The stars speak a different language here.
You've noticed it since arriving in this small town - the constellations seem to whisper unfamiliar patterns, their light reaching through the veil between worlds with unusual clarity.
Your shadow ripples at your feet, though there's no breeze. The entities are restless.
"Be still," you murmur, feeling the familiar tickle of their attention. They've been more active since you sensed [[a disturbance in the cosmic weave|The Hunter Arrives]].
Or perhaps you could [[consult the stars|Cosmic Guidance]] about what awaits you here.
Either way, you should find lodging before anyone attempts to welcome you with unwanted attention. The last innkeeper who tried to shake your hand found his keys in the rain barrel three days later.The voices in the tavern lower as the door swings open. Everyone shifts their eyes to the door to see who is joining the mixed crowd of travellers and locals. A women walks in. She doesn't look like a hunter of cosmic entities - no obvious weapons, no ostentatious religious symbols. Just a woman with stark white hair and a silver eye that seems to reflect light that isn't there.
But you know. You can feel the resonance of someone who has touched the void and returned... changed.
Your shadow coils tighter to your feet as she scans the room. Her gaze passes over you, then returns, lingering. Something like recognition flickers across her face.
[[Slip away quietly|Shadow Escape]]
[[Hold your ground|Stand Firm]]
[[Approach her first|Preemptive Introduction]] You leave where you are and walk to find a quiet spot on the edge of town. Settling on the cool grass, you raise your face upward to the night sky.
"Speak," you whisper to the stars.
The cosmic tapestry shifts as your consciousness expands. While patterns emerge, the Hunter's Crown is ascendant and the Void Dancer dims. The constellation known as the Severed Bond pulses with a kind of rhythm you haven't seen before.
What do you interpret from this reading?
[[A hunter approaches, but bonds can be broken|Interpret Freedom]]
[[Danger comes, but your guardian watches|Interpret Protection]]
[[Balance between opposing forces is needed|Interpret Balance]]
You don't wait for her to approach. With practiced subtlety, you murmur to your shadow, feeling it ripple in response.
The candles in the tavern flicker just enough to deepen the darkness in the corner where you sit. As the white-haired woman blinks against the momentary dimness, you slip into that deeper shadow, allowing it to envelop you.
Moving along the edges of the room feels like swimming through cool water. The entities that follow you seem to enjoy this game, helpfully obscuring your passage as you make your way toward the back exit.
Outside, under the night sky, you exhale slowly. The stars above seem to wink approval at your caution.
But as you turn to head toward the inn at the other end of town, you notice something troubling - your shadow is unusually agitated, stretching back toward the tavern as if pulled.
The hunter has some way of tracking you. This isn't a coincidence.
[[Find another lodging place|Seek Shelter]] for the night and lay low.
[[Return to observe|Cautious Observation]] the hunter from a distance.
[[Prepare defensive measures|Shadow Preparations]] in case of a confrontation.
You remain in your seat, maintaining a calm exterior despite the prickle of awareness that crawls along your skin. The entities that haunt you grow still as if they too are watching and waiting.
The white-haired woman approaches with measured steps. Her gaze never wavers from yours, those silver eyes reflecting starlight that shouldn't be visible indoors.
She asks to join you, her voice betraying an accent you can't quite place.
You gesture to the empty chair across from you, careful to ensure your shadow behaves normally. "It seems you intend to whether I agree or not."
A slight smile touches her lips as she sits. "Perceptive. My name is Cassandra Vale. And you are Moira Nightwhisper, yes?"
The use of your full name sends a cold ripple through you. Few know it—certainly no one in this town.
"What do you want?" you ask, your shadow coiling tighter to your feet.
"To talk," she says simply. "About your... guardian. About what happened at the observatory on the night of your birth."
The ambient sounds of the tavern seem to fade as she places something on the table between you—a small silver pendant, tarnished with age. Your mother's pendant, which you thought lost to the space between worlds.
[[Remain composed|Cool Response]] "I don't know what you're talking about."
[[Touch the pendant|Object Connection]] to see what cosmic echoes it might contain.
[[Create a distraction|Quick Exit]] and leave before she can say more.The light-eyed woman searches the room with measured patience. She's hunting, yes, but not like a predator—more like someone looking for a lost relative. Perhaps she seeks to meet someone she arrived behind.
Instead of waiting for her to find you, you decide to take control of this encounter.
Rising from your table, you move deliberately toward her, your shadow flowing slowly behind you despite the entities' reluctance. They prefer to observe from hiding—direct confrontation makes them nervous.
"You're looking for me," you state quietly as you walk towards her.
Surprise flickers momentarily across her face. Clearly she didn't expect you to approach her so directly. Her silver eyes gleam as she takes you in, reflecting light from nothing in the tavern.
With a hint of an accent that you can't place she says, "Moira Nightwhisper, you have your mother's way of cutting to the heart of matters."
