my h.e.a.r.t is dead **

"You have ventured far from Vystriana, the land of dragons, traveler...perhaps too far. Not many wander here," a quiet voice behind you says. As you spin around, startled, you see that it`s too dark to clearly see her face, and she wears an ash-colored cloak that blends into the background of this Five-forgotten place. She beckons to you, her skin pale as newly-fallen snow, and below the hood, you catch a glimpse of glittering eyes as scarlet as the lonely moon above...but despite this, you know that somehow you can trust her.

"Come, stay with me awhile," she offers. " The night is long here, too long for a human to be alone. The moon will have barely set by the time the Hellwolves begin their prowl," the stranger warns. You hesitantly follow her, knowing you have no choice if you wish to survive this harsh new place.

You follow her to a cavern hidden in the base of a mountain--if she had not shown it to you, you might have never noticed it was there. She motions for you to sit at a simple, whitewood chair near a fireplace full of strange, smokeless white flames. She sits at a chair opposite you, and lowers her hood at last. Her hair is long, and falls about her face, black as the sky outside, and her features are delicate, otherworldly, somehow...and her eyes. Her irises are, as you saw before, crimson red...and weary, speaking of many years that bely her appearance, many years full of experiences you cannot begin to imagine.

She stares into the ivory flames, and her voice is quiet as she says, "Call me...Skye."