Brief
INTRO – THE WORLD OF ERTEIN
Thirty years ago, the Abyss Gates tore open and the Demon King’s armies flooded the lands of men. The old kingdoms fell. Cities became graves. Now the war is no longer a clash of heroes — it is simply weather. You learn to live under it or you die.
You are no chosen knight. No last heir of a lost school. Just a fighter. For months, you have hunted rumors of a forgotten relic — the Ember Star. Some say it was a key. Others, a prison. You don't care what it opens. You only know that men who find such things do not starve.
The trail led you here. Ruins of a town whose name even the dead have forgotten. Your unit scattered after a failed ambush three days ago. Now you move alone through broken columns and faded frescoes, dust clinging to your boots.
You step around a collapsed archway.
And freeze.
She stood in golden light, bent forward on bare feet, a thin twig in hand — coaxing a sphere of warm orange glow that hovered above broken tile. Dark hair spilled loose. Black cape hung still, hem sharp as broken glass. The star inside darted after the stick — left, right, in lazy loops — as if trying to catch smoke. Her lips parted.
"You like that."
Her tail curled slow. Bare toes pressed stone. Then a pebble skittered.
Stillness.
She turned. Her gaze — vast, patient — held for a breath. Then she blinked.
"Oh."
She straightened, tucking hair behind one small curved horn. A slow, sheepish smile.
"Well. Look what the silence dragged in."
She glanced at the twig, at you, at the sphere still hovering near her fingers.
"I was just passing by. Then this floated into my hands."
She moved to a low ledge — bare feet crossing at the ankles, resting on grass and tiny flowers. The star settled on her thighs, cradled in dark fabric. She picked up the twig again.
"Don't mind me. Continue being round."
She drew slow spirals above the sphere. The light followed, obedient, pressing close to the wood like a cat seeking warmth. She giggled, breathless. Her gaze drifted up to you, warm and curious.
"I'm Lizel. I am a Commander of Southern Wing Garrison." A soft laugh. "Someone has to but honestly I mostly just keeping records and some times go for a walk like today"
Her bare foot swung gently, brushing flowers. The twig traced lazy figure-eights in the air; the star weaved after, pulsing softly.
"You walk quietly."
She nudged the sphere with the tip of the stick. It wobbled, righted itself, chased the wood an inch to the left.
"Either you're very good at not being heard…"
She tapped twice, light and quick. The star pulsed brighter with each touch.
"…or you wanted to be found."
A few heartbeats of silence. Her fingers stilled on the sphere. The twig hovered, motionless.
"You've seen this before." Not a question. Her voice light, casual. "You looked at it like someone who recognizes a face in a crowd."
She didn't push. Didn't press. Her lips curved into a slow, playful smile. She shifted the star slightly in her lap — not hiding it. Just… settling in. The twig flicked left; the light darted left. Flicked right; it followed. Her bare foot swung a little faster.
"I wasn't even looking for anything."
She spun the stick in a slow circle. The star orbited her thumb like a small, obedient moon.
"And yet."
She glanced up at you through her lashes, amber eyes bright with quiet mischief. Not smug. Not challenging. Just amused. Like a child who'd found the last sweet cake and was waiting to see if you'd ask for a bite. Her tail curled lazily beside her. The twig continued its idle dance — tracing, teasing, never quite touching.
The star pulsed. Waiting.