The mention of your mother sends a cold ripple down your spine, but you maintain your composure. "You have me at a disadvantage. You know my name, but I don't know yours."
"Cassandra Vale. May we speak privately?"
You lead the way, selecting a table that offers clear sight of both exits. As you sit, your shadow coils tightly to your feet—the entities staying near, preparing for trouble.
Cassandra places something on the table between you—a small silver pendant, tarnished with age. With a small intake of breath, you recognize it immediately. Your mother's pendant, which you'd believed lost to the space between worlds.
"I believe this belonged to Elara," she says quietly. "Your mother."
[[Reach for the pendant|Touch Connection]] to see what memories it might hold.
[[Maintain distance from the object|Cautious Inquiry]] "Where did you get that?"You make your way to the smaller inn at the far end of town while keeping to the shadows and alleys. The entities that follow you seem especially helpful tonight, distracting a stray dog that might have barked at your passing.
The Crooked Lantern isn't much to look at—a two-story building with peeling paint and windows that don't quite sit straight in their frames. Perfect. The kind of place where guests aren't memorable and questions aren't asked.
The innkeeper barely looks up from her ledger as you place a few extra coins on the counter. "Room at the back," she says, sliding a key across the worn wood. "Breakfast isn't included."
Your room is small but clean enough, with a window that opens onto the roof of the kitchen—a potential escape route. You carefully trace protective sigils in starlight on the windowsill and doorframe, whispering coordinates of distant constellations as you do.
"Stay alert," you murmur to your shadow. It stretches toward the door as if standing guard.
As you sit down on the hard narrow bed, you consider your next move. The hunter's presence can't be coincidence, but confrontation would be unwanted by everyone involved.
[[Rest and plan your departure|Early Departure]] from town at first light.
[[Attempt to learn more|Gather Information]] about the white-haired woman before deciding anything.
[[Seek a private place to contact Valgraz|Guardian Communication]] for advice on handling the hunter.
You circle back toward the tavern, finding a vantage point in the shadow of a baker's shop across the street. Your shadow stretches unnaturally, forming a tendril that slips under the tavern door—an extension of your senses.
Through this connection, you see the white-haired woman seated at a corner table, much like the one you vacated. She's speaking to the tavern keeper, her silver eyes occasionally sparkling unnaturally.
"...just passing through, looking for someone," you hear through your shadow-sense. "A young woman, unusual eyes. Tends to keep to herself."
"Lots of travelers come through," the tavern keeper responds with practiced nonchalance. "Can't say I remember everyone. You seem to have unusual eyes yourself."
The hunter places something on the table—a small object that pulses with familiar energy. Your mother's pendant, which you thought lost years ago.
"She might recognize this," the hunter says. "If you see her, tell her Cassandra Vale would like to speak about our mutual interests. Nothing more. It will profit her, remind her of that."
Your shadow recoils slightly, returning to you with the information. Cassandra Vale. You've heard the name whispered among cosmic entities—a hunter who has survived encounters with beings like Valgraz. And now she has your mother's pendant.
[[Confront her directly|Direct Approach]] to learn how she obtained the pendant.
[[Watch and follow|Shadow Tracking]] to discover where she's staying and what else she might have.
[[Leave town immediately|Hasty Retreat]] before she can track you further.You find a dark shadowy spot behind the stables. Kneeling, you press your palm to your own shadow, feeling it grow cooler and more substantial beneath your touch.
"I need your vigilance tonight, watch for the silver-eyed one," You tell your shadows.
Your shadow splits into three shapes, each rippling with anticipation. You've never been entirely certain how aware these fragments of darkness are, but they understand well enough when a threat looms.
From your pouch, you withdraw a small vial of ink made from crushed meteorite dust. With practiced brushstrokes, you paint protective sigils on your wrists and throat—places where Valgraz taught you the barriers between dimensions are thinnest on a human body.
The shadows respond to the sigils, coiling around them like loyal serpents. If the hunter tries to use any cosmic binding against you, she'll find it nearly impossible to acheive.
As a final action, you draw a small circle around yourself with the remaining ink while whispering star-coordinates that anchor to a quick escape route. It won't take you far, just to the edge of town.
Preparations complete, you rise and dust yourself off. The night feels oppressive now, the stars watching with unusual intensity.
[[Find accommodation|Secure Lodging]] now that you're better protected.
[[Seek information about the hunter|Tavern Return]] from other patrons.
[[Set a trap|Shadow Ambush]] to test the hunter's capabilities.You wake before dawn, when the stars are still visible and the town sleeps. The entities that followed you through the night seem drowsy, your shadows moving sluggishly as you gather your few possessions.
The protective sigils on the window and door have held and there were no disturbances in the night. Still, you can't shake the feeling you are being watched. Perhaps it's just the stars, their ancient light carrying messages you're too tired to interpret.
