Sticks of smoldering embers marched underneath the forest canopy. The branches from pine trees that rose to the heavens seemed to sag down upon a concrete dome with moss climbing the structure to meet in a green embrace. The smoke that danced above the snaking flames smelled of pall incense, born from the torchbearers at the front and back of the procession. In between them, a crowd lurched along, bearing five gurneys entirely wrapped in white cloth.

They entered the dome within a large dark void with a stray strand of sunlight appearing like spider's silk. The torchbearers made their way to the walls, finding sconces to place their torches, which then danced oddly. They placed the gurneys upon the already laid out pyres, encircling a large scaffolding with a podium at its center. A group of individuals dressed in ceremonial robes walked up to the stage where two of them pressed switch boxes that briefly illuminated a flow of light running across thin wires that snaked out to the walls of the dome. The torches went silent, and the entire arena bathed in an artificial light with a purple hue.

The crowds gathered into apparent groups of familiarity before the pyres. They spoke in hushed and solemn tones. As the officiators took their places on the platform, they looked towards the entrance. Some of the crowd took notice and also looked back to where three figures stood in ragged hoods and cloaks. Lowering their hoods in respect, they began moving towards the crowd gathered around the outer edges of the dome as they nodded in acknowledgement of the parties, who were clearly grieving as they gathered before the pyres.

The tallest cloaked figure was a man with a chiseled face and eyes the color of burned-out charcoal. He ran his hand through his barely kempt hair as if having a moment of self-consciousness. On his right was a woman standing about shoulder height with warm red hair that was clearly not a natural color. She looked sharply about with green eyes set in shadow. On her right was a woman that stood tall in her own right with youthful, unassuming features and lavender-tinted eyes looking at nothing in particular beneath her long, wavy brunette hair.

A man wearing official looking clothing underneath an old leather duster approached them. His hairline had almost retreated to the back of his scalp and he had well kept his beard. His face was gaunt, and the bags beneath his eyes gave away the fact that he was an exhausted man. He stood before them and gave a half smile that wrinkled his face into itself. The short redhead returned the half smile and offered a white gloved hand in greeting. He accepted her hand graciously. "Welcome to Leoris township. You can call me Walstaff. I'm kind of the sheriff here. And you folks are?"

The woman retracted her hand. "I'm Cherry. A retired field surgeon from the Dakken capital. These are my servants," she gestured enthusiastically, first toward the man next to her, then toward the woman with him. "Desdin and Demalyn. We traveled from the coast and saw the procession in the valley. We parked our van and came to pay our respects."

Walstaff scratched his beard, his mouth slightly agape. "Well, we appreciate that. The folks of Leoris had a rough go at it this past season. If you are trying to return to the capital, I'm afraid you might be pretty far off to make it before winter sets in and the road ceases operations." Walstaff glanced back every so often to gauge the readiness of the ceremony.

Cherry nodded at him. "Yes, well, we noticed Leoris appear on the hub in our van. My group was wondering if we could ride out the winter here. Of course there are services we can provide."

Walstaff sighed and said, "Can't say that we don't need the help. When you bring your van to the port authority, check in there and ask for Yulsif. He is one of my deputies. Tell him I requested you and he will bring you to my office, which isn't far from the port. I'll look over your credentials, and we can work something out. I believe the priests are starting soon, if you don't mind?" Walstaff smiled and wandered back into the crowd towards the front.

The three watched from the back as one of the robed figures approached the podium, laying his hood down to reveal a round shaved head set upon a girthy chin and neck. When he spoke, he bellowed loud and clear, resounding throughout the whole of the arena. "Everlith and the oldest ones from time immemorial gifted us with immense understanding. She gave to us the choice to have dominion of our world and then gifted us the immense power of the chrism. From this, it forever made us illuminated. It is with this that we have striven to walk beside her and them as fellows bathed in the light of understanding that is still beyond our reach. And it is with the chrism that we return our sons, our daughters, our kin to them in hopes to one day meet again within that endless stream. Would the most honored of those laid out before us present their dear one with the possibility of this gift?"

From the familiar groups gathered before the pyres stepped five individuals. Each one pressed a small blue and purple gem into the crossed arms of the wrapped bodies. The priest nodded down. "And now would the most beloved come forward to bid them farewell on their eternal journey?" Another five, this time all women dressed in veils, stepped forward with ceramic pitchers. They poured a clear, viscous oil atop the gems before stepping back to the crowds, who all huddled in comfort.

Blue flames slowly engulfed the white bandages before setting upon the pyre. The flames dripped purple upon the concrete until they left nothing of the bodies nor the pyres. Cherry turned her attention, eyes squinted in concern, as Desdin's breathing became more labored as the fire burned out. A red tint smoldered within his charcoal eyes. He stared at a scene no one else seemed to notice beyond the crowd, a spot between the scaffolding and the place where the bodies had once been. A giant of a woman glared intensely at him. The woman's white robes, raven dark hair, and eyes glowed with an ethereal blue. Her lips pursed together. Her unblinking gaze and stationary stance all appeared to focus entirely on Desdin.

Cherry waved a hand before him. "Hey..."

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Sweat beaded on Desdin's forehead. "Is she there?"

"No, she never is. We just got into town. Calm your shit. You can grab a drink at the van before settling in for the night. We'll drive to the port in the morning." Cherry and Demalyn put their hoods back up before setting off for the entrance. Cherry placed a hand on his shoulder to direct him as he hesitated before moving to leave as well. "Let's get out of this basement."

