The walls of the city of Astreval disappeared into the distant horizon, forming a gray line against the sullen sunset sky. Lyrin did not look back.
The Black Knight walked a few steps ahead of her, silent as a moving mountain, his broad back blocking the last rays of the sun. Between them, Freila walked, her small hands gripping Lyrin's hand tightly, as if afraid the ground would swallow her if she let go.
The cold winds from the northern plains whistled around them, carrying the scent of cold earth and distant fires.
Freila (in a faint, trembling voice): "Nini... where are we going?"
Lyrin did not answer immediately. She looked at the Knight's back, at the rigidity that seemed to radiate silent waves of anger into the surrounding air.
Lyrin (whispering reassuringly): "To a safe place, little one."
Freila: "But... the other place was safe. There was the kind Prince."
Lyrin: (inward sigh) No... it wasn't safe. It was just another cage, with different locks.
The Black Knight suddenly stopped. He did not turn around. He just stopped. His silence now was a sharp weapon.
Freila stopped too, squeezing Lyrin's hand tighter.
Then he turned.
His black helmet was a featureless void, but Lyrin felt its weight as if it were piercing her. When he spoke, his voice was low, flat, and dangerous.
The Black Knight: "Stay here."
Freila trembled but nodded.
He took a step towards Lyrin. The ground beneath their feet seemed to shudder. Even the wind stopped whistling, as if afraid to miss a word.
Lyrin (trying to sound steady): "What is it?"
The Black Knight: "Tell me what you were thinking when you took off the mask I gave you to show Freila your real face."
Lyrin: ...
The silence stretched. Lyrin felt a flush of shame heat her face. She hadn't really thought. She had acted on impulse, driven by a desperate desire to let that child see her real face, to create a genuine connection.
Lyrin: "I wanted... her trust in me to be complete. I didn't want to hide anything from her."
The Black Knight: "Imagine if one of the Titans had been watching what Caeymra saw. Do you think you would have survived?"
Lyrin: ...
She didn't need to answer. She knew the answer. If any of the other Lords had been watching, if Saryn or Morvath or any of them had witnessed her moment of weakness, she would have become easy prey.
The Black Knight: "Next time, be careful."
But his anger seemed different now. It wasn't the burning fury she knew from before. It was a cold, calculated anger.
Freila, who had been watching anxiously, took a small step forward.
Freila: "Sir Black Knight, please don't be angry with Lyrin."
The Knight turned towards her. His smooth helmet reflected only the image of the small, trembling girl.
The Black Knight: "I am not angry at all."
Lyrin was stunned. She looked at him, trying to read the expression hidden behind the armor.
The Black Knight: "But at least this foolish move benefited us in one way."
Lyrin: Really.
The Black Knight: "Yes. But I want to ask a question: how long do you think your disguise for that black raven would fool me? For your information, no raven stops when people stop unless it has something attracting it... or a person who raised it."
A moment of charged silence, then...
**???: ** "Interesting. You really are smarter than I expected, Black Knight."
A female voice, soft but sharp as a knife. It came from above them.
Freila looked up, her eyes wide with amazement. "Nini, look! A talking raven!"
Lyrin tightened her grip on the child's hand. "No, Freila. That's not a talking raven."
The shadow above them changed. The black raven perched on a dry branch began to shake, then grow, then transform. The wind swirled around it in a small vortex, feathers receded to be replaced by black cloth, the beak shrank to become thin lips.
Before Freila realized what was happening, a woman stood before them.
She wasn't as gigantic as Freila had described her, but her presence filled the space. Her long black hair flowed as if it were still part of the wind, and her eyes were the color of molten gold—a strange color Lyrin had only seen before in unsettling dreams. She wore light armor made of a black, glossy material that resembled interlocking raven wings.
The Woman: "Frankly, you look ridiculous with the collar around your neck, Lyrin. I want to laugh, but it's not the time. Right now, I want to talk with this Black Knight."
She gestured towards him with a regal motion.
The Woman: "Greetings, human Black Knight. I am a humanoid-raven hybrid. I am of the kingdom of 'Void.' I am Mylerni, daughter of the ruler, Knight of the Black Sun, first of the creatures who fought the Titans."
Freila, still astonished, whispered: "Nini, look! The raven became a woman!"
