real! "So...then those dreams weren't just dreams...!"

Then came the revelation about her sister Leila! After Strix gave her the news about Leila, Kalila gave a surprised but hopeful, "Really?!" While she was concerned for her sister if something powerful was blocking any scry on her, Kalila did find reassurance in the fact that she was found in the North. She is probably alive!

"Thank you...! That's still more information than what I had before," Kalila sincerely thanked Strix for the information.

Her thoughts wander back to the previous night, and as Strix stated, time was wasted because of the lack of communication. "Why didn't you say anything last night? I heard you following me last night, and I honestly thought you were a mugger. A greeting would have gone a long way," Kalila asks Strix, keeping herself from laughing at the absurdity.

After she answers, Kalila mentions, thinking over the current situation, "...I'm still unprepared for the journey though. I can't just wander north without food, water, or a weapon. I will need to go back to Thornwood if I want to prepare, and I'm sure everyone at the Panther's Rest is worried,"