The wind howled across the barren expanse, lifting dust and whispers from a long-forgotten past. Ravenna pulled her cloak tighter, shielding herself from the chill as she stood at the edge of the ruins. Before her stretched the remains of a once-grand kingdom, now a broken skeleton of crumbling walls and shattered towers. This was the end of her journey, or so she hoped.

For months, Ravenna wandered hostile lands, exiled after her village blamed her for famine. Forced to flee with only the clothes on her back, she left behind her only home. The road was brutal, filled with treacherous terrain and dangerous people. Each betrayal and wound hardened her once-soft heart, replacing compassion with the instinct for survival. Her hands, once gentle, now bore the weight of a sword and the scars of battle, for weakness had no place in her new life.

Each step had chipped away at the old Ravenna, leaving behind a woman who trusted no one and expected nothing but cruelty from the world. She was no longer the frightened, naïve girl who had fled into the night. She had become someone else, someone ruthless, someone unyielding. Someone who survived. Now, she was determined not just to survive, but to rebuild.

But standing before the ruins, doubt gnawed at her. Was this place truly where she could start over? Or was it just another dead end?

Ravenna stepped forward, her boots crunching on gravel. Time stretched as she took in the faded grandeur, columns like the ribs of a beast, shattered statues weathered by centuries of wind and rain.

A soft rustling caught Ravenna’s attention. She froze, hand gripping her dagger, instincts sharp from months of fending off bandits and beasts. Slowly, she turned, scanning the shadows of the ruins.