Gwynn sat there for what seemed like an hour, recalling the previous order of events, ensuring she had done everything right. There simply wasn’t anything else to consider. She had done her best, after all. She should be at least content, she reasoned, with the effort she had put in, and the unwavering focus she had maintained throughout the entire plan.

Restless, she stood and began circling the stones. The lifeless monoliths just sat there, not doing anything. What could be wrong?

Her plan to bring Ardwyn from the other side of the portal had worked — a feat no one had accomplished before. Why, then, had her plan only partially succeeded?

She glared suspiciously at Ardwyn’s corpse, as if it were somehow to blame for her plan’s failure. What was wrong with Ardwyn? Had he somehow failed to meet the Nexus portal’s requirements for activation?

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She contemplated starting over. Having come this far, she wouldn’t give up so easily. She would plan it again. Now that she had done it once, the second attempt would be smoother. She would lure another unsuspecting soul from the other side of the portal, and sacrifice them here again. Perhaps there really was something wrong with Ardwyn. Her plan had been executed flawlessly. The only faulty link must be Ardwyn. Maybe he wasn’t up to the Nexus portal’s standards.

The initial challenge had been timing the ritual with the full moon. The moon still shone overhead, lighting the sky in an eerie glow. This time, she didn’t need to wait any longer.

She raised her hands, casting a spell she had long since memorized, and performed countless times before.

“I raise thee, creature of the nether realm. Chase one to me. Bring them through the Nexus Portal!”