In the shadowy quiet of the mountain evening, a woman sat on a cold, flat rock outside her stone house. Shadows danced around her, seeming to move with a life of their own as the wind swept through the trees. Her gaze was fixed forward, her face hidden beneath a dark hood, eyes piercing as they reflected the eerie moonlight.
Then, without a sound, a bat swept down from the night sky, its wings flapping as it flew closer and closer until it hovered just before her. In one swift movement, the bat shifted, bones and sinews snapping and realigning until it took the shape of a tall, lithe woman, her face pale and eyes sharp as they glinted with dark magic. She wore a long, flowing black robe, symbols etched faintly along the sleeves, and a strange amulet glistened against her chest.
The woman on the stone nodded, greeting the figure. "You're here," she murmured, her voice as cold as the mountain air.
