“Why couldn’t mages invent a magic GPS?” Daniel grumbled to himself on the third hour of galloping.

He was back in the plains now, but no matter how much he looked, the lightning tree wouldn’t reveal itself to him. Either he had completely missed it, in which case he had to turn around, or the journey was much longer than he expected.

“Witches,” he murmured. All said and done, that encounter had gone surprisingly well. Daniel’s parents had often scared him with them in the past - if he misbehaved, a mean witch would toss him into a cauldron and make a stew out of him.

Fortunately, after another hour of whining, he found the landmark. A charred and blackened oak tree towered in the distance, big enough for ten men to hug it and not fully envelop it. Occasionally, a spark of lightning would leap outside from it, hitting anything unfortunate enough to be in its way.

Daniel followed the winding river downstream, glancing at the occasional fish that leapt out of the water. He learned to avoid trotting next to it when a sturgeon, covered entirely in stone plates, headbutted his horse’s leg. The clang of metal clashing with stone could be heard for miles, and to his surprise, the fish won by putting a dent in the metal.

Still, the area here was much more peaceful compared to the rest of the plains. Before long, he stood in the middle of a valley. The rock cliffs had a reflective metallic sheen to them, infinitely multiplying his reflection until he became nauseous from looking at it. It was here that the Steelford family was supposedly hiding.

‘Reaper’s Eyes.’

Under his skill, the boring valley transformed into something completely different. Hundreds of human-sized souls busily went about their day. What was strange, however, was that they were all inside the cliff face. Cancelling his skill, he examined every inch of the stone, but no matter how much he poked or prodded, it never changed.

There was one more card for Daniel to play. Taking a deep breath, he stepped once again into the world of limbo, resolving to keep a tight grip on his emotions and his objective, but, just like the colours and the sound, he found his feelings rapidly slipping away.

Looking around now, he could see how the vague shadow of a cliff was nothing more than an illusion anchored deep in the earth. Even through the warped geometry, he could recognise the shape of a road leading to an imposing castle, which was currently leaning at a 90-degree angle.

Instead of souls, Daniel now saw warped shadows that distorted the more he looked at them. There were two closest to him that he assumed were guards. Now, he had to be very careful. If he appeared in the middle of the territory that was filled with warriors, he could turn into a pincushion in seconds. So, he chose what he assumed was the safest option - walking in front of them, but still keeping his distance. And then, for good measure, he raised both his arms and activated his shield. When he stepped back into the real world, all hell broke loose.

“What the?” the closest guard startled, pointing his lightning-tipped spear at the intruder. He clamped a vizor over his red plate-mail helmet and took a low stance. Every second, the feeling of danger Daniel sensed intensified. The guard was using skills.

The other warrior reacted much the same, but with significantly more grace. In just a second, a giant bone arbalest was pointed at Daniel’s face. A pitch-black arrow the size of his arm was adorned with a vibrant red feather, fluttering by itself.

“I come in peace!” Daniel shouted, preparing his skills. The moment they attacked, he would fade back into limbo and flee as fast as he could.

“State your purpose! How have you found this place?” the spear-wielding guard hollered at him. They were beginning to draw attention now.

“I’m here to help, I promise. The witch directed me to your location. She can vouch for my intentions!” he hurriedly said, using whatever means of diplomacy he could think of. A tense silence followed.

“Lower your spear, Gwynn. You’re scaring the poor priest. Even she is not bold enough to barge into here all alone.” The older-sounding warrior took his aim off of Daniel, beckoning the other to do the same.

“He just surprised me. Normally, they tell us about any visits ahead of time,” Gwynn said, raising his visor to get a better look at the intruder.

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“I’m sorry for intruding and scaring you. Didn’t have a better method of getting past the illusion,” Daniel let out a small chuckle, still maintaining his barrier.

“Not an invited guest then. They’d know the secret entrance,” the older man said.

“No, but I’m not lying about my intentions to help in any way or shape that I can,” Daniel responded, holding the warrior’s gaze.

