The darkness was cold, though it took me some time to understand what that meant. There was no feeling, no sound, not even the faintest glimmer of starlight. Was this a dream? A vision? This wasn't a soul space, or at least, if it was, I didn't have a soul form.
I thought I knew cold, from the frigid winds of winter to the endless void of Oblivion, but nothing could compare to the yawning emptiness inside. There was no escaping it. Even my thoughts seemed caught within it, returning again and again to the same terrible silence.
I reached for my mana, trying to summon a simple current of warmth. That had always taken the edge off whatever I was feeling, but I groped in vain. There was no mana, nor even the faintest sense that there should be. My fear grew, encircling me like iron bars, causing my thoughts to quiver. I wanted to call for Luke, for Verity, for anyone who might hear me, but there was no one. Only the vastness of oblivion.
Then, faintly, something brushed against me.
