[Imperial Calendar Year 536][24 Years Ago]
[Paratu Border][Present-Day Newly Reclaimed Lands Province]
The sky was faintly lit, autumn winds grim and chilling, as a group of riders fled for their lives across the desolate plains.
The riders varied in age and attire, but the one thing they had in common was the unmistakable expression of terror etched deeply onto their faces.
They had been thirteen in number previously, but only nine remained. Those who had fallen behind were swallowed by the vast night, never to catch up again.
Alongside the pounding of their mounts' hooves, another sound accompanied them—a sharp whistling carried by the wind.
That eerie hoofbeat had pursued them relentlessly through the night, like an inescapable shadow. No matter how fast they rode or how treacherous the paths they chose, they couldn't lose it.
