It felt as if she'd barely taken her first steps into this new world, and it was already crumbling around her. What ties that bound her were already threadbare; the friends she had once known did not recall her. And now the Dream Visitor had the nerve to ask them to fix his mistakes. Typical man.

But though she was tempted, she did not turn her back on the three doors altogether. If there was even a chance that one of her sisters roamed these lands, she had to try. She had to try, for the friends she still loved, regardless of whether they remembered her. Merel gritted her teeth, sighed, and strode through the first door.

It brought her to the rolling slope of a rounded hill. The sky was utterly dark, illuminated by neither moon nor sun. Yet the hills were not silent: song echoed across the frozen landscape. Merel had never been the finest singer among her siblings, but she lifted her voice now, joining the howls that called to the sun. Was this a foolish effort? Could a bunch of wolves really bring back the light? Her heart began to beat faster.