As the bell rang for the seventh time, Aiden woke up from the abandoned outpost. His robe was stained with dust from fifty years ago, and the torch automatically ignited with a faint blue light in his hand. He was the only one left in the Night Watch, and Long Night seemed not to leave this time. The townspeople have long forgotten how to make a night repellent potion, and the children think Moonlight is just their grandmother's bedtime story. Aiden pushed open the creaking wooden door and saw darkness pouring slowly from the mouth of the Forgotten Mine, crawling across the fields like sticky asphalt. He counted the silver-headed arrows in his quiver - twelve, and then took the long vigil sword with a chipped edge from behind the door. The names of all his dead comrades were engraved on the hilt of the sword, and the last name was his own, half-way through.