You leave payment on the bed—more than required, a small thanks for the unspoken discretion. The innkeeper is nowhere to be seen as you slip out through the kitchen, carefully avoiding the sleep-heavy cook preparing the day's first bread.
The town is silent in pre-dawn light. You keep to the shadows between buildings, meandering to confuse any possible pursuers. The eastern sky has just begun to hint at sunrise when you reach the edge of town.
The road forks here—north toward the mountains, or south toward larger settlements. You hesitate, scanning the horizon.
Your shadow stretches toward the northern path, seemingly drawn to the mountains. Something resonates there... a familiar cosmic frequency. Something connected to your past, perhaps? Or is it simply the entities, responding to the natural boundary between earth and sky?
[[Take the northern path|Mountain Journey]] toward whatever calls to your shadow.
[[Choose the southern road|City Bound]] where you might lose yourself in larger crowds.
[[Leave the road entirely|Wilderness Path]] and forge your own way through the wilds.With your defenses in place, you need somewhere to sleep. The main inn is too risky and the hunter might inquire there first. Instead, you find a modest boarding house on the edge of town, the kind of place that caters to seasonal workers and those with limited means.
The elderly woman who answers your knock peers at you with cloudy eyes. "Bit late for seeking a room," she says, but steps aside regardless.
"Just for tonight," you say, careful to maintain distance as you follow her inside. "I'll be gone by morning."
She leads you to a small attic room. The ceiling slopes sharply on both sides, and the single window looks out over moonlit fields. "Two silver," she says, holding out a gnarled hand.
As you pay, you notice her gaze drift to the protective sigils on your wrists. Her expression doesn't change, but something in her posture shifts slightly.
"Trouble follows some folks," she says quietly. "Don't bring it to my door."
"The trouble isn't mine," you respond. "But I understand."
After she leaves, you reinforce the room's perimeter with a few additional shadow-wards. The entities settle into the corners, alert but calmer now that you're enclosed in a defensible space.
You don't expect a full night's rest, but even a few hours will help maintain your focus for whatever comes tomorrow.
[[Rise early and leave town|Pre-Dawn Departure]]
[[Wake to unexpected visitor|Midnight Interruption]]
[[Sleep fitfully and dream|Prophetic Dream]]
With your defenses prepared, you circle back to a smaller tavern—not the one where you encountered the hunter, but a seedier establishment where travelers share gossip away from more respectable ears.
The Broken Chalice smells of stale ale and old smoke. Perfect for your purposes. You find a shadowed corner and order a drink you'll barely touch, then wait, listening.
It doesn't take long before you hear mention of a "white-haired woman asking questions." The speakers are a pair of merchants, their travel-stained clothes marking them as recent arrivals.
"...offering good coin for information about strange events," one says. "Especially star-falls and shadow-strange happenings."
"Showed some kind of official seal," the other adds. "Something about a 'Stellar Warden' or some such nonsense."
You carefully shift closer, your shadow stretching beneath the tables to better capture their words.
"Said she's tracking something dangerous that came through here recently. Wouldn't say what exactly, but she's got some kind of detector. Strange contraption that glows and hums."
A device that detects cosmic energy would certainly explain how she found this town—your presence leaves subtle ripples in reality that the right instruments might detect.
As you contemplate this information, you notice the tavern has grown quieter. Looking up, you see the door has opened, and a familiar silver-eyed figure stands in the entrance.
[[Slip out the back|Quick Escape]]
[[Stay hidden and observe|Deep Shadows]]
[[Create a distraction|Shadow Chaos]]You find a dark alley between buildings, where the shadows are deep enough for your plans. If the hunter is tracking you, perhaps it's time to understand exactly what you're dealing with.
You extend your hand and whisper to the darkness, "Show me what she seeks."
Your shadow responds, stretching and splitting into multiple tendrils that flow outward, seeking the hunter. The entities that have haunted you since childhood seem to understand the game and they'll lead Cassandra here.
You press your back against the wall, allowing the darkness to envelop you completely. To anyone passing, the alley would appear empty with deeper shadows than normal.
It takes less than an hour. You feel her approaching before you see her with the strange resonance of someone changed by contact with something otherworldly. She moves with precision, a hand resting on something under her cloak.
Cassandra pauses at the alley entrance, her silver eyes gleaming as she peers into the darkness. "I know you're there," she says quietly. "I don't intend harm. I just want to talk."
The shadows curl around your fingers, eager to be unleashed. You have the advantage of surprise, decide your next move.
[[Spring the trap|Shadow Strike]] and overwhelm her before she can act.
[[Reveal yourself partially|Controlled Revelation]] but maintain the upper hand.
[[Speak from the darkness|Voice Only]] without showing yourself.
