Contents
Vault
Overview
Isla opens a secret vault in the Place of Mirrors, but a powerful force hurls her away and seals it. She endures a harrowing vision of a devouring darkness and hears Grim’s voice calling her back. Oro rushes to her aid as she bleeds, and Isla concludes something inside the vault actively rejected her.
Summary
In the Place of Mirrors, Isla Crown uses her crown to unlock a long-sealed vault guarded by her ancestors. As she pulls the door open, a force surges out, slams into Isla’s chest, and hurls her across the room. The vault door snaps shut before she can see what lies within.
Stunned on the floor, Isla’s fleeting moment of peace collapses into a vision: fields of bloodied, charred bodies consumed by an active, devouring darkness. Tendrils of shadow climb over Isla, force themselves into her mouth, and smother her senses until all light goes out.
In the blackness, Isla hears Grim’s voice urging her to come back. She blinks and returns to the shattered hall. Oro appears immediately, horrified, and cradles her as blood streams from her nose, ears, and eyes. Disoriented but lucid, Isla fixates on the vision and the vault’s reaction.
She concludes that the vault contains something potent and hidden—and that the same presence slammed the door and rejected her intrusion. The encounter leaves her shaken, torn between the ominous warning in the darkness and Grim’s call, with Oro witnessing the dangerous cost of her attempt.
Who Appears
- Isla CrownOpens the hidden vault, is blasted back, suffers a consuming-darkness vision, hears Grim’s voice, bleeds, and realizes the vault repelled her.
- OroArrives immediately after Isla’s collapse, cradles her, and reacts with uncharacteristic horror at her bleeding state.
- GrimHeard in Isla’s vision urging her to come back, signaling a pull on Isla despite the vault’s warning.