Night had cast its heavy net over the forest, and in the oppressive silence, only the breathing of the twins, Luc and Nicolai, could be heard, rhythmic like an old clock counting the moments. Ioh fell asleep with difficulty and was carried off by sleep for a few hours, his head resting on the scabbard of his sword.
But this silence was deceptive.
Beyond the edge of the clearing, among trees black as burnt iron, a shadow slipped quickly, its body almost merging with the darkness. Nira, sensing its unseen steps, rose soundlessly. She fastened around her body the gray armor of a guardian – heavy, cold, but full of unbroken vows.
In her hands, her fingers clenched around two curved spears, glinting pale in the moonlight. She stepped forward slowly, with measured steps, until she reached the edge of the forest, where the breath of the woods seemed deeper and heavier.
There, Nira stopped. Her eyes swept the horizon; every rustle was a sign, every breeze could mean danger. And in that moment of silence, in the darkness cracked by branches and mist… something seemed to be waiting. Out of the shadows, running, came a man wearing a brown bear pelt, his eyes weary and his step limping from exhaustion. He stopped and, panting in a low, trembling voice, said:
— "Lady Nira… with deep regret I say… I am the only scout who has returned from the three sent out…"
The woman frowned, her gaze darkening even more. She stepped closer with heavy steps:
— "What happened?" — her voice rang like muted thunder among the rocks. — "You were only supposed to gather information…"
The man almost fell to the ground, his head bowed:
— "Information I sought, Lady Nira… but the road… the road was strewn with obstacles darker than night…"
Nira leaned toward him slightly, and her will seemed to cut through the air:
— "Speak, Paleș! Don't give me broken answers," she said, her voice cold as a blade. — "Tell everything you saw!"
Just then, in the manor, Ioh awoke suddenly. He rose from bed, feeling strange, as if he had slept for a whole year. With hurried steps, he went out into the hall and knocked on doors one after another:
— "Nira!... Nira!... Where are you? We need to talk!" — his voice echoed empty through the corridors.
The hall remained silent, and the echo of his words came back to him.
Ioh checked every room in turn, but found nothing, only empty chambers. At last, he reached an older wing of the manor. There, a heavy door, slightly ajar, drew him in with a silent call. He opened the door slowly, the creak of the hinges cutting through the stillness. The air inside smelled of burnt wax and cold stone, and in the middle of the room, floating a few steps above the floor, was a violet orb, pulsing faintly, wrapped in shifting mist.
Ioh approached slowly, and his hand rose, trying to push away the dense mist surrounding the orb. Behind the mist, something began to take shape… or rather, someone. A boy of about sixteen, with a face pale as ivory and chestnut hair, slightly tousled. His cracked lips seemed ready to tell unknown stories, and his adolescent body was held carefully within heavy but finely crafted armor, a sign of a young yet determined guardian. At his feet, the floor was marked by strange ritual signs, unknown even to Ioh; they flickered faintly, as if they had stirred at his approach.
To the left of the orb, seemingly moved there by someone, lay a piece of marble, engraved with a chisel hiding a secret message, written in Latin:
"Tres portas transibis ad solvenda vincula,
Antiquae umbrae animam tuam temptabunt:
Primum, invenies librum ex cineribus veterum magorum ortum –
ipse solus verba servat quae somnum saxorum texuerunt.
Deinde, excitabis sigillum quod alte dormit –
nam sola eius potestas vincula frangere potest.
Sed festina, nam cum umbra annorum sextum decimum horam numerabit,
tum solum somnus non erit sepulcrum."
Ioh copied the message onto a piece of paper, then cast another glance at the child trapped in the orb and, with barely audible steps, vanished from the room, leaving behind only his shadow.
Meanwhile, at the scouts' meeting place, Nira, her heart heavy as stone, stared into space. Only one scout remained — Paleș… For a moment, the woman felt her will to live slip away.
But Paleș the scout, his voice carrying a last hope, lifted his gaze to the woman:
— "I will go out again in search, Nira! Along my road… I heard rumors: two twins who bear the Seal of the Titans still live. They… they could help us!"
Those words sparked in the woman's soul like an ember rekindling dying coals. A glimmer of hope lit her eyes, but her voice remained grave, still burdened by doubt:
— "Even if we find the twins with the seal… the road to awaken Lord Dacus will still be long…"
Back at the manor, Ioh returned to his room and saw Nira and the scout entering through the door. Ioh carefully took out the piece of paper he had hidden. The hunter whispered the translation of the message from the ancient marble and began to read:
"Three gates you will pass to break the chains,
Ancient shadows will test your soul: First, find the book born from the ashes of ancient healers –
only it holds the words that wove the sleep of stone. Then, awaken the seal that sleeps deep –
for only with its power will you be able to weaken the chains. But hurry, for when the shadow of years will count the sixteenth hour,
only then will the sleep not be a tomb."
The words echoed in his soul. Ioh thought to himself:
— "It is… a riddle…"
And with this discovery, another desire was kindled inside him…:
— "I must also awaken this child from his sleep, so I can go further on the path I have chosen."
Without hesitation, Ioh carefully folded the paper and hid it in his sword's scabbard. From the other room, soft, frightened cries could be heard. Luc and Nicolai had awakened, crying for food. Nira flinched at the sound of their cries, and all dark thoughts vanished. She brought a clay pitcher filled with fresh milk to ease their hunger. The children drank the milk greedily, and for a few moments the room filled with a fragile calm.
Ioh, watching silently, asked in a low voice so as not to scare the children:
— "Lord Dacus… does he truly sleep an eternal sleep?"
Nira looked at him sadly:
— "Yes… he sleeps peacefully… and I do not believe he will awaken anytime soon…" — she answered, with a bitterness even she could not hide.
After the twins had been fed and calmed, the woman, with a commanding voice, turned her head to Paleș:
— "Rest now. In three days, you must be ready again for the road."
And thus, the scout bowed his head, his hands trembling not from fear, but from the loyalty that burned in his chest like an unspoken vow.
Three days passed over forests, over rocks, and over the woman's waiting heart. And at dawn, on the third day, he rose again, with hurried steps, walking the path, his bear pelt fluttering behind him, and set off once more. Determined to bring hope where even prayers seemed no longer to reach, thus Nira waited with bated breath and as soon as possible, for a sign from the scout.