> "Not all who hide are afraid. And not all who seek, desire only light. Some shadows conceal, and some reveal, a greater hunger."
> — Veilstone Lore, Attributed to Lyra the Scavenger
>
The air grew thin and sharp as they climbed higher into the Shardpeak Range. The towering mountains, their jagged peaks clawing at the bruised sky, seemed to absorb all warmth. Ash's black shard pulsed with an unsettling energy, vibrating in his chest. His visions grew more frequent here, showing fragmented, shifting reflections on distant, icy surfaces, glimpses of other places, other times. He felt a profound sense of unease, as if the very mountains were watching him. This was the "unseen watcher" Selene had sensed.
"The air is alive here," Ash whispered, clutching his head as a dizzying rush of distorted images flickered across his sight. He saw faint, shimmering figures moving through impossible landscapes, then they were gone. "It's like the world is constantly changing."
"These peaks are tainted by reality-warping echoes," Selene explained, her twilight eyes sweeping the misty peaks. "Remnants of the Sundering's raw force. The 'watcher' is likely a manifestation of the mountain's distorted Ley Lines, sensing your Crown fragment. It is a defense, but not a direct threat." She kept a careful pace, her dark robes blending with the shadows.
Kael, grim and watchful, surveyed their surroundings. "Less like a watcher, more like a warning. For what? Mountain beasts?" His hand rested on his sword, ready for anything visible.
Suddenly, a voice, low and gravelly, cut through the thin wind. "You're a long way from the warm lands, lost souls. And carrying quite the glow, boy."
From a cluster of ancient, moss-covered boulders just ahead, a figure materialized. She was a woman, slight of build, clad in practical, patched leather and dark, earth-toned fabrics that made her almost invisible against the rock. Her hair was a tangled mess of deep brown, streaked with grey, tied back haphazardly. Her eyes, sharp and intelligent, flickered between Selene and Kael before settling with unsettling intensity on Ash's chest, where the faint glow of the shard was visible even through his tattered tunic. She carried a short, wickedly curved hunting knife, held loosely but expertly in her hand.
"Well now," she drawled, her voice a low whisper, like stones shifting. "Lost souls, are we? Or perhaps a bit more… valuable than that." She nodded towards the shard. "That's a rare trinket. One that brings a lot of unwanted attention."
Kael immediately moved to place himself between Ash and the stranger, his hand gripping his sword hilt. "Who are you? Another one of the Crown's faithful, come to claim him?"
The woman let out a dry, rasping chuckle. "Faithful? Hardly. I'm Lyra. A scavenger, a guide, a survivor. I know these peaks better than any king's fool. And I know what hunts things like that." She pointed her knife towards Ash. "That glow of yours attracts a particular kind of pest. Ones with shiny armor and dull minds, who follow orders without question. And they're closer than you think."
As if on cue, the distant blare of a horn echoed from below, cutting through the thin air. It was a hunting call, cold and insistent, and it was getting closer, rapidly.
Lyra's eyes widened, a flicker of genuine alarm crossing her face. "Speak of the devil. Captain Valerius. He moves faster than most. His scouts are good." She looked from Selene to Kael, then directly at Ash, her voice urgent. "You glow, boy. He'll find you in this mist like a beacon. If you want to get into Veilstone Keep alive, and not end up strung up on its ramparts as a warning, you follow my lead. There's only one way through the next pass that isn't already a royal trap."
Ash felt a cold surge of dread. Captain Valerius. The name resonated with something chilling in his fragmenting visions. He remembered the Crown's history, the betrayal. He needed to understand. But not here. Not now.
Before they could respond, the sound of heavy boots crunching on rock became distinctly audible, accompanied by the clatter of armor. Through the swirling mist, faint torchlight began to pierce the gloom, approaching rapidly from the path they had just ascended.
At their head, a formidable figure emerged. He was clad in polished, dark steel armor, his helmet open to reveal a hawkish, severe face and eyes like chips of granite. It was Captain Valerius. He swept his gaze over them, stopping cold when his eyes fell on the glowing shard in Ash's chest. His face tightened with cold fury, and his gaze sharpened on Kael.
"There! I saw a flicker!" Valerius's voice boomed, sharp and authoritative, cutting through the fog. "The Crown's fragment! And the traitor Kael! You shame your oath, Knight! Seize them! The Crown's corruption will not take root in these lands on my watch!"
Valerius pointed directly at Ash, his hand moving towards a heavily decorated signet ring on his finger—a ring that seemed to pulse with a faint, cold power. Ash's own shard reacted violently, a searing cold that flashed through him, a terrifying, sudden mental link to Valerius's mind. He felt Valerius's absolute conviction, his burning hatred for the Crown, his chilling, relentless Will to control. It was the same overwhelming will that Ash had just sensed from the spectral Lord Valerius. The Core of Binding, Ash realized with a sickening lurch, was already subtly active within Valerius too.
Lyra grabbed Ash's arm, pulling him. "He's not just tracking you, boy! He's sensing you! This way! Now!" She darted towards a precarious, barely visible path along a sheer cliff face.
Ash stumbled, his mind reeling from the sudden, terrifying mental connection. Captain Valerius was not just a hunter; he was an extension of the very will that had shattered the Crown. They were caught between a desperate escape and a terrifying link to their pursuer. The hunt had become deeply personal.