(3 days till the start of the War...)
The wind from the hill always brought with it the sounds of Kaeron: the hammering of blacksmiths, the laughter of children training with wooden spears, the constant murmur of a living city. But that afternoon, all of that felt distant, as if the world were holding its breath.
I was sitting on a rock, staring at the horizon. Aegle had left that morning, summoned by the Hesperides for some duty she could not ignore. She had told me so sweetly, but not without regret. Her departure left a strange void, as if something in me had lost its center of gravity. That was why I had climbed the hill; I needed air and some silence to gain perspective and perhaps think about my options.
However, I was not alone.
