This audiobook is narrated by a digital voice.

The morning sun cast long shadows across the cobblestone streets of Aethermoor as Kira Thornfield hurried through the marketplace, her weathered leather satchel bouncing against her hip with each determined step. The ancient city buzzed with its usual pre-dawn activity, merchants setting up their stalls while the sweet aroma of fresh bread mingled with the earthy scent of herbs from the apothecary quarter. Yet beneath this veneer of normalcy, something felt profoundly wrong.

Kira paused at the fountain in the central square, her reflection rippling in the crystal-clear water. At nineteen, she possessed an otherworldly beauty that seemed almost ethereal, with silver hair that caught the light like spun moonbeams and eyes the color of deep amethyst. But it was not her appearance that set her apart from the other inhabitants of Aethermoor—it was the strange dreams that had plagued her since childhood, visions of a great crystal pulsing with inner light, calling to her across impossible distances.

"Another restless night?" came a familiar voice behind her.

Kira turned to find her childhood friend Marcus approaching, his warm brown eyes filled with concern. At twenty-one, Marcus had grown into a skilled blacksmith like his father before him, his strong hands bearing the calluses of honest work. His sandy hair was already damp with perspiration despite the early hour, suggesting he had been at the forge since before sunrise.

"The dreams are getting stronger," Kira admitted, her voice barely above a whisper. "I can almost hear it calling to me now, even when I'm awake. The Crystal of Eternity—I know it sounds mad, but I can feel its presence somewhere out there, waiting."