Morning light filtered through the branches, casting dappled gold across the village paths. I blinked, my eyes unaccustomed to the serene brilliance that greeted them after the long, suffocating darkness of the dungeon and the perilous trek through the forest. For the first time, I had the opportunity to truly observe Aerthalis in the full clarity of day.
The village was more vibrant than I could have imagined. Streams shimmered with colors that shifted like oil on water as the sunlight caught them; birds with iridescent feathers flitted through the branches, their songs weaving through the soft murmur of voices. Villagers moved with a quiet, synchronized purpose: women tending luminous gardens, children laughing in those hauntingly musical tones, and men examining the forest edges with s
