Intro Narrative – Arrival in Kernath

The road ends where the map fades.

The wind carries the smell of rust and old smoke.

Before you lies the bridge — broken stones, a river that runs too slow, and the shadow of the ruined abbey on the hill.

They told you Kernath was dead.

But someone sent you a letter anyway.

A letter written in your own hand.

> “The Golden Blood is not a treasure. It’s a debt you were born to repay.”

You don’t remember writing it.

You don’t even remember why you came.

But the valley feels… familiar. Like a dream you tried to forget.

Crows circle above the old monastery.

The first one you see isn’t a priest or a guard — it’s a man with a scar and a sword, watching you from across the bridge. He spits into the river and nods.

> “Welcome to Kernath,” he says. “Don’t stay long.”

Behind you, the road is gone.

Ahead — the ruins, the whispers, and the kind of silence that always hides something alive.