“Why?”

The question stumped him. The real reason was too outlandish to believe, and they wouldn’t believe he was doing it out of the goodness of his heart. Instead, Daniel chose the one he thought fit the best.

“Because Morvina has sent me. I’ve dreamed of the... things in the dungeons. She has sent me because she believes I can aid you.” He cupped his hands and clutched his necklace, standing tall and proud.

Despite his performance, the reactions he got were muted, even aggressive. The arbalest-wielding warrior’s face turned steely.

“The rules are clear. We can’t allow any intruders to enter the property.”

Daniel’s body tensed, a thousand scenarios running through his head. Was he about to get silenced for finding out their secret?

“The priest said three different times that he’s here to help. What’s the harm in letting him talk to Savira?” Gwynn interjected, putting himself between the two.

“You don’t get it. The church of Morvina is dangerous. Their assassins would hound us until the end of the world if they learned the whole truth,” the warrior raised his voice in anger.

“Listen to him for Ashkarn’s sake! I don’t know what he dreamed of in the dungeon, but I doubt it’s something good. Besides, he’s found our location already. The priest could’ve just as easily left and brought along a whole swarm of them.” Gwynn glared at the man.

“He could be plotting anything, or even be one of her spies. The rules are there for a reason - they’re to protect us from any harm.”

“What harm? It’s been five entire years of this happening. You can only spout this rubbish because you’re not a direct descendant.”

The two squared off for a few seconds before the older guard backed off, shrugging his shoulders. “The responsibility lies with you if he does anything stupid. Take him to Savira.”

And with that resolved, Daniel stopped holding his breath and relaxed a bit. Dismissing the spirit shield, he joined Gwynn on the cobblestone path, walking side by side with the young guard.

“Don’t take offence. Everyone here wishes the best for the family in their own ways, and we’ve not had the best experience with strangers,” he said.

“I see. Would you mind telling me a bit more about the whole situation?” Daniel asked.

“I could, but there’s no point since we’re going to see Savira. She’s the family head, so naturally she knows the most. What she decides to tell you is a whole different matter,’

The terrain here was unnaturally flat compared to the rest of the plains. Every now and then, uniform watchtowers made of white marble would rise from the earth. From inside the openings poked out notched arrows, all trained at him. Only barely could he see the red plate mail that every single guard was equipped with.

Although weapons vastly varied, their armour was always the same. Not a single person outside the castle was without thick plate covering their entire body. The further in they went, the more warriors he noticed, each as ready as the last one. It was as if they were prepared for war to break out at any moment, or perhaps they were awaiting the end of the world, weapons in hand.

What was peculiar about the warriors was that some carried amulets of a black sun. Most only had one or two rays emanating from it, but the rare few had more. Not once did Daniel notice someone with more than half the sun surrounded by rays.

The inside of the castle was nothing compared to Dawn Citadel. It was almost depressing how bare the walls were, not a single statue or lavish rug in sight. Despite this, it smelled nice - like roses and tulips, though the scent bordered on overwhelming. Further into the castle, long and narrow corridors made him feel claustrophobic, and the more he walked down them, the more disoriented he got. Each step made his head light and caused the world to spin around.

“W-wait,” Daniel said, stopping to catch his breath before he could stumble to the ground.

“Defence measures. The mage constructed it without thinking about how the rest of us would feel. You get used to the magic eventually,” Gwynn said, seeing Daniel turn a shade of green and begin dry heaving.

They took turn after turn until Daniel was completely lost, though the intense headache didn’t help either. Finally, they arrived at a slightly wider corridor, at the end of which was a heavily runed door. Gwynn knocked on it precisely three times before loudly shouting.

“An important guest has arrived.”

After listening for an answer and not hearing one, he turned to Daniel and smiled.

“You’ll find Savira on the other side of this. Good luck - she can be a bit fierce.”

And with that said, Daniel pushed open the magic door.