The trio arrived back at the van after trudging through the woods and veering on the cracked and paved path as dusk was settling in. Their breath escaped in visible wisps in the cold air. Their van measured some two hundred feet from nose to a rounded off rear, about forty feet wide and twenty feet tall. At one point, red paint may have covered it, but time had chipped it away to the metal and chrome bits beneath. The interior had a faint red glow with a general living space with three rounded metal tables and chairs bathed in an artificial red hue from a light source lining the wall and ceiling.

Desdin entered first, tossing aside his cloak. He carried a trim and well-toned figure beneath a casual white shirt that fell to his hips, his waist loosely belted over black pants. He made his way to the pantry, immediately pulling out a bottle of brown spirits before heading up a small flight of stairs towards his room, which was close to the rear. Cherry stopped before entering to light a cigarette, relaxing against the side of the van. After taking a drag, she offered a pull to Demalyn, who refused before settling next to her.

Demalyn looked up casually at the clear sky as the distant stars sprang into existence above them. "He is getting worse," she said.

Cherry waved her hand before she said, "As soon as we get to the Regnum Lux, the doctors will figure something out."

Demalyn nodded. "This will be the third winter since the incident happened with the Glass Road. You said it could be a trauma response at first, but if we don't hear from the Lux this year, we need to come up with an alternative."

Cherry took a long pull. "I've modified the signal that we will be broadcasting this time. The risk is greater, but agents from the Lux must be looking for me at least. So, this winter for sure. It is the only time we are safe while we are stationary. I need to get blood samples from both of you first thing in the morning. I'll work on the analysis during my spare time. But your tests have been stable considering your condition since the Glass Road broke. His bloodwork keeps getting stranger. I'm not an expert hematologist so I can only make assumptions."

Demalyn started for the entrance of the van. "Just do what you can. Also, you are getting lazy with your aliases. You can't question why the Dakken Union has caught and deported you every time? Although, from what I've gathered, the two of you won't be getting off with just deportation or prison this time. It will be," Demalyn said before pausing and nonchalantly miming a noose dangling from a crooked neck.

Cherry flicked her cigarette into the distance before shrugging and moving to the cab at the top floor of the van. She pulled the hammer-like switch down, bringing the van to a low-powered hum and the lighting switching from red to indigo. She tilted the driver's seat back, looking past the controls before her and through the window that framed the night sky.

Desdin laid on his back in the bunk, eyes glued to the spinning fan. The bottle beside him was already two-thirds empty. Books lay open and littered the interior of his room. He closed his eyes and sank into oblivion. He knew she would be there, waiting. This time, he was unmoving and unblinking. He found her gaze come into view, bringing the dark to life. He was underwater, but time froze here. The water didn't flow.

Her eyes softened, and she moved with dark hair and white robes flagging behind her. Her hands alone would be enough to wrap around him. She spoke in a haunting and submerged echo, "My lost child in the dark, let go and come home to me."

Desdin wanted to answer her, question her, but he was unable to move the slightest muscle. He became all too aware that he could not breathe. As panic set in, she embraced him without touching him.

She faded away, and he found himself at the cusp of the surface, able to move at last. The ocean that met the endless void above him gave way like malleable glass around him. As he emerged without effort, the darkness unveiled his eyes. He was in the main hall of the van.

He stood before a dim light over an unfolded section of the wall. Laying in a cushioned console slanted before him were spears, swords, pistols, and rifles of various sizes and length. At the center lay a scrap of leather. He unfolded it, revealing a long sword. Cracks ran all along its double edges. The hilt was black and scaled with a crossguard, grafting the weapon altogether. When he picked it up, the blade heavily shifted, revealing a large split in the hilt. He set it back down before running his fingers across it with fondness.

Cherry walked up behind him. He looked back at her with distant eyes that shifted towards the ground. She offered him a cup of coffee with steam rising in the cool cabin. "It is almost morning. How did you sleep?"

Desdin took the cup. "When I'm awake, she observes, as if waiting for my answer to what she tells me as I sleep. I have nothing to say to her until we find the Roots of Dragsil."

Cherry sipped from her own cup. "While we are in town, I need you to make sense. Do you understand? None of this crazy shit. I don't care if you go to the archives during downtime, but we have work to do so that we don't freeze to death. I get this van is special or whatever, but I'm not about to test whether or not it will run in the winter when everything else is offline," she said.

Desdin nodded before taking a deep breath and bringing his eyes into focus. He spoke with more clarity this time. "I understand. I read up on everything this town has been putting out regarding what is killing their hunters. This could get ugly. All the Fallen that we've encountered since the Glass Road were male and stray or feral. We haven't encountered a matriarch yet. They only exist in Union fairy tales and the Lux has no Fallen, so when it comes to that I'll take point on the hunt. I'll get the job done."

Cherry smiled in approval as she waved her hand at him and said, "Good. We'll see if we can't get you in with the hunter's guild when we check in with the sheriff. Just steer clear of unnecessary attention. Don't fuck or fight anything, and we will be golden. Stay normal. Don't do crazy and don't do any showboating."

Desdin smirked for the first time since arriving and said, "Wasn't it you who got us in trouble and tried to convince us to take that doctor's wife with us in the last town?"

Cherry walked off towards the helm. "None of that, either. You don't have the right to be a smartass," she said.

As she reached the driver's seat, Cherry pushed the hammer-like lever into full tilt and hit several switches The interior lighting changed from indigo to a pulsing dark blue. A panel illuminated a map with blinking lights before her. "Target is Leoris port. Mainline path." The van shook and turned onto the main road, which illuminated and faded below, blowing pine needles, leaves, and dust aside as it sped away.