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XI - To the Gates of Dunscaith

The boat creaked softly as it cut through the black waters of Loch Alsh, each paddle stroke muffled beneath a heavy mist. The world felt swallowed by silence, only the occasional cry of distant gulls reminded them they weren’t yet ghosts themselves.

Duncan sat hunched at the bow, his jaw clenched tight, eyes lost somewhere beyond the fog. His knuckles were white around the shaft of his spear. He hadn’t spoken in over an hour.

Helena sat opposite him, watching. Not with fear, Duncan’s presence had never frightened her, but with a growing concern. The man who once steadied storms now trembled under invisible pressure. His breathing was shallow, uneven.

“Ana...” Helena’s voice broke the silence. “He’s not well.”

The cloaked figure between them didn’t lift her gaze. She was bent over a small wooden mortar, mixing herbs and drops of oil in slow, deliberate circles. The scent of sage and heather filled the air, trying in vain to replace the cold rot of the loch.

“Aye... I feel it too,” Ana said, her voice wrapped in warmth and weariness. “The closer we get... the worse it gets forrr him.”

Duncan let out a grunt, half pain, half rage.

“They’re whisperrrin’ again...” he muttered, his accent thicker now, distorted by emotion. “In the blood. In the bones. I can feel them underrr the waterrr... clawin’ up toward the light.”

Ana finally looked up, eyes searching his face. There was fear in her, but not for herself.

“Yerrr holdin’ too much, love,” she said gently. “Let the potion help ye. Just fer now.”

She poured the contents of the mortar into a small glass vial. The liquid shimmered unnaturally, a color not meant for daylight, like moonlight trapped in water.

Duncan didn’t move.

“Drink it,” Ana said, firmer this time.

His hands shook as he reached for it. He didn’t look at her, just drank. A slow breath escaped his lips as the tension began to ease from his frame. He leaned back, letting the weight slip from his shoulders for a moment.

“Thank ye...” he whispered. “I dinnae know how long I can keep this fight up... They’re strongerrr here. Hungrier.”

Helena finally spoke.

“Why here? Back at the lake, you had control. What’s changed?”

Ana looked toward the mists ahead.

“This land... it remembers,” she murmured. “The Weave’s knotted here, tangled in pain. And Dunscaith Castle, it’s where it all began.”

The boat struck soft earth. They had arrived. The Isle of Skye lay before them, veiled in mist and ancient grief.

Helena jumped to the shore first, offering her hand to Ana. Duncan followed, more composed now, but still quiet.

They walked without speaking, the forest swallowing them soon after. Every step forward made the ground feel older. Like the very soil had seen too much.

And yet Ana pressed on. She didn’t need a map, the Threads pulled her like a current. Toward something waiting.

They wouldn’t reach Dunscaith before nightfall. But already, the island whispered.

And Duncan wasn’t the only one hearing voices anymore.

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“Per lacum, in tenebris…”

“Animam tuam libera…”

“Fiat lux in umbris terrae…”

“Sanctus ignis ducat eos…”

MMHHHRRHH…

THA PAIN CRRRAWLS INSIDE ME BONES

THERRR'S NAE SILENCE ON THIS CURSED BOAT

AYE… THEY WHISPERRR IN THE DAAAAARK

ECHOES THAT TRRRREND THROUGH ME BLOOOOOD

[Ana] OHHH NOOO…

AH CANNAE TELL WHAT'S RRRREAL OR NO

ANA… MMHHH… WHERRRE ARRRE YE NOW

OH YESSS… LET THE DEMONS BUUURN

LET THEM DRRRINK ME SCARRRED SOUL DOOOOOWWWN

Aah’ve touched the land, me feet on stone

The spiiirrrits whisperrr still, but dinnae claw me so deep

Duncan, oh Duncan… yerrr touch brings peace

Me mind… mmhhh… it slows, it surrrrenders

She held me tight, gave me a potion sweet

Aye… ah drank, and ah wept, but felt somethin' calm

The madness fades, but the rrroad's still dark

[+Helena] Ah’ll fight if ye walk beside me, love

He drrrinks, an’ sighs… but it lingerrrs still

Why does his soul shatteerrr so close tae the Skye?

At Son Nom, he’s calm, in peace an’ grrrace

Here… mmhhh… the veil feels thin an’ currrsed

Is his soul lost? Or the land itsel’ brrroken?

Ah will heal ‘im… nae mattterr the prrrice

Hold on...

We step through(wind and mist)

Through haunted woods (and sorrowed skies)

Let not the night consume us

We’ll endure… oohh yes…together now...

We cross the loch with shadows near

The Isle of Skye, our path is clear

Though winds may scream and bones may freeze

Together we breathe, together we bleed

To find the Hub, beyond what eyes can see

To find the Hub

"It’s time tae move… The Thrrrread is callin’...We’rrre closerrr now…"

"Aye… let’s go… we cannot waste ANOTHER BREATH!!"

He walks… but shadows still dance in his gaze

Ana steadies him, but I see the tremors

Duncan's mind... is it truly whole again?

This isle feels… mmhh… like it knows his name

I fear what’s ahead…

The silence is never just silence here

I think of my father… and what he became

Will I follow his path… or carve a new fate?

“Custodi nos in nocte eterna…”

“Duc nos ad veritatem in ruinis…”

“Animarum nexus manet…”

“Per ignem et lacrimam…”

Oohh (mmhh…)

The wind is sharp, (but our steps are true)

We walk, we fall, (we rise anew)

The old blood sings beneath our feet

Still we press on… through storm and grief

We cross the loch with shadows near

The Isle of Skye, our path is clear

No silence can break our song

We are the flame, where we belong

Our wounds are open, but we are strong

The ancient stones beneath our pace

The voices fade, they lose their place

In unity (In unity), we find our light

To reach the Hub, beyond the night

“We’ve made it…Dunscaith Castle…”

“Ana?... Is it really ye?”

“Alistair?? Is that ye??... How… how is this possible?...”