Of Mortal Dreams: Chapter VI

Adevan

Nights in Blackmoor had always been clear, far enough away from the farmlands and dust storms of the Shaandilar, but they were nothing to the sky that now arched overhead as Adevan moved quietly through the hidden valley. It first turned a pitchy purple, dusted by pale white stars and tattered clouds, then it darkened perceptibly to a bottomless onyx. The ghostly clouds were swept away by a high-flying wind, and the stars began to glint like polished metal. For the first time in his long life, he saw the true contours of the Gosway—the ancient, glimmering star-path that had led travelers across sea and land before all the maps and all the roads. Bats dove for moths and an owl swooped low. He heard the guttural chitter of a fox and the scuttle of a mouse. His eyes adjusted to the change in light easily and, at the darkest hour, when a mortal would only see blackness, Adevan’s eyes captured the rich hues of a world painted by night.

Adevan was no stranger to dark, solitary journeys. When…