Cidric spine sat in the darkness, with no fire. He would not eat this night, because food would require fire, and with the shadows in tow, he could not risk having such a nicety. So instead he just sat there, on his branch in his tree. He knew that there would be no sleep this night either for this wood was new to him, and he didn't know what kind of creatures made it their home.

With nothing better to do, he thought about his home in the south. He thought about the spine of the world, a mountain range reaching thousands of miles across his land. He thought about all the time he had spent there, and then he thought about the coming of the creatures that ruined that world for him, he thought about the shadows. He thought about how one apprentice, with a taste for power and broken the binding stone and erased the inscriptions holding the million year old tomb shut. What had come next could only be described as slaughter.

He could now think back, and remember how the shadows destroyed everything, and killed everyone dear to him. He could remember those silhouette humanoid shapes. But that was the only thing humanlike about them. The one thing he remembered most about them though, was the eyes. The glowing red eyes.


When morning came he was still awake, and throughout the night he had planned out his actions for today. He would keep following the map until he came to the designated town. He had been told that he would be able to spend a few nights in this town, undetected by anything that followed him. As he set out to start the new day, he wished only that the plague shadows that would come down upon this land looking for him would not soil it with their filth. But he knew his wish was in vain and he knew it was his fault. Instead of facing the shadows he was leading them to this land. He knew they would slaughter everything, but he still had one small piece of hope to hold on too. The word rang in his head, and a smile played across his face.

Fatestop was his only hope.