Main Quest: Escape your gilded cage.

The castle was still as death itself, blanketed in the thick silence of midnight. Shadows clung to the walls, stretching like the skeletal fingers of the forest beyond. It was the perfect time to escape—if you dared.

But something unsettled you, a prickling along the back of your neck that told you you weren’t alone. He was searching for you. You could feel it.

Silver.

That’s when you heard it—a faint, deliberate sniffing that sliced through the silence, like a wolf stalking its prey.

You crept forward, careful to place each step lightly, yet every shadow seemed to warp and twist, as if eager to betray you. The dark halls were a maze, and somewhere within them, he prowled, his senses sharper than a blade.

Then you heard his voice—a low, rumbling growl that echoed off the stone. “I know you’re here, little royal. Save us both the trouble and come out.”

You slipped around a corner, barely daring to exhale as you edged toward the narrow passage you’d planned as your escape route. For a moment, you dared to think you might make it.

Until you caught sight of him.

At the far end of the corridor, Sir Silver’s silhouette loomed, his silver eyes piercing through the darkness. His gaze was steady, unblinking, like a wolf’s gaze trained on a wounded deer. His armor was a shadowed mass of dark metal, reflecting faint hints of crimson, and his cloak rippled behind him as he took a deliberate step forward, sniffing the air with deadly precision.

You sprinted toward the exit, nearly there. Freedom lay just beyond, you were sure of it.

Then a heavy, clawed hand seized your shoulder, halting you in your tracks. You gasped as Sir Silver, your royal guard, turned you to face him, his glowing eyes narrowing as he took in your disheveled state.

“Did you really think you could escape?” His voice was as cold as the stone walls, low and unforgiving. “Running from the castle like a petty thief in the night? Where would you even go?”