King of Thorns — Feature Film: The Distant Lady of the Crystal Water
The downpour struck the ancient slate of Domino’s high parapets with the force of thrown iron. Inside the Grand Chamber, the hearth crackled, casting elongated shadows across the vaulted ceiling, but no fire could warm the cold silence that had settled over the realm. King Oritel stood by the arched window, his hand rested heavy on the hilt of his sword, staring out into the roaring dark. Beside him, Queen Marion sat motionless at the council table, her hand hovering over a parchment map of the realm that had been inked and re-inked until the leather was thin. It had been three long moons since the royal lineage was shattered. Princess Daphne and little Princess Bloom had vanished into the twilight without a sound, without a struggle, as if dissolved by the morning mist. Oritel had summoned every force Domino possessed. The Royal Guard swept the mountain passes; the court sorcerers burned through hundreds of spell-candles, reading the ash; and grand archmages from across the realm drew...