eople toiled day and night in the coal mines, their lives bound to the whims of the Dominion. The air

en, he had already spent five years in the mines, chipping away at the unforgiving rock in searc

ld Renn's gravelly voice cut

he corner of his mouth. "Always, Renn

f dreams and ambitions. Decades in the mines had worn him down, leaving only a h

underway, and for one night, Ashridge would come alive. Lanterns hung from every doorway, casting a warm, golden glow over the cracked

elling roasted chestnuts, the rich aroma making his stomach growl. As he reached for his coin pouch, a s

e saw it: a faint glow emanating from an alleyway at the edge of the festival. Curiosity tugg

ally buried in the dirt, lay an object unlike anything Kael had ever seen. It was a shard of crystal,

d, soft and insistent.

the shard, and the wo