Tinuvel was quiet.

Upon arrival, Nephilim found he had far too much time to himself than he’d otherwise prefer. Though he shared the company of his daughters, he had hoped he might find a different story awaiting him than the truth. Selfishly he’d hoped his previous family would have been held captive by some beast of a stallion, a creature Nephilim could heroically triumph over and drive away, thus granting freedom to those he loved. It was a greedy hope and it birthed shame along the deep shadows encircling his heart. How dare he wish his family had suffered for a year just so he may be able to rescue them and be seen a hero.

All so they might not blame him for having disappeared. He was too weary to make excuses, he would not look them in the eyes and explain he had to go, that Mariael had been taken away and he’d panicked at the thought of losing the daughter he loved so dearly. There were other ways – he could have run to them first, alerted them of the danger.

Instead, he’d disappeared. A trip on the outskirts of the Inlet told him Pagan, his previous neighbor, had disappeared too. The frozen wasteland appeared emptier than ever and Nephilim no longer strode with purpose. He trailed half the border of the Bay lazily, hardly looking for predators and truly doing a lackluster job of being a leader. For a year he’d both dreaded and dreamed of coming home, now that he was here he wasn’t sure how he felt.

Every morning he glanced the waters toward Crossing Isle and pondered for a moment before turning about and trudging further inland. Why would he bring new souls to this? Why would he bring anyone back here? This seemed more a place to waste away than it seemed one to live…

Then, he caught the scent. Nephilim’s body went rigid, head shooting upright like a deer’s might. Dark nostrils spreading, he inhaled deep as if his intent was to keep the scent prisoner. Rohanne… Was this a dream? One of his reoccurring nightmares in which he frequently watched loved ones die with blame against him on their lips as their final words? He was almost afraid to trail it and see if it was so, almost afraid…

But the promise of what could be far outweighed the risk. He started forward, moving around trees and brush toward the flat open clearing – that frozen place which had always been the setting for his nightmares – and stopped short the moment he saw her.

“Rohanne…”