Day 28 After Eralthar | Daren Forest – Fog Region
The sun had not yet risen.
But the fog was suffocating the forest.
Trees loomed like ghosts, and branches broke without sound.
Valerian moved forward with his group.
They were now thirty strong.
But those thirty carried the will of three hundred.
The Oathbound Seven led the new recruits.
Helvar watched from the rear.
Every step was measured, every breath controlled.
Valerian checked the map.
They were at the crossroads of Vornath's eastern and western supply lines.
But the target wasn't the road…
It was the shadow.
At the same hour, the Black Hunt entered the same forest.
As soon as Morn Velk saw the mark from his tracker, he froze.
"A trail of ash...
Someone from Valerian's path passed through here."
A hunter drew his axe.
"Are they close?"
Morn bowed his head.
"No.
But this forest… smells of blood.
And tonight, someone will die."
Two forces moved through the same forest.
Unaware of each other.
For now.
Until the sky turned gray.
Valerian divided his group into three.
One scouting team went ahead, another flanked right, while Helvar and Elren held the rear.
As the front moved forward, silence broke.
A scream.
Then an arrow.
One soldier fell.
Another rushed to help—his throat was cut.
The Black Hunt had struck.
Valerian quickly formed a defense line.
But these enemies were different—
Silent, ruthless, systematic.
They killed without ever meeting your eyes.
Suddenly, Elren's voice rang out:
"We're down! We need help!"
Valerian rushed forward—
But he was too late.
Behind Helvar, Elren lay still…
An arrow in his chest.
His eyes were still open.
But no sound escaped his lips.
Valerian dropped to his knees.
"No…"
A Black Hunt warrior watched from afar.
Their eyes met.
For the first time.
But this was not a clash—
It was the first true loss of war.
Valerian cradled Elren's head in his lap.
"I told you to keep your eyes open…
But I wish… I could've let you close them."
That night, one of the Oathbound Seven fell silent.
And Valerian's path gained a new mark:
A path drawn in blood.
Day 29 After Eralthar | Loryan – Nightfall Silence / Vornath – Black Hunt Headquarters
As night fell over Loryan, fires were lit.
But these flames didn't warm—
They remembered.
Valerian carried Elren's body in silence.
Not a word was spoken along the way.
The Oathbound Seven were now six.
But the emptiness… echoed within them all.
A small grave was dug at the center of the square.
A wooden marker.
Etched with one word:
"Eye."
Because Elren's only weapon had been that:
His eyes—wide open to the world.
Valerian stood over the grave and spoke:
"We didn't lose him.
We lost a pair of lights that guided our way.
Now… we'll learn to walk better in the dark."
No one clapped.
No one cried.
But everyone understood.
Later that night, Valerian went alone to Helvar's forge.
He repeated his vow:
"From now on, I'll not only kill my enemies…
I'll kill my mistakes too."
Meanwhile, in Vornath, the Black Hunt analyzed.
Morn Velk had learned Elren's name.
Old records marked him as a mere orphan.
No military value.
But Morn noticed something:
Valerian valued "eyes."
The ones who watched, scouted, learned…
He opened the map.
Examined Valerian's attacks—passes, silos, forests.
All based on reconnaissance.
"So you walk in shadow, Valerian…" Morn whispered.
"Then we'll take the eyes from within the shadow."
A new plan was born:
Strike Valerian's scouts, lookouts, and watchmen.
His eyes.
Not his heart.
His sight.
Because without eyes…
Even a shadow cannot see.