The northern path beckons, and your shadow stretches eagerly toward the icy peaks. You've learned to trust these instinctive pulls—they often lead to places where the veil between realities grows thin.
The road quickly turns from packed dirt to loose gravel as it begins its climb. Civilization falls away behind you, replaced by scattered pines and rocky outcroppings. The air grows cooler, cleaner, carrying scents of resin and stone.
By midday, you've climbed high enough to look back at the town, now just a collection of tiny squares in the valley below. No sign of pursuit, although Cassandra Vale doesn't strike you as one who would chase openly.
Your shadow has grown increasingly animated as you ascend, sometimes stretching ahead of you as if impatient, other times coiling protectively around your feet when you rest. The entities that follow you seem energized by the mountain air—or perhaps by whatever draws you upward.
As afternoon fades toward evening, you spot a small structure ahead—a weathered cabin perched on a cliff edge. Smoke curls from its stone chimney, suggesting there is an inhabitant.
More interestingly, the space around the cabin seems... different. To normal eyes, nothing would appear amiss, but you can see how starlight bends strangely around it, how shadows pool more deeply than they should.
A cosmic disturbance. Or a deliberate manipulation of reality.
[[Approach cautiously|Cabin Investigation]] to determine who or what resides there.
[[Observe from a distance|Remote Viewing]] using your shadow abilities first.
[[Look for another path|Alternate Route]] to avoid the cabin entirely.
"I don't know what you're talking about," you say, your voice as steady. Your shadow remains perfectly still beneath your chair—a discipline that requires considerable focus.
Cassandra's silver eyes gleam as she studies your face. "The resemblance is remarkable," she says quietly. "You have your mother's features, but your eyes... those come from elsewhere."
She pushes the pendant closer to you. "This belonged to Elara Nightwhisper. Astronomer, scholar of cosmic phenomena, and your mother. I found it at the ruins of the observatory where you were born."
Your expression gives nothing away, though internally your thoughts race. The observatory has been abandoned for decades—or so you believed. What was this hunter doing there?
"You've mistaken me for someone else," you reply, carefully avoiding direct contact with the pendant. "I'm simply passing through, like yourself."
Cassandra leans back slightly, her expression thoughtful rather than frustrated. "Interesting. Not the response I expected." She taps the table lightly with one finger. "Let me be direct, then. I know what raised you after your mother's death. I know about the pocket dimension where you spent your childhood. And I know what follows you even now."
Her gaze flicks to your shadow, which has begun to tremble slightly at her words.
"I'm not here to harm you, Moira. In fact, I believe you're as much a victim as anyone. I want to help free you from Valgraz's influence."
The name spoken aloud sends a jolt through you and your shadow splinters briefly before you regain control.
[[Maintain the facade|Continued Denial]] "I think you should leave."
[[Acknowledge the truth|Reluctant Admission]] "How do you know that name?"
[[Abruptly leave|Strategic Retreat]] before she can say more.
The pendant sitting on the table between you sends waves of unease through your body. Too many memories, too many questions—and this is neither the time nor company in which to explore them.
You need a distraction, and your constant companions are eager to provide one.
With a subtle gesture beneath the table, you loosen your hold on the entities that follow you. "Make yourselves useful," you whisper, your voice barely audible.
The effect is immediate. Across the tavern, three mugs simultaneously slide off their table and crash to the floor. The tavern door swings open though no one stands near it.
As heads turn toward these disturbances, you rise smoothly. "Excuse me," you murmur to Cassandra, "but I don't believe I'm the person you're looking for."
Her silver eyes narrows, but before she can respond, the lantern above your table flickers and goes out, plunging your corner into shadow. By the time someone relights it, you've already slipped away, your shadow flowing around you like a protective cloak.
Outside, you move quickly through the evening streets, taking a winding path through alleys and side passages. Your shadow stretches ahead occasionally, warning you of approaching figures so you can avoid them.
The encounter has left you with far more questions than answers. How did this hunter know your mother's name? How did she acquire that pendant? And most concerning, how did she track you to this little, nowhere town?
You need to decide your next move carefully.
[[Return to your lodgings and prepare to leave|Departure Preparations]]
[[Find a secure location to contact Valgraz|Guardian Communication]]
[[Create a false trail and watch for pursuit|Misdirection Tactics]]"I think you should leave," you state firmly, your face a careful mask of irritation tinged with confusion. "Whatever quest you're on, whatever person you seek—it isn't me."
Your shadow behaves itself with unusual discipline, though the entities within it practically vibrate with tension. You can feel them responding and, eager to intervene but held in check.
Cassandra studies you for a long moment, her silver eyes seem to peer through you. "Interesting," she says finally. "He taught you well. The discipline required to maintain this facade is... impressive."
She makes no move to leave, instead sliding the pendant back into a pocket within her cloak. "Very well. Let's pretend, for now, that you are exactly what you claim—a simple traveler, untouched by cosmic forces, with perfectly normal shadows that don't occasionally move independently."
