The morning sun rose over Haven, casting long shadows across the village square. William stood at the edge of the healing house, watching the first patients of the day arrive. They came slowly, their steps unsteady, their faces pale. Some were carried on stretchers. Others leaned on the shoulders of loved ones. The Rust had returned.
Vesper met them at the door, her white eyes scanning their faces. She had aged in the years since the Council's fall, but her voice was still firm, her presence still commanding.
"Bring them inside," she said. "Quickly."
William stepped forward to help. A young woman was being carried by her husband, her body wracked with fever, her veins dark with the telltale black of Rust infection.
"What happened?" William asked.
"We don't know," the husband said. "Sh
