The world was in decline. Human hearts were filled with everlasting dread and hatred that was fueled by howling beasts and the hissing of Žmij’s servants.

At first, the Whisperers avoided one another and other men and women, but with time, they grew weary of exile. How were they supposed to recognize each other? How were they supposed to know that an encountered wanderer was not a maniac tracking them like prey?

Eventually, courage and pride claimed their hearts because they could no longer stand to watch humankind fall and be crushed by monstrous paws and claws.

It was Bohan who spoke first, when at twilight, after a long journey, he came across a woman cooling herself by a stream. She was as calm as a dragonfly sitting on a reed and as fair and light as a rainbow after a storm.

The water echoed his words when he whispered to her and when the woman turned to him, the air sparkled with power.