seemed to de

loud in the dark. The flickering light of Master Emric's lantern barely touched the stone walls, w

d not slow

that Elara could not see its ceiling, nor the walls beyond the edge of th

upon a raised stone altar, p

stal

pale, its light flickering in rhythm

th caught in

the world,"

ed forward, the

he soft, invisible hum of the crystal heart grew louder, like a warn

e - or at least,

wed faintly with the same cold light that had filled Elara's dreams, but instead of

tood at her side, his hand tightening around the hilt of a smal

d her hand, sto

all and young - d

elt s

she asked, her voice steady and cle

dered, as though her words had re

ped forw

t this world, but somethi

d twisting around its core, and then - for the briefest of

stars and light, crowned with antlers sha

s heart broken by centuries

led in El

ispered. "No one rem

the same stone given to her by her mother when she was just an infant. Its light, too, was fa

shifting form calming as

wo lights - the one from her heart-stone, and the dying crystal on t

- half-sigh, half-song - and its form began to

n enemy defeated, but

steady, and then the entire chamber trembled as the

dow had

had bee

r just a child, but a light-bearer - the living b

-

climbed back to the surfac

urned, cool and fresh, carrying the scent of ra

lowed to a dying trickle, now rushed proudly t

ward, eyes closed, and le

ad do

he knew this was o

more secrets wait