The Council's response to Liora's formal warning came faster than any previous summons Jasmine had received — a full delegation arriving at the fortress within the week, Elder Voss himself at its head, his careful, measured composure visibly strained by the reports reaching him from a dozen different territories now. It was, Jasmine noted, the first time she had ever seen the old elder arrive somewhere without the deliberate, unhurried formality that usually defined every Council interaction.

"The Hollowing has been sighted in three separate regions," Voss confirmed grimly, spreading a map across the war table marked with an unsettling cluster of recent incidents. "Always near villages, always drawn to...