When the golden light enveloped them and the grassland vanished beneath their feet, Lyana and Boren found themselves not in open skies or endless fields like others had, but in a realm that felt colder, heavier, and far less inviting.
As her vision cleared, the first thing Lyana noticed was the smell, a damp stone mingled with something stale and ancient, as if air had been trapped underground for centuries without ever seeing sunlight. The second thing was the sound: water dripping somewhere in the distance, slow and steady, echoing softly through a long stretch of unseen corridors.
As her eyes adjusted to the dimness, she realized they stood within an underground labyrinth carved entirely from dark stone. The walls towered high on either side, rough and uneven, with faint carvings barely visible where moss hadn't yet claimed their surfaces.
