The corridors of time

You wake in your bed. Supper has gone cold. Downstairs, your mother is humming. Everything is exactly the same as before, and nothing is.

Franshille does not seem surprised to see you arrive.

“So you dreamed it too, eh?” he says. “Then let me ask you a question.”

There is no solemnity in his voice. Only weariness and a kind of tenderness.

“Do you accept your destiny? To leave your village, your friends and your family, to face trials and suffering you cannot even imagine?”

You can tell him you are not ready yet. Franshille will understand.

“Rest, and enjoy your people while you can,” he will tell you. “A destiny like this is not something to take on lightly. I’ll be here when you’re ready.”

But if you accept…

“You’ve chosen well, believe me. You must leave Urunesti… and Arsinoe. Shandalar, the Lifeless Sorcerer, and his minions will come looking for you. Your life will be in danger at every step.”

He tells you of Trinity, the great city of Rune-Midgard, on the other side of the sea.

“There’s much to be done there. When you are strong enough, you can return to Arsinoe and stop the Ragnarök.”

He raises his hands.

“I’m going to cast a spell. Stay still. You will wake in the corridors of time, which will take you to Trinity… I hope to see you again someday.”

On the other side

The corridors of time are like nothing else. They are passages of stone and light that fold back on themselves, and at the end of them, a door.

When you step through it, the bustle of a capital hits you in the face. Trinity.

“Welcome to Trinity,” someone greets you, “the capital of Rune-Midgard.”

Someone passing by leaves you a piece of advice you will keep for later: when you are strong enough, look for Daphnis in Alberta. He’s from Arsinoe too, and he has a ship… though the voyage doesn’t come cheap.

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Whoever walks this path this far receives what Death promised: the title Chosen of Death, the Lord of Death costume and a companion who will never leave their side: Dullahan.

The story of Arsinoe continues. The next chapters will be written as the world moves forward.