95



The yellow-green grasses of the plains stretch in every direction, and the journey north seems endless. But you know how to survive in the wilds, and your party remains well stocked with food and water. A controller keeps Vecla slung over her shoulder in a pack. You watch the hungry flying lizards that circle overhead, but they do not attack.

Heavy, frequent cloud cover conceals sun, moon, and stars, but not the light of the False Icon, which burns across the sky, flooding the whole world with its silvery radiance.

As rivers grow wider and more frequent, you see your first humans.

These nomads have heard of you and invite you into their tents to share simple but tasty meals. North, they always say. North is the land of flowers and crystals, where insects walk like men.

One morning on the bank of a wide river shrouded in fog, you spot another company of nomads.

The temporary settlement promises food and water, and Alexius is starting his approach when Vecla hops onto his shoulder and says, "Wait. Something is wrong."

The nomads' stillness is unusual. Something does feel wrong, but in the dawn mist you can't tell what.