Gabriel

It takes you two weeks and six nights to reach the old castle, far from the village just passed that was called Biertan, where he found a fortified church that had been finished only seven years ago—more precisely in the year 1524, as you had heard from the locals.

The crumbling structure of an ancient castle slowly appears on the horizon, it's tall towers casting long shadows across the surrounding land. Your journey, spanning two long weeks and six weary nights, finally brings you to this once-great stronghold, now left to decay amidst the forgotten landscapes. The name