Her eye snagged on a page, and she paused, backtracking until the illustration reappeared. It had been done in sparing colors: blacks, whites, reds, and the occasional yellow. All painted by a master’s hand, no doubt an illustration of whatever was written beneath it. The illustration revealed a barren crag, an army of soldiers in dark armor kneeling before it. Kneeling before what was atop the crag. A towering gate. No wall flanking it, no keep behind it. As if someone had built the gateway of black stone out of thin air. There were no doors within the archway. Only swirling black nothing.
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