Wearing the gemstone necklace given to him by a mysterious girl he saved, Bran embarks on a journey to the Bard campus his father once went to. However, he's never traveled beyond his home. All he knows about the outside world is from sketches in school books. And what he has learned from the mutilated Residences, who escaped from the Emperor's land across the sea.If he survives the journey to the Bard campus, he'll learn why his father was so adamant that he become a Bard. And as a Bard, he can search for her, the Owner of the Gemstone. EXCERPT His sight becomes blurry. Images fade in-and-out. Things grow extraordinarily large. Everything becomes unclear and black speckles dance in front of his eyes. He stands up and staggers outside into Cranny's Forest. "Off to the Campus, alone," he sings: Off alone, to a place far from homeWhere the Bards areSo, I can sing to the EarthOf a love, I don't understand Her long brunette hairThe tiny freckles around her noseAre burned into my memoriesAnd her evergreen eyesAs luminous as a pond, Under gathering fireflies For a moment of braveryWhen I saved her, from two ghoulsShe clasped a silver necklace, around my neck Her farewell kiss, a bonding reminderThat when we are older, I must return to her, This gemstone necklace, That always rests, against my chest EXCERPT Gently, he lays his lute on his lap, and gazes around at his surroundings. To the east there are alternate clusters of apple and cherry trees. Beyond the clusters he can see a wall of pine and spruce. Behind that wall the Druids roam. Through the rustling leaves, and gentle wind, he can hear the faint whistle of the Druids playing their flutes. He places the strap of his lute over his shoulders, and lightly twangs the strings. He wants to synchronize his lute sounds with their flute whistles but they are too distant. Something inside, some hidden essence, makes him sing as he plays: He ran beside the forest to find the place of his destinyEverything seemed dark and overgrown Alone, he ran, Through the dense woods No one knows what creatures he met, Nor the men who captured him, Nor the one who let him go Who would believe the monsters he saw, Two-headed men, With hatchets Covered in blood-