Mylerni let out a light laugh. "Pffft... Children. Always so honest in their observations."
Lyrin: "What? I like her calling me that. Do you... have a problem with this?"
Mylerni turned to her, smiling a wide, mocking grin. "Hahahahahaha! No, that's new from you, Lyrin. You're raising a child and having her call you 'Nini'? Hahahahahahaha!"
Lyrin: "Be quiet!"
But Mylerni did not quiet down. She looked at Freila, then at Lyrin, then at the Black Knight, and her laughter grew deeper, as if she were seeing a joke no one else could.
Freila, confused, looked at Lyrin. "Nini, do you know who this woman is?"
The Black Knight answered before Lyrin could respond. "She knows her. Yes, these two have been fierce combatants, more hostile to each other than most. And let's not forget..."
He took out the seal again—the black metal seal of House Raven.
Lyrin stiffened. She knew that symbol. It was the seal of House Raven.
Mylerni stopped laughing abruptly. Her golden eyes fixed on the seal. "That seal... don't tell me you, Lyrin, didn't know the identity of that little girl whose hand you're holding."
Lyrin: "What?!"
She looked at Freila, then at the seal, then at Mylerni. The puzzle pieces began to assemble in her mind, but the picture wasn't complete yet.
The Black Knight: "It's Freila's family. There's no need to explain many details. Anyway, tell me what you want."
He put the seal back in his pocket, but his eyes never left Mylerni. His hand was near the hilt of his sword, ready but not tense.
Mylerni: "I heard you have information about the Titans from the little Prince. So I want to ask who—"
The Black Knight: "Morvath, the Hollow King... who devours every weak heart. The one who caused the massacre of your people, especially your father and mother. As for your eyes..."
He stopped. He didn't finish the sentence, but a look into Mylerni's eyes was enough.
Mylerni: "..."
Lyrin: "And how do you know?"
The Black Knight: "Among all the Titans, no one else would carry out such a massacre."
Mylerni: "How do you know about this massacre?"
The Black Knight: "I wasn't there. But I don't want to say how I know. For your information, this is something known only to me and the little Prince, and I won't speak of it no matter how you try to force me."
Mylerni: "Pffft... Hahahahahahaha! You really are a bold person. But I'm not crazy enough to fight you. I don't know how much information you have, but the little Prince advised me to join you."
Lyrin: "What?! I don't agree to—"
The Black Knight: "Lyrin."
It was a single word, but it carried the weight of a command. Lyrin fell silent, but her eyes still burned with refusal.
Lyrin: "..."
Mylerni: "Pffft..."
The Black Knight: "And you, stop joking. For your information, I will accept your joining because we need you for something."
Mylerni: "What is that something?"
The Black Knight: "What we will face will be... Cynreth, the Silent Breaker... the voice that knows no mercy."
A heavy silence fell. Even the wind stopped blowing, as if afraid to carry these words away.
Mylerni: "Oh... that's—"
She stopped. Her golden eyes widened suddenly. "Wait... what did you say? Are you insane?"
Lyrin: "What? Don't tell me you're serious about this!"
But the Black Knight didn't seem to be joking. His stance was solid, his voice colder than the northern winds.
The Black Knight: "Cynreth is moving. I've seen his traces on the borders of the dwarven kingdom's lands. And he didn't come for bombardment or destruction. He comes for silence."
Mylerni shook her head slowly. "Cynreth... no one who faced him lived to tell the tale. Even among the Titans, his silence is feared."
Lyrin: "Why? Why would he come for us?"
The Black Knight looked at her. "Because you're still alive. And because you're hiding with a child from House Raven. And because I... am here."
Mylerni: "And what is your connection to him?"
The Black Knight: "That's not important now. What's important is that he is coming. And his silence will be the first thing we hear and the last if we don't prepare."
Mylerni: "And you think I can help face Cynreth? Even the Knights of the Black Sun, at the peak of our power, didn't dare face him directly."
The Black Knight: "I don't want you to face him. I want you for one thing only."
He paused, looking directly into her golden eyes.
The Black Knight: "I want you to tell me how the birds of Void escape silence."
Mylerni was silent for a moment. Then she understood.
Mylerni: "The wind paths..."
The Black Knight: "Yes. The wind paths you use to travel between worlds. Cynreth may silence all sounds, but he cannot silence the wind itself."
