Chapter Two: Bread and a Golden Knife

Meliu, a young Silone scholar and priestess, awakens on a beach after surviving a shipwreck, haunted by dreams of a demonic shadow. Her mind is taken back to a mysterious boy she thinks might have been the Face of Ulrikt. Disoriented but pragmatic, she discovers her possessions intact, including valuable gems, but finds a strange arrow—possibly laced with Wyvern’s Flash—pointing inland, urging her to leave the coast. Navigating the unfamiliar lands of either Brotna or Hidreng, Meliu treks through tall grasses toward safety, eventually stumbling upon a trade road and following Hidreng merchants to the town of Inster. There, amidst a bustling encampment of Silone refugees and wary of the Tek inhabitants, she barters for overpriced food and secures a deal with a Hidreng merchant to buy bread for resale, aiming to sustain herself without resorting to desperation. Driven by survival and a lingering distrust of her own perceptions, Meliu begins to carve a path forward, balancing her scholarly instincts with the harsh realities of a foreign land.

ToP Chapter 1 — History's Witness
ToP Chapter 3 — Mainland Rains.
Trail of Pyres - Main Chapter Listing