Ignia's existence had always been something of a peculiarity to Alden.
Not only did her appearance differ vastly from that of her kind - giving her a starker, more ominous form, as if her existence was some sort of herald of coming doom -, but she had also ended up in the Wilderness, far removed from the Pyre Peaks.
A place rumoured to be housing the remnants of the once illustrious phoenix race.
That wasn't the only suspicious aspect of his cute, little familiar, though.
The nature of their first encounter, or more precisely the timing of it, also left Alden a little disturbed. He had thought so back then, but it felt as if an unseen hand had carefully manipulated events so that the two of them would meet.
If that truly was the case…
Why did they want him and Ignia to cross paths?
What was so special about her that it warranted such calculating behaviour?
The latter was what interested Alden the most and the reason why he gazed at her so curiously.
