All living beings praised your splendor; all living beings reveled in your abundance.
Flame that embraced all things... your heat drove away the cold of bygone days, your light kept even the deepest darkness from drawing near.
The fire burned ever brighter, illuminating one obsessive face after another, yet who knew you feared the madness within your own heart?
Until that inevitable hour, when the black sun hung high above the land and the raging flames finally breached the barrier imposed upon them, all living beings would at last know...
Even burned to ashes, they might never find rest within that light of dawn.
-"Ode to Sunfire-Unfinished Manuscript"
-Weaver Rose & Translator Lochy
"After them! They can't have gone far!"
Hurried footsteps and clattering armor shattered the street's former tranquility.
Many residents hid anxiously in their little homes, watching the unusual activity outside with worried eyes.
An entire squad of Guards normally stationed in Ashen City had actually come to Iseldor Town.
Whatever the reason, this was undoubtedly a major event.
"Hah... hah..."
A suspicious-looking bug hid around the corner of an alley, panting heavily.
Only when the sounds of the departing Guards had completely faded did he tug at his cloak and head toward an even darker corner.
Night had already fallen. The Artificial Sun in Ashen City had automatically shut down; the ratio of daylight to darkness was always three to one.
"Where do you think you're going?"
A mysterious voice suddenly came from the eaves above the corner.
"It's curfew. All residents should be indoors. Where do you think you're going?"
The cloaked bug didn't hesitate for a moment. He immediately fled in the opposite direction, not even daring to glance toward the source of the voice.
But the speaker was not only well hidden, but