Her tone makes it clear she believes nothing of the sort.
"Should you wish to hear what I know about your mother—about what really happened the night of your birth—I'll be staying at the Gilded Crown for three days. After that, my hunt continues, with or without your cooperation."
She rises smoothly from the table. "A word of advice, "whoever-you-are", the protective sigils you've been using—star-pattern derivatives from the Void Sailor's constellation? They're effective against most threats, but not against those who've been touched by the same forces that shaped you."
With that, she turns and walks away, leaving you with questions you hadn't intended to consider and a decision about your next move.
[[Finish your drink and leave|Tactical Consideration]]
[[Follow her discreetly|Shadow Trailing]]
[[Seek a private place to contact Valgraz|Guardian Communication]]The name spoken so casually sends a chill through you that has nothing to do with temperature. Few beings know that name, and fewer still would dare speak it aloud.
"I believe our conversation is finished," you say, rising from your seat with careful control. Your shadow gathers close, unusually dense as it responds to your agitation.
Cassandra makes no move to stop you, but her silver eyes follow your movement. "Running won't help, Moira. What follows you leaves traces I can track. And I'm not the only one hunting."
You pause briefly. "Not the only one?"
A thin smile touches her lips. "We'll speak again. Soon."
You don't respond, instead moving toward the tavern door with measured steps. Outside, the night air clears your thoughts. The stars above seem to pulse with a warning.
This hunter knows too much. Staying in town is no longer an option.
You'll need to gather your few possessions and leave before dawn. The entities that follow you swirl anxiously, sensing your decision.
[[Early Departure]]The situation has left you uneasy. This hunter knows too much about your mother, about Father, and about you. You need guidance, and there's only one being who might provide it.
You find an abandoned storage room behind the tavern. The small space smells of old grain and dust and it's abandonned. You carefully trace protective sigils on the door after locking it, ensuring privacy.
"None shall disturb this communion," you whisper, your voice taking on the resonant quality it always does when speaking the language Father taught you.
You sit in the center of the room, cross-legged on the rough wooden floor. Your shadow pools around you, eager and attentive. From your pouch, you withdraw a small crystal fragment—a sliver of stone that exists simultaneously in this world and in Father's realm.
"Valgraz, guardian of my path, watcher between spaces," you intone, holding the crystal to the starlight that filters through a high, small window. "I seek your counsel."
The temperature in the room drops noticeably. Your shadow stretches and distorts, forming a much larger outline against the wall—a suggestion of a towering form with limbs that don't quite correspond to human anatomy.
"Child." The voice doesn't come from the shadow, but seems to form directly in your mind. "You call at an unexpected time."
"A hunter has found me," you explain. "Cassandra Vale. She knows of you, of mother, of the observatory. She has mother's pendant."
The shadow-form grows still. When the voice returns, it carries an edge you rarely hear. "Cassandra Vale still lives? Interesting. She survived our last encounter more intact than I realized."
"What does she want? She claims to want to help me."
A sound like echoing, cold laughter touches your mind. "Help you? By separating you from me? By severing the bond that has protected you since birth? She is a Stellar Warden, child. They believe all cosmic entities are abominations to be banished or destroyed."
The shadow shifts, forming what might be a hand reaching toward you. "What else did she reveal?"
"She mentioned others hunting. Not just her."
"That..." A pause follows, longer than usual. "That is concerning. Listen carefully, child. You must—"
The crystal in your hand suddenly grows hot, then cracks down the middle. Your connection fractures.
Something interfered with the communion...something powerful enough to break through Father's protections.
As your breathing steadies, you notice something small and dark on the floor where the larger shadow had been—a small obsidian disk engraved with constellation patterns you recognize from your childhood lessons.
A message? A tool? You carefully retrieve it, feeling its unnatural coolness against your skin.
[[Leave town immediately|Early Departure]] before the hunter can find you again.
[[Investigate the disk|Examine Artifact]] to understand what Father was trying to give you.
[[Confront Cassandra directly|Direct Confrontation]] about interfering with your communion.You sit on the dusty floor of the storage room, turning the obsidian disk in your hands. It's smaller than your palm, circular, with constellation patterns etched so finely they seem to shift when viewed from different angles.
The cool smoothness of the disk feels familiar—objects from Father's realm always have this quality, as if they exist partially outside normal physical laws. Your shadow stretches toward it with interest, the entities curious about this fragment of your former home.
You close your eyes, focusing on the disk as Father taught you long ago. "Reveal your purpose," you whisper in the language of the void.
The disk grows colder, verging on painfully, but you don't release it. Slowly, the constellation patterns begin to glow with a subtle blue-black light that seems to absorb the surrounding illumination rather than emit it.
