The stale darkness of the Dark Expanse pressed in on Chocolate Bark Cookie like a shroud. Each breath tasted of dust, a constant memory of his perpetual exile. He traced the chipped edges of his spear, the once-gleaming chocolate now dull and scarred, much like himself. Another day. Another notch on the tally of his remaining sanity.

"Seventeen dragons," he rasped, his throat rather dry from not needing to use it much. "Seventeen… and how many more will this cursed realm throw at me before they think I'll break?"