A Hollow Rest

The night stretched endless and quiet as Liria arrived at the edge of a small, forgotten village nestled between the blackened hills. It was a place untouched by war, hidden from the greed of kings and the whispers of demons. The kind of place where lanterns flickered warmly in the windows, where soft voices murmured lullabies to children who had never known the taste of fear.

It made her sick.

Or maybe that was the exhaustion clawing at her bones.

She had walked for hours, moving through the wilderness with only the pulse of her magic to guide her. Her body still carried the lingering echoes of battle the smell of smoke, the phantom heat of fire licking up her arms, the feel of blood cooling between her fingers. It wasn't the first time, and it wouldn't be the last.

[You're hesitating again.]