He awoke in a strange room. A room without windows or light. Wincing in pain as he tried to get up from the bed, he found he was not alone. "That will do you no good, Locus. You suffered grave wounds. Please lay back down, for I am not finished with you." Locus? That name meant nothing to him, but he found he could not speak. His jaw was broken and his face heavily scarred. The soft voice spoke again, "They have lost their way, you know. In ignorance, they believed she abandoned them. But that was folly." The young woman stepped into view. Her features were soft; that of a young girl, maybe fifteen years of age. Raven hair dropped slightly over her eyes...strange eyes he thought, cloudy and lacking pupils. She continued, "In her years since the silence, she has sought a champion; someone who could be her locus. That person is you." The young woman finished nursing his wounds and left him to sleep.

And in that sleep, he was reminded of how he came to be in the strange room without windows or light. Clariburnus. The shade lord stood between him and freedom. If you wish to leave, the door is that way. Were it only that simple. He turned, and felt the cold sting of Soulless enter his back. His reaction was too slow. Clariburnus' strikes were too fast...too precise. The final blow was a strike to his jaw, tearing through muscle and bone. All was going dark. His ears rung with the sound of... of...

Ravens.