The last traces of scattered daylight in the distant horizon casted a somber glow of distant memories upon the desolate ruins of Skywind Castle. Amidst the decay and destruction of scattered buildings, isolated structures and dilapidated places, there wasn’t a single soul left in sight.

The silence of this forgotten place was almost deafening except for the rhythmic, metallic thuds of heavy sabatons. Crossing over scattered stones that represented the remnants of a great causeway, the Maiden Knight stopped momentarily and lifted her head as a whirlwind breeze blew past the locks of her platinum blonde hair.

The silvery etched, ornamental design of her heavy plate armor gleamed in the sunlight. As dark shades of indigo blue in her woolen tunic matched those of tattered, faded flags hanging in the wind atop the spires of Skywind Castle.

“…How long has it been since I was home? Ten? Fifteen years?” Cerralice wondered aloud as the warmth of sunshine embraced her delicate features.

“Home…” Cerralice thought to herself as memory and emotions raced through her mind from the distortion between the past and present. But there was no time to grieve or mourn the fallen as she narrowed her eyes and looked toward the skies, it appeared that she had already been detected.

Shadowy silhouettes of various sizes patrolled around the ruins of Castle Skywind leaving trails of dark energy in the air. From this distance, it was impossible to discern their features as the largest entity suddenly changed course and began speeding toward Cerralice with the others in tow.

Gripping the hilt of her crystalline longsword, she instinctively surged Tier One energy into the blade until a steady stream of ethereal power swirled around it. Hardening her resolve and steeling her senses, a memory of the past slowly materialized in her mind as both sides prepared to clash.

Artist: Clyde Valentine