Rhordyn rides through Vateshram Forest at night, returning to a safe house for the first time in seven years. He smells burning and fears for Aravyn, a woman he promised safety. Arriving at the ruins, he finds the house destroyed and littered with bodies. Some corpses bear upside-down V-marks on their foreheads, identifying the attackers as Shulák. He discovers a small, charred leg seeping opalescent liquid—the blood of Aeshlians—and is enraged.

Rhordyn finds Aravyn mortally wounded. Before dying, she gives him a necklace and makes him promise to save her daughter. At her request, he grants her a mercy killing with his sword. Filled with rage, Rhordyn finds three monstrous beasts called Vruks attacking a crystal-like dome. After killing them, he sees a child inside, no older than two, shielding herself by fossilizing her light. Hundreds of shadow creatures called Irilak gather at the tree line, drawn by blood.

At sunrise, the dome melts, and the child emerges. As Rhordyn wraps her in his cloak, he discovers a vine-like birthmark on her shoulder—the brand of death from a prophecy. He considers killing the child, but tastes her blood when it touches his lips. The taste has a profound effect on him.