Images form in your mind: a mountain peak where reality wears thin... a cave entrance framed by stones arranged in a familiar pattern... a cemetery where cosmic energy pools around a particular grave...
Your mother's resting place.
The knowledge settles into your mind with certainty. This disk is a guide: a cosmic compass pointing toward locations where the barriers between worlds grow thin. Father is showing you where to go.
But there's something else. When you run your finger along a particular constellation pattern—the Void Sailor's Wake—the disk pulses once, and you feel a brief surge of protective energy. This is also a defensive tool, a focus for your shadow abilities.
You carefully tuck the disk into an inner pocket, feeling its weight against your chest. The message is clear: you need to reach your mother's grave before Cassandra Vale or these other, unnamed hunters.
Whatever secrets lie buried there, Father considers them essential for your safety.
[[Prepare to leave for the mountains|Mountain Preparation]]
[[Seek local knowledge about the cemetery|Cemetery Information]]
[[Test the disk's protective capabilities|Shadow Practice]]The mountains will be unforgiving, and preparation is essential. You've never been one to carry many possessions—traveling light has always been necessary given your circumstances—but certain supplies will be needed for the journey ahead.
You leave the storage room and move through town, your shadow close and controlled despite the entities' excited state. The obsidian disk pulses occasionally against your chest, a cool reminder of your journey ahead.
At the general store, you purchase essentials: dried food, a sturdy water skin, a warm cloak for the mountain nights. The shopkeeper eyes your protective sigils with curiosity but asks no questions while you pay with silver coins that seem slightly older than they should be.
"Planning a trip up to the high country?" he asks as he wraps your supplies.
"Just passing through," you reply with practiced neutrality.
"Mind the western paths," he offers anyway. "There's been strange happenings up by the old cemetery ridge. Lights in the sky, travelers claiming lost time. Old Merrin swears he saw shadows moving against the wind."
Your shadow twitches at this, and you maintain careful control. "The old cemetery? I thought the only graveyard was south of town."
The shopkeeper shakes his head. "That's the new one. The old settlers' cemetery is up on the ridge. Haven't had a burial there in fifty years or more. Some kind of observatory used to be nearby too, before it burned down."
Your mother's observatory. The confirmation sends a ripple of energy through your shadow that you quickly suppress.
As you finish your transaction and turn to leave, you notice a flyer pinned to the message board by the door: "CAUTION—Unusual stellar activity predicted in mountain region. Report any strange sightings to Astronomer C. Vale at the Gilded Crown Inn."
The hunter is making her presence publicly known—unusual for someone tracking cosmic entities. Either she's very confident, or she's setting a trap.
Outside, you check the position of the sun. Several hours of daylight remain—enough to begin your journey or to make final preparations.
[[Begin mountain journey immediately|Mountain Ascent]]
[[Gather information about the old cemetery|Cemetery Research]]
[[Test the obsidian disk's powers before leaving|Artifact Testing]]
You leave town as afternoon light casts long shadows across the path. The obsidian disk seems to grow cooler against your skin as you turn toward the mountains, as if responding to your chosen direction.
The initial climb is gentle—a well-worn trail used by hunters and herb gatherers. Your shadow stretches ahead occasionally, the entities scouting the path with unusual focus. They seem drawn to the heights, perhaps sensing the thinning of reality that often occurs in such places.
As the sun begins to set, the quality of light changes. The disk in your pocket pulses faintly, and you remove it to find certain constellations glowing more brightly than others. Following their alignment, you leave the main path, taking a narrower track that winds through a stand of ancient pines.
The air grows cooler as darkness falls, but you continue by starlight. The entities that follow you have excellent night vision, and they guide your steps around obstacles and loose stones. For once, their typically mischievous nature seems focused on a shared purpose.
Several hours into your journey, you come upon a stream cutting across your path. The water runs fast here, tumbling down from higher elevations. On the opposite bank, partially obscured by shadows, stands a weathered stone marker.
When you direct your attention toward it, the obsidian disk pulses more strongly. This is no ordinary boundary stone.
The entities swirl excitedly around the marker as you cross the stream, careful to keep your footing on slippery stones. Up close, you can see the marker bears faded inscriptions—astronomical symbols and coordinates carved by knowing hands.
Your mother's work, perhaps? Or someone else who understood the spaces between stars?
[[Follow the marker's astronomical guidance|Stellar Navigation]]
[[Make camp for the night|Night Rest]]Despite your usual caution with objects of uncertain origin, your fingers reach for the pendant instinctively.
The moment your skin touches the tarnished silver, the tavern around you seems to fade at the edges. Your shadow flares outward in all directions, the entities responding to a surge of cosmic energy.
