Arvenmoor was a city consumed by death. Its cracked streets were strewn with the remains of lives once lived — shattered tools, tattered banners, and picked-over bones weathered by time and abandon. The dust was heavy with ash and ash hung heavy in the air, the sky a leaden gray curtain over the empty husks of homes and hovels.
Kael threaded his way through the ruins with quiet caution, his footsteps silent on the broken ground. He was gaunt and swift, with the spare movement and watchful circumspection born of having lived through the wasteland for so long. His clothes were tattered but clean, his eyes sharp and watchful under a tangle of black hair. He was not yet in immediate danger of starvation or illness, but he understood how rapidly fortunes could change.
His target tonight was a destroyed apothecary on the outskirts of the city's outer wall. A desperate hope clung to him like a lifeline — somewhere within, there may be bandages, salves, or antiseptics. Medicine that could save a life.
Kael kneeled beside the broken door, looking through the busted window. Shelves inside were destroyed, but there was one small crate left. He crept in stealthily, moving with ease born of practice.
His fingers ran over broken bottles and shattered jars. He collected what he could — dry herbs, strips of clean cloth, a few vials partially full of odd liquids. Not much, but more than nothing.
Outside, the city creaked in the wind.
A sudden ruckus drew Kael's gaze. He stood still, heart firm but on guard.
Down the street, people had stopped to surround a small fire. Orange glow of the flickering flames showed white- and red-robed figures — priests of the Hollow Flame. In the middle, a child, no more than eight, shook with fear, surrounded by flames nipping at her clothing.
Her face was broad with fear, tears streaming through dirt-streaked cheeks. She shrieked, voice rough with terror.
"Witch! Devil-ridden! Tainted by darkness!" the priest cried, holding his torch aloft. His cry sliced through the mob like a knife. "The Hollow Flame shall cleanse the taint!"
Kael held his breath. The mob was still, but for a rustling of assent and terrified prayers.
He stepped away, heart clenching but body motionless. There was no need to intervene. To endanger himself for a child that the Church had sentenced was to bring death not only upon him, but upon his entire team.
He heard the child's screams decrease as she was engulfed by flames. Then nothing.
Kael's jaw flexed. He rolled up the medical kit and left the rear of the apothecary, disappearing into the darkness.
---
Back in the secret tunnels under the Maw, Kael caught up with the small band of survivors led by Corvin, a man who had become the nearest thing to family Kael had to himself. The group's objective was straightforward but perilous: rescue and safeguard those remaining alive in the city, from the cruelty of the Church.
Corvin's calloused hands gripped Kael's shoulder when they met in the shadows. "Good haul tonight."
Kael nodded, laying down the supplies with care. "Not enough for all of us."
"We do what we can. Each life saved is a win."
Kael looked away, tormented by the image of the burning child.
Corvin's tone grew gentle, "Kael, you did what you had to. Don't torture yourself."
But Kael's mind was worlds away from consolation.
If I had spoken up. if I had acted—
He forced the thoughts aside. Survival first.
---
That evening, Kael woke fitfully on the hard stone floor, tense muscles. His thoughts returned to the sigil — the hidden mark beneath his sleeve, silent and still. It had never appeared, not even once. A secret he hardly comprehended, locked within him like a quiet vow.
He ran his hand over the cloth covering his arm, seeking to know if it would ever come alive.
The distant howl of Church patrols echoed through the tunnels. The city was closing in.
A voice whispered in the shadows.
"You're running from more than just them."
Kael turned sharply. A girl stepped forward — pale, her body stitched with strands of shadow and flesh, her eyes glowing faintly in the gloom.
"Who… what are you?"
She smiled, cold and knowing.
"I recognize your name. I know what you conceal. The sigil will not remain silent forever."
She disappeared before Kael could answer — a specter evading the shadows.
Kael gulped hard, thumping heart.
The city was a grave, but perhaps, hidden under the ash and bone, something stirred. Something dangerous.
---
End of Chapter 1.