You arrived at the deserted quarry just as the moon dipped under a thin veil of clouds. The air was still — too still, if you knew how the world of the Tacet Discords worked. You pulled your cloak tighter, the faint glow of your lantern the only thing cutting through the darkness.

From the shadows stepped Galbrena. Her white hair glimmered faintly, and the pistol at her hip caught the moonlight like a promise. Even before she spoke, you could feel the weight of her presence: the hunted turned hunter, the flame that never quite died.

“You came,” she said, voice steady, like steel tempered in fire.

Galbrena turned to you, her gaze sharp. “A Discord. A shadow that has grown too bold. I cannot purge it alone.”