The Thunderbird glided through a sky veined with starlight. Below them stretched a sea of misty hills, each one cradling secrets older than the moon. Rose, seated near the front, clutched a small scroll taken from the Lightning Library—a map inked in silver, glowing faintly in her hands.
"This is where the Moonbound Seers went to disappear," she said, pointing to a crescent-shaped valley nestled deep within the Hollows of Eithen.
Basil squinted at it. "Looks more like a crater."
Nimbus, circling above them, nodded. "That's because it is a crater. Legend says the moon cried a piece of itself into the earth, and the Seers built a sanctuary in its sorrow."
"Cheery," Rose muttered.
As they descended, moonlight thickened, becoming almost tangible—draping over the landscape like silk. Strange plants glowed softly, and the air was thick with perfume and memory. The Thunderbird let out a soft coo and landed at the edge of an overgrown marble stairway.
The steps led downward, into the earth.
Basil drew his blade as a precaution, but Rose waved him off. "If the Seers are still here, they'll see us coming. No point in sneaking."
They reached a clearing ringed with stone arches, each one carved with moon phases. A shallow pool of liquid starlight shimmered in the center.
"I don't like how quiet it is," Basil said.
Then a voice, soft as dusk, spoke.
"You carry the storm, and yet you seek the moon."
They turned. A woman stood in the center of the pool, barefoot, eyes silver with no pupils. Her hair floated around her head like it was suspended in water, though no wind moved.
"You're one of the Seers," Rose said.
"I am the Last Dreamer. The others sleep beneath the earth, hidden from Mortain's eye. We dream to protect what little remains untouched."
Rose stepped forward. "I need your help. Mortain is trying to awaken Calamareth. I'm trying to stop him."
The Dreamer tilted her head. "And you bear the Breaking Sigil. That mark has not been seen since the first unraveling."
"I didn't ask for it," Rose replied, "but I won't let it be used."
The Dreamer studied her for a long moment, then turned and raised her hands. The pool of starlight rippled, revealing visions: armies turned to dust, temples collapsing, skies torn open. A child with silver eyes crying under a shattered moon.
"Mortain's future is a wound we've seen before," she whispered. "But yours is unclear. You are a knot in fate's thread."
"Then untie me," Rose said. "Or help me pull it loose."
After a pause, the Dreamer nodded.
"We will awaken two Seers. Twins. They walked both dream and shadow. They will guide you to the Crimson Mire—your next path."
From the earth, the stone stirred.
Two figures began to rise.
Rose took a breath and looked to Basil and Nimbus. "Time to wake the world."
And somewhere in the shadows, Mortain's breath caught—like a storm smelling smoke.