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Prologue
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THERE USED TO BE A time when we lived in harmony with all living beings. The humans called us sybils while the otherworlders used another term. Soul seers, they called us, and it was this name our hearts chose for us.
In those days, living beings sought our visions for the greater good.
But those days didn't last.
The Demon Duke of Sulphur, having learned of the prophecy of his death at his own son's hands, sought to decimate our numbers. A handful would be spared their lives, but they shall only live to feed the demon and him alone, their visions to be used to turn the world into his playground.
It was then we decided to scatter, and we learned to hide in constant motion.
Day after day, always running away, desperate to avoid being caught, but still the demons found us, still they killed our kind, one soul seer dying after another.
Until there's only you that I can trust.
My darling daughter Zari.
The pain and grief in my heart is immeasurable. This is not the future I dreamt for you, but I have no choice.
To save your life and give you the future you deserve, your heart must break again and again, and only then will your shoulders be strong enough to carry the burden of our entire race.
I wish I could be there to see your soul shine, but I know the end is nigh, and the only thing I can do now is to give you one last gift.
A shield, my brave and beautiful child, one that I will carve in my final moments, infused with all the love that your father and I have for our most precious girl.
This shield will be with you to the end, yours alone to wield, and so powerful it will be that not even the fires of Hell can burn through its armor.