Lyrin: "Wind paths? What are those?"
Mylerni: "Hidden paths in the sky, visible only to those who see differently. My people use them for fast travel, for disappearing, for escaping."
The Black Knight: "And we need to escape. Not from Cynreth—that's impossible—but from the range of his silence. If we can reach a wind path before he arrives..."
Mylerni: "We can escape to where he can't follow us. But..." she hesitated. "But opening a wind path requires energy. Energy I don't have alone."
The Black Knight: "We have the energy."
He took out the small vial he had given Lyrin earlier. But it was different now—it glowed with a deeper blue color, as if it had absorbed something from the night sky.
Mylerni stared at the vial. "That's... condensed starlight. How did you get this?"
The Black Knight: "That's not important. What's important is that we can open a wind path. And the question is: will you help us?"
Mylerni looked at Lyrin, then at Freila who was still stubbornly holding Lyrin's hand, then at the Black Knight.
Mylerni: "I'll be honest. I don't trust you. And I don't trust her." She pointed at Lyrin. "But I trust the little Prince. And if he says my joining you might change the fate of this war... then I'll try."
Lyrin: "But why? Why help us?"
Mylerni turned to her, her golden eyes holding an expression Lyrin had never seen before—not mockery, nor anger, but a deep sorrow.
Mylerni: "Because I've seen what silence does. I've seen how Cynreth erases cities, not with destruction, but with silence. People forget how to speak, how to scream, how to cry. Then they forget how to breathe."
She paused, as if the memories pained her.
Mylerni: "My sister... was one of the first victims. She forgot her name first. Then she forgot me. Then she forgot how to breathe. And she died in silence, her eyes open, not even remembering that she was afraid."
Freila squeezed Lyrin's hand. "Nini... that's scary."
Lyrin nodded. She knew Cynreth. She knew his silence. And she knew he was the worst of them all, because he doesn't even leave a trace of memory.
The Black Knight: "So you've decided."
Mylerni: "I've decided. We'll go to the nearest wind path. It's not far—in the Valley of High Winds, a day's walk from here."
Lyrin: "A day? But Cynreth might arrive before then."
The Black Knight: "He won't. Because we'll take a shortcut."
He looked at Mylerni. "You can carry Freila, right?"
Mylerni: "I can transform into a larger form. I can carry everyone. But air travel will attract attention."
The Black Knight: "We'll attract attention anyway. But if we travel by air, we'll be there before dawn."
Mylerni nodded. Then she began to change again. But this time, she didn't transform into an ordinary raven. She grew, expanding, until she became a gigantic black bird, larger than a horse, with wide wings that stirred the wind even while still.
Mylerni (her voice coming as a whisper in their minds): Get on. Quickly.
The Black Knight picked up Freila and placed her on the back of the transformed Mylerni, then climbed on himself. Lyrin hesitated for a moment, then climbed on after him.
The back was warm despite the appearance of the black feathers, and stable despite the size of the huge bird.
Mylerni: Hold on tight. The ride won't be comfortable.
Then she beat her wings.
They rose into the sky with astonishing speed. The ground shrank beneath them, and the wind whistled in their ears. Freila screamed in fear and excitement, holding onto Lyrin tightly.
Lyrin looked down, at the receding ground, at the path they had taken, at the past they left behind.
Then she looked forward, at the darkness awaiting them, at the coming silence that might erase them all.
The Black Knight was looking at the horizon, his eyes searching for something the others couldn't see.
And suddenly, in a moment of strange clarity, Lyrin realized something.
Lyrin: "You know where he is, don't you?"
The Black Knight didn't turn. "I know."
Lyrin: "And how do you know?"
This time, he turned to her. And in his eyes, she saw something she had never seen before—not anger, nor sorrow, but an iron resolve.
The Black Knight: "Because he's looking for me. And because I am the one who will face him. And everyone else... they are just collateral damage if I fail."
Then he turned forward again, leaving his words hanging in the thin air thousands of feet high.
And the wind whistled around them, carrying now not just the scent of freedom, but the scent of approaching death.
And below, in the distant darkness, something seemed to move—a shadow deeper than night itself.
A shadow that made no sound.
The shadow of Cynreth.
To be continued...