Sunlight's last stretch falls atop the tallest limbs of the trees, and darkness swiftly falls upon you. Your travels have led you far from home, farther than you thought you would ever go. And now that the light has faded, you feel cold and frightened. Small. As you travel the path, you listen intently for danger, but all you hear is the slight rustle of your bag and the gravel underfoot.

You think to stop and check your map, but it is too dark to do that now. You'll have to find it by memory.

A cold wind pulls the warmth from you and you shiver, frigidly, your last ounce of body heat escaping in your breath. Better find this place soon, you think, pulling your coat into place. If only you could remember...

Yes, tattered ruins of a state that used to be. Rocks airbrushed with time. Bricks that have lost their shimmer and shine. A grand hall that once was, now marked as an attraction on an old map you picked up somewhere along the way. Surely there must be something important there, and now that you're cold and tired and nearly lost, you need the shelter. You close your eyes and imagine it. A fire glowing in a grand fireplace, the music of chatter and laughter echoing around you, the way it was, the way it should have been.

The wind has stopped. You are still cold, but notably less so. You can feel your body begin to thaw. Bugsong surrounds you in all directions-- before and after you, in time. You exhale, and open your eyes. Of course. You've made it to the ruins. Walls crumble with no regard to structure, stars peer down into the room below, stained glass shards scatter the floor with glitter and gleam. Ahead of you is the shrine.

As you approach the shrine, you hear a faint growling from behind it. A creature comes out, eyes wide, defensive. Surprised but certainly not disappointed, you step back but offer your hand for the creature to sniff. A bond will be made today.