The Lost Prince Of An Ancient Kingdom

Previously

…I crawled, my hands searching the rough ground, desperate for the star pendant. But it was gone. Lost somewhere in the suffocating blackness. Tears streamed down my face, hot and useless. The night that had begun with such joy had ended in terror, in loss, in an emptiness so profound it felt like it would swallow me whole. The whispers of Zareth, the laughter of my father, the warmth of his embrace – they all seemed to recede, fading into the mists of a forgotten dream. I was Kael, a lost child, swallowed by the night, with no memory of who I was, or where I belonged. The stars, which had seemed so close and welcoming just hours before, now felt impossibly distant, cold and indifferent.