Morning arrived after a night of restless sleep. Dreams of that strange, hateful light had plagued me, but there was no delaying our journey any longer.
"Time to get moving," Rowan called, already packing his belongings.
Maya stirred beside me, her red hair catching the light. "Five more minutes," she mumbled.
After a hearty breakfast at the inn, we made our way through Dawnscross's bustling streets one final time. Few townsfolk paid us any mind—adventurers came and went regularly enough that three more departing hardly warranted attention.
At the edge of town, a narrow dirt road stretched before us, winding through rolling grass plains until it disappeared over the horizon. Rowan produced a well-worn map from his pack, studying it carefully.
"This road should lead us all the way to Eldor," he announced. "On foot at a normal pace, it should take us about a week."
Maya and I exchanged glances before giving him a curt nod. With that, we took our first steps onto the dirt path, beginning our journey.
I turned back once to watch Dawnscross shrink in the distance—the town's central tower gradually becoming smaller until it vanished completely. An unexpected lump formed in my throat. Despite everything, that town allowed us to meet Smith and everyone else, and for that Ill always be grateful.
The day grew warmer as we walked, the sun illuminating the landscape around us. Plains stretched in every direction, a sea of green and gold swaying in the breeze. Far off, a dark line of trees marked the edge of a forest. The beauty of this world is sadly something that has been overlooked by me, being consistently overshadowed by the horrors of it instead.
"It's quite stunning, isn't it?" Maya remarked, noticing my wandering gaze. "Almost makes you forget all the trouble we're in."
"Almost," I agreed reluctantly.
We fell into a comfortable rhythm, occasionally passing another traveler but mostly having the road to ourselves. To pass the time, Maya told stories from the orphanage, some I remembered, others new to me. Rowan spoke very little, preferring to listen than to share.
When the sun finally began its descent, Rowan suggested we make camp. "Best not to be on the road after dark," he explained, gesturing to a small clearing off the path.
We set up camp efficiently—Maya started a fire with a casual flick of her wrist, her innate fire magic making the task effortless. Rowan set up magical alarm wards around our perimeter, while I arranged our sleeping bags in a tight triangle around the fire.
We were halfway through our rations when a bone-chilling howl cut through the night. Several more answered from different directions, surrounding us.
"Wolves," Rowan whispered.
Yellow eyes appeared in the darkness, reflecting the firelight like malevolent stars. I counted at least twelve massive gray hunters, their shoulders likely reaching my waist.
"Back to back," Rowan commanded. The three of us formed a tight triangle, facing the encircling predators.
One slightly larger beast—the pack leader—stepped forward, its gaze fixed on me. We exchanged a silent look between ourselves before turning back to our attackers. In that moment, the leader lunged, and chaos erupted.
Maya unleashed a torrent of flame that caught two wolves mid-leap. Rowan moved fast, his wind blades finding there mark in another wolf's throat. I simply reacted, my body moving mechanically as my sword flashed in the firelight.
A wolf leaped at my flank, and I pivoted, bringing my blade down in an arc that separated its head from its body in one clean stroke. Hot blood sprayed across my face, but I barely noticed as I turned to the next attacker.
When the last wolf fell, the sudden silence was deafening. We stood amidst the carnage, breathing heavily, our weapons and clothes soaked with blood.
"Everyone alright?" Rowan asked, wiping his blade clean.
Maya nodded, brushing sweat from her brow. "Brings back memories of wolf hunting back at the orphanage, doesn't it?" she said to me, her tone light despite the grim scene.
"Yeah," I replied coldly, yanking my sword from the pack leader's body.
We cleared the wolf carcasses from our campsite, dragging them downwind. My mind was elsewhere, caught in a troubling realization. At the orphanage, I had joined wolf hunts reluctantly, only to keep Maya and Rowan out of trouble. And I never actually did any of the hunting, never wishing to kill anything, not even beast like these.
But tonight? I had felt nothing. No remorse, no hesitation. When had killing become so easy, so mundane? The wolves weren't human, so they didn't matter—when had I started thinking that way?
After cleaning ourselves as best we could, we agreed to take watches through the night. I volunteered for the first shift, knowing sleep would elude me regardless.
As Maya and Rowan settled into their sleeping bags, I sat with my back against a boulder, sword across my lap, gazing at the stars. The brighter ones reminded me of my recurring dream—that brilliant, warm light that filled me with inexplicable hatred. In the dream, I wanted nothing more than to see that light devoured by darkness. What did it mean?
These thoughts circled in my mind as the night deepened. By the time I woke Rowan for the second watch, exhaustion had finally overtaken my troubled thoughts.
As I drifted toward sleep, I couldn't shake the feeling that with each passing day, each battle survived, each life taken—I was moving further from the person I once was. The journey to Eldor had only just begun, but I sensed that more than distance would be traversed before we reached our destination. Some journeys change you in ways no map can chart, and as sleep finally claimed me, I wondered what would remain of me by the end.