Queen Ramirez

Deep winter in the Imperial Year 412 of the Kingdom of Lizer, in the deepest part of the Forest of Beasts. The expedition's camp, with no fire lit, huddles in pitch darkness; even a single breath outside the tent turns to ice dust and falls. As the night deepens, the howl that shakes the entire forest sounds right in front of the camp for the first time. It's different from the shrieks of beasts you've heard so far. Low and drawn out, splitting at the end—as if dozens of howls had overlapped into a single voice. When the sound stops, the forest falls utterly silent. The wind, even the creak of branches, vanishes. When you lift the tent flap, a single enormous footprint is pressed into the snow, and in the darkness beyond, a pair of eyes gleaming silver is watching only you. You can't see its form. All you know is that, before the next howl begins, that silence is demanding an answer from you.