The First Death of Una Everlasting

Beneath an ancient yew that holds a buried sword, a woodcutter finds a nameless infant. The child grows wild and skilled, learning the forest as doctrine, until she is strong, silent, and unseen—yet still no one of consequence in Dominion.

Returning home one winter, the girl finds her father murdered by the Brigand Prince’s men. Grief and fury drive her to the yew, where she grips the sword’s hilt and draws the long-whispered blade, ignorant of prophecies but sure of her purpose.

That night she tracks the brigands through new snow and, choosing confrontation over stealth, announces herself before cutting them down in a brutal, exultant reaping. Among the survivors she frees a captive princess, who approaches with grace that steadies the shaken girl.

Asked her name and allegiance, the girl answers “no one” and “no one,” until the princess—soon to be queen—claims her. The princess knights her on the spot, naming her Sir Una. From there Una gathers titles—Queen’s Champion, Red Knight, Virgin Saint—ascending into legend.

A companion who rode with Una asserts the truth of this account and promises to tell how it ends. In appended telegrams and notes, translator Owen Mallory and Prof. Gilda Sawbridge argue over the manuscript’s authenticity; Sawbridge is scathing, Mallory insists it’s ancient, and then Mallory abruptly goes missing.