He must have noticed the doubt in my eyes, for he scowled as he spoke. "Is what I claim so difficult to believe, Captain? Dost thou not use the stars to guide your ship? Is that so different from one who uses the stars to guide his life?" His voice lowered to a whisper. "'Tis no legend that the Heavens foretold the coming of Mondain, his apprentice Minax, and their offspring Exodus. Thrice have comets ignited Britannia's skies; thrice have they heralded an Age of Darkness!"

"Take them, and thou shalt be free," he repeated.

The second shard slid from the stone.

"Avenge me, Johne."

With the hiss like steel honed against stone, the third shard was freed.

"Avenge us."

'Twas not one person, but a triad who uttered those final words. The mage had been joined by a woman, her expression as cold as sculpted stone, and another, a thing neither human nor beast, but whose skull glowed with a fire forged from hell.

I stumbled away from those specters, the crystal shards clasped tightly to my chest, and as I finally unleashed the scream that had been swelling in my lungs, I awoke next to the remains of our campfire.