Images flood your mind:
*A woman with your features, dark hair streaked with premature silver, bent over astronomical charts in a circular room lined with windows...*
*The same woman, her belly swollen with pregnancy, tracing protective sigils on doorframes and windowsills...*
*The night sky torn asunder as something crosses between dimensions, drawn by the cosmic alignment of seven specific stars...*
*Your mother's voice, surprisingly clear: "Take her if you must, but she will always be mine first. Remember our bargain, Valgraz..."*
The connection breaks as suddenly as it formed. You find yourself still seated in the tavern, Cassandra watching you intently. Only a few seconds have passed, though it felt much longer. She says quietly, "You saw something."
Your shadow tremble at your feet, the entities unsettled by the confusion flowing through you. The pendant in your palm feels heavier somehow, charged with meaning it lacked before.
"My mother," you say quietly, the word feeling strange on your tongue. "She... knew. She made a bargain with him."
Cassandra nods slowly. "Not exactly. She was trying to protect you from something worse. Valgraz wasn't the only entity drawn to your birth. He was simply the one who reached you first."
She leans forward, her silver eyes reflecting starlight. "The others still hunt, Moira. And they've picked up your trail."
The weight of this statement settles like a cold stone in your stomach. Father had always said he saved you—that your mother was dying, that no one else would have taken you. But these memories suggest a different truth.
"What do you want from me?" you ask.
[[Ask about the other hunters|Other Threats]] "Tell me about these others."
[[Question the bargain|Mother's Choice]] "What do you know about my mother's arrangement with Valgraz?"You make no move to touch the pendant, though your shadow ripples slightly beneath the table—the entities recognizing something connected to your past.
"Where did you get that?" you ask quietly.
Cassandra's silver eyes study you, noting your restraint. "From the ruins of the Nightwhisper Observatory. What remains of it, at least." She runs a finger along the tarnished chain. "It was sealed in a lead box, hidden beneath the foundation stones. Your mother meant for it to be found. Just not by me."
Your shadow grows unnaturally still at the mention of the observatory where you were born.
"And what interest does Cassandra Vale have in a decades-old observatory ruin?" you ask, deflecting her implied questions with one of your own.
A thin smile touches her lips. "The same interest I have in you. I hunt things that cross between worlds, Moira. Things that don't belong here. Things that take what isn't theirs." Her silver eyes gleam. "Like the entity that took you on the night of your birth."
The tavern seems to grow quieter, though nothing has actually changed. Your entities press closer, responding as you become more tense.
"You seem to know a great deal about me," you observe, "yet you're still here, sitting across from me. Either you're very brave, or you don't believe I'm dangerous."
"Oh, I know you're dangerous," Cassandra replies, her tone matter-of-fact. "But I don't believe you're my enemy. Not yet." She pushes the pendant slightly closer to you. "This contains memories—your mother's memories. Specifically, of the night Valgraz came for you."
The name spoken aloud sends a jolt through your shadow, splitting it briefly into multiple shapes before you regain control.
"I can help you understand what really happened," she continues. "If you're willing to listen."
[[Accept her offer|Hear Evidence]] "Tell me what you know."
[[Reject her claims|Defensive Stance]] "My guardian saved me when no one else would."
[[Take the pendant and leave|Seize Pendant]] to examine it on your own terms.Your fingers still wrapped around the pendant,"Tell me about these others." you say. Your shadow has grown still, the entities listening carefully.
Cassandra glances around the tavern before leaning closer. "Not all cosmic entities are alike, despite what most hunters believe. Valgraz is... problematic, certainly. Manipulative and alien in his thinking. But the others that were drawn to your birth belong to a different category altogether."
She traces a spiral symbol on the table with her fingertips that makes your shadow recoil slightly.
"The Devourers of Light," she goes on, her voice hardly louder than a breath. "Creatures that eat cosmic potential. They detected something in you, even before your birth. Your mother's work at the observatory—her studies on cosmic convergence points—it made her pregnancy special. You were infused by the stars before you ever took a breath."
Your mind whirls with possibilities. Father never mentioned other creatures—other hunters.
"These Devourers," you ask yourself, "why would they want me?"
"Not you, just," Cassandra repeats. "The potential that you carry and the potential to access cosmic energy and pour it into a living vessel." Her silver eyes fasten on you with fresh curiosity. "You've experienced it, haven't you? Times when the shadows twist to serve you? When you bend and can feel the very veil of reality thinning around you?"
You do not claim her supposition, but your silence speaks volumes.
"The Devourers would strip that potential from you, leaving nothing behind. At least Valgraz kept you intact, whatever his ultimate intentions might be." She sits back slightly. "That's why I've been tracking you, Moira. Not to harm you, but to warn you. Their hunters have picked up your trail again."
As if in response to her words, the tavern door swings open. A tall figure enters, face obscured by a deep hood. Nothing about them appears immediately threatening, but your shadow suddenly splinters into multiple tendrils, a defensive reaction you haven't experienced since childhood.
The entities recognize something dangerous.
[[Create a distraction and leave|Emergency Escape]] before the newcomer notices you.
[[Remain with Cassandra|Temporary Alliance]] to learn more about defending against these hunters.
[[Confront the newcomer directly|Bold Confrontation]] with Cassandra at your side.
"What do you know about my mother's arrangement with Valgraz?" The pendant feels warm in your palm now, as if responding to your question.
A flicker of sympathy crosses Cassandra's typically guarded features. "Your mother was brilliant. Her research into cosmic convergence points was decades ahead of anyone else studying celestial phenomena. She knew the risks of her work, but she didn't stop, even when she learned she was carrying you."
Your shadow coils closer, the entities still as they listen.
"During her final trimester, she detected an upcoming alignment—a seven-star convergence that would create a temporary thinning between dimensions. She intended to observe it, to measure the cosmic flow." Cassandra's silver eyes gleam. "She didn't realize the alignment would create an opening, or that entities from beyond would be drawn to the cosmic potential growing within her unborn child."
The pendant pulses faintly in your hand, as if confirming her words.
"When the entities began to appear, she barricaded herself in the observatory's central chamber and drew protective sigils everywhere. But she knew they wouldn't hold. I've seen the records she kept that night. She wrote that she sensed multiple presences: predatory, hungry and then one that was different. Alien in its thinking. But not immediately destructive."
"Valgraz," you whisper.
Cassandra nods. "She made a choice no mother should have to make. She offered herself to the hungry ones, to distract them. And she made a bargain with Valgraz—your life in exchange for something only she could provide."
"What could she possibly offer him?" you ask, though part of you fears the answer.
"Access. Her research had identified cosmic convergence points all over this world. Places where reality grows thin at predictable intervals." Cassandra's expression darkens. "The knowledge Valgraz gained from her work has allowed him to extend his influence for decades. But the price was that he would protect you from the others. Keep you whole."
The implications settle heavily. Your shadow trembles slightly, reflecting your inner turmoil. Father had always portrayed himself as your savior—had even called your mother foolish for her research. But if Cassandra was telling the truth, then your mother sacrificed herself not once but twice: first her life, then her life's work.
"I've spent years tracking Valgraz," Cassandra continues. "He's been using your mother's research to open temporary doorways between dimensions. Each opening causes disturbances. Cosmic disruptions that harm the fabric of reality itself. That's what first led me to investigate the observatory ruins leading me to where I found the pendant."
[[Ask about your mother|Personal History]] "Tell me more about her. Who was she beyond her research?"
[[Question Valgraz's actions|Guardian Motives]] "What do you believe his ultimate purpose is?""What do you believe his goal is?" you ask, carefully setting the pendant back on the table. The question feels like a small betrayal, yet you need to know.
Your shadow twitches uneasily. The entities have always been sensitive to discussions about Father.
Cassandra considers you for a long moment before answering. "Cosmic entities like Valgraz don't think like we do. Their motivations span centuries, dimensions." She leans forward slightly. "But patterns emerge when you track them long enough. Valgraz has been systematically using your mother's convergence points to extract something from our reality."
"Extract what?"
"Energy. Specifically, from places where creative or intellectual breakthroughs occur." Her silver eyes seems to look through you rather than at you. "An observatory. A university library. A composer's remote cottage. All convergence points, all visited by Valgraz during cosmic alignments."
You remember Father's lessons about cosmic energy—how certain human activities could create ripples in reality, like stones dropped in still water.
"He's harvesting human potential," Cassandra continues. "Building toward something. The intervals between his extractions have been growing shorter."
A cold feeling settles in your stomach. "And where do I fit into this?"
"That's what I've been trying to determine." She gestures to your shadow. "These entities that follow you—they're fragments of Valgraz's realm, yes? Eyes and ears. But they're also conduits."
Your shadow contracts defensively, as if the entities understand her implication.
"I believe he's been preparing you, Moira. The cosmic energy that surrounds you has been growing stronger. The entities more numerous." Her expression grows grave. "You're not just a bargaining chip he collected. You're a vessel being carefully crafted."
The idea isn't completely surprising. Father's lessons always focused on channeling cosmic energy while understanding the spaces between stars. But hearing it framed this way casts those teachings in a disturbing new light.
"For what purpose?" you ask, though a part of you already suspects.
"A doorway needs no key if it can walk on its own," Cassandra responds. "A permanent anchor in our reality would allow Valgraz access without the limitations of convergence points or alignments."
The pendant on the table seems to grow dimmer. Your mother's research, turned against the reality she sought to understand. And you...what were you in this equation? A daughter? A student? Or merely a tool being shaped for Father's use?
"I need you to understand," Cassandra adds, her tone softer than before, "I don't believe you're complicit in this. You're as much a victim of Valgraz's machinations as anyone."
[[Defend Valgraz|Father's Defense]] "You don't understand his nature. Or mine."
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