The capital had fallen into a tense silence.
Hours had passed since the thunderous roar from the south shook the sky, but the survivors' minds still trembled with its memory.
No one knew what exactly happened. But everyone knew something, or someone terrifying, was out there.
Adventurers and knights moved through the wreckage of the city, retrieving civilian bodies and evacuating survivors. The stench of fire, blood, and death hung in the air.
Every alley had at least one corpse lying down.
Because of the chaos, the adventurers had relocated to a reinforced hospital outside the castle walls. It was too dangerous now to let anyone enter the castle.
Inside a crowded ward, nurses and healers moved urgently from patient to patient. The magical energy used for healing was being rationed; there were too many wounded, too many dying.
Like many healers, Lyraen had volunteered to help there while her team was in another room, louder than the others.
