The Songbird and the Heart of Stone

Mische is awakened by Luce, who silently urges her to change into the new clothes provided. They navigate Morthryn’s winding hallways and reach a room where Chandra has been successfully resurrected. Soon after, Asar arrives with Elias, a loyal guard of Egrette, who has been sent to accompany them on their mission.

Asar opens a door that leads to a massive staircase, which they begin descending. This staircase leads to the Underworld, and Asar explains that they must pass through the five Sanctums of the Descent—body, breath, psyche, secrets, and soul—on their way. Asar reveals that Alarus, when creating the underworld, left pieces of himself in each Sanctum to guide souls through the transition from life to death. However, Atroxus has placed obstacles in their path to prevent them from completing their mission. They must collect the five elements of Alarus’s essence to properly resurrect him.

As they approach the veil separating them from the Underworld, Asar warns the group not to draw attention to themselves. They must pass without alerting the guardians, two of which—a massive snake and a lioness—are stationed near the veil. The third guardian, a bird, is believed to have died long ago. However, their passage is interrupted when a mysterious creature strikes from the fog, causing Elias to panic and draw his blade. This attracts attention, and Elias is knocked off the edge of the bridge. Chandra attempts to save him but falls as well.

In the chaos, Asar instructs Luce to take Mische the rest of the way. Before they get far, Mische sees a strange creature about to strike Asar, and in a desperate move, she uses Atroxus’s magic to protect him. The sudden movement throws them off balance, and they both fall over the edge of the bridge.

Mische wakes to find Asar tending to her wounds, bitterly remarking that her god doesn’t care for her if he allows her to burn herself with his magic. Mische is surprised when Asar’s magic helps heal the worst of her newest burns. She previously thought his magic dark and destructive, but it is capable of healing, too. They have fallen into a more dangerous part of the descent, now in the Sanctum of Body. Asar believes the first essence of Alarus will be located in a temple at the Sanctum’s epicenter. He says Luce is looking for Elias and Chandra and will lead them to the temple.

Mische expresses concern for Chandra’s safety, but Asar dismisses it, stating that everyone in Morthryn deserves to be there, including Chandra, though he refuses to explain the crimes that led to her imprisonment. Their conversation is interrupted by a distant scream, and they see Luce, Elias, and Chandra fleeing from a mass of wraiths. Asar tells Mische to use her sword in the coming battle rather than relying on Atroxus’s magic. He warns her not to let the wraiths touch her, as they drain life from those they touch.

After regrouping, they face the wraith mass. Mische hears a wraith call her name and, distracted, allows the wraith to touch her, draining her temporarily. Asar uses his magic to incapacitate the wraiths temporarily, but the effort drains him. They rush for the temple, where they encounter the missing bird guardian. Atroxus had hidden the first shard of Alarus’s essence inside the bird, and its magical protection has turned it into a phoenix of sorts.

The bird attacks the group, and Mische and Chandra’s abilities are useless against it. Amid the attack, the wraiths return, banging on the walls and doors of the temple, trying to break in. Asar uses his magic to restrain the bird, while Mische and Chandra work together to forcibly pull Atroxus’s magic from the creature. The bird dies, and they discover an obsidian tree branch inside it. When Mische and Asar reach for the branch, they experience a vision of an old memory from Alarus. The memory shows Nyaxia stabbing Alarus in the chest with the same branch. Alarus asks Nyaxia to tell him her name and promises not to send her back to the White Pantheon, where the gods are searching for her.

Asar places the branch in his pack, and the group quickly flees the temple as the wraiths break through. Asar creates a portal to return to Morthryn, and they begin to pass through it. However, before they can fully escape, Mische is attacked by the wraith of her childhood friend, Eomin. Asar rips Eomin off her and attempts to kill him, but Mische stops him. Reluctantly, Asar agrees, and they both make it through the portal.

Mische asks if they’ve returned to Morthryn, but Asar explains that Morthryn isn’t a building; it’s a passageway connecting worlds and runs deep into the Descent, not just on its surface. Mische offers to tend to Chandra’s wounds. While she works, Mische inquires about Chandra’s past. Chandra reveals that she was brought to Obitraes to serve the Shadowborn vampires as a midwife. Chandra also comments on Mische’s ability to still access her powers after being turned, which earns Mische some of her respect.

That night, Mische is haunted by nightmares of Eomin. Upon waking, she reflects on her life of helping others, driven by the guilt of having failed those who mattered most, particularly Eomin. When she falls asleep again, Mische dreams of her wedding night, for which she wore a golden gown. She asks Atroxus for reassurance that he will never abandon her. Atroxus promises that she is his forever.

Mische wakes up to find that Luce and Asar are gone. She follows a strange breeze and the pull of Morthryn, eventually finding them at a wrought iron gate where the dead are trying to flood in. Asar casts a spell to contain the wraiths but grows exhausted quickly. When Mische is unable to summon her flame to help, the wraiths reach her. One of them is Eomin, whose presence intensifies Mische’s feelings of guilt for failing him in life.

They manage to force the wraiths back through the portal, but Asar is too drained to close the gate on his own. Mische realizes she can tap into his magic to restore the broken glyphs and close the gate. Once the gate is secured, Luce leads Asar and Mische upstairs to a private chamber. There, Luce insists they both get into a special bath filled with a restorative potion to help replenish their life force after being touched by so many wraiths.

Mische wakes up in the tub with Asar and learns that they’re in one of his private rooms in Morthryn, where he has sanctuaries set up for himself. When she asks about what happened at the gateway, Asar explains that Alarus’s wards are weakening, causing the Sanctums to become unstable. While some souls are making their way through the Descent to the Underworld, others are getting trapped. Asar has been draining himself trying to maintain the gates and prevent their collapse, but it’s becoming more difficult.

Asar urges Mische to use her Shadowborn powers to help him maintain the gates. Mische refuses, unwilling to embrace the Shadowborn abilities. Touched by Asar’s sense of purpose in helping the wraiths find peace in the Underworld, Mische realizes how similar they are—both healers devoted to helping others. Moved by this connection, she agrees to help him with the wards.