Thick fog shrouded the shores of a nebulous sea. Below it, waves continued their eternal assault on the indifferent barrier of land, dreaming of washing it away. They rustled quietly, just like they had rustled for eons. Not far away, the water was louder — there, a wide river fell into the sea, a deep inlet created by its estuary.
Currently, there was a group of riders moving along the shore. Their steeds were Echoes of slain abominations; their enchanted armor was damp with morning dew. Their vermilion cloaks bore the insignia of Clan Valor.
They were Knights and Squires who had been left behind to protect the fringes of the Sword Domain, currently on patrol.
As they approached the estuary, the leader of the patrol — a seasoned Knight in heavy armor — raised a fist to command the rest to stop. He took a canteen off his belt, drank some water, and then listened to the murmur of waves.
Dreadful abominations would come from the depths of the Stormsea sometimes and swim upriver, threatening the lands beyond. The weaker ones would be slain in the shallows by patrolmen like them, but if a truly powerful Nightmare Creature emerged from the depths, they would have to retreat and prepare to fight it at Rivergate, the fortress of Clan Dagonet.
The shores of Stormsea were a strange place. Nights here were much longer than they were deeper inland, and the stars were much brighter. The sun never quite rose above the horizon, drowning the world in ethereal twilight during the day. Time flowed slowly, and life seemed fleeting. In the mornings, white fog veiled the world.
The Knight frowned and gazed into the fog.
Today, the sea sounded strange.
"Summon your weapons."
The patrolmen did as he said. They Echoes turned to face the shore, each baring their fangs.
It seemed that a battle was upon them. Some felt tense because most of the Sword Domain warriors had followed the king to war, hoping to punish the wicked queen of Song. Others remained calm — no matter how many warriors had left, the garrison of Rivergate was still strong, and the fortress itself was still impregnable.
No matter what horror crawled from the sea, they would deal with it.
...A few moments later, however, their confidence was shattered.
The eyes of the warriors widened, and their faces paled. Even the Echoes seemed daunted, a few of them shrinking back in response to the fear of their masters.
A vast shadow appeared in the fog, towering above the shore like a dark mountain. Then, it drew closer, dwarfing the world.
The patrolmen had to crane their necks just to guess the scale of the vague shadow.
Their captain was petrified.
"W—wha..."
Before he could finish the sentence, the dark mountain was almost upon them, its shape finally revealed from the fog.
It was the bow of a titanic ship.
"Back!"
The patrolmen shuddered.
Their leader gritted his teeth.
"It's you! You vile creature... the only thing that we will give you is death!"
Continuing to walk in their direction, Mordret laughed.
"I see someone has a very high opinion of himself."
His laughter stopped abruptly, and he pierced the Knight with an eerie, frightening gaze.
"But are you sure that you are worthy?"
A moment later, more figures appeared on the bow of the Night Garden.
Mordret smiled.
"Because I have thirteen Transcendent bodies on that boat. I am also the sole ruler of the Stormsea, the master of the Night Garden, and the owner of all the Citadels of the South. Well... I guess, technically, the Citadels belong to Queen Song. But why care about the technicalities?"
The Knight paled.
His hands trembled as he raised his sword, and a single word escaped from his lips:
"T—traitor!"
The smile disappeared from Mordret's face, replaced by infinite coldness.
In the next moment, something whistled in the air, and the Knight fell to his knees. His head rolled off his neck and fell into the sand, which was painted red by the torrent of steaming blood.
Mordret shifted his gaze to the remaining warriors.
He remained silent for a few moments, and then smiled pleasantly.
"One should not forget his manners, don't you think? Ah, but today is a special occasion. On such a special day, I am inclined to be forgiving. So... the rest of you may go. Go on, run away. Oh, and tell your masters..."
As the warriors of Valor slowly backed away, then turned to run, he watched them escape silently, and added with a dark gleam in his mirror-like eyes:
"Tell them that I am coming."
Mordret closed his eyes and inhaled deeply.
"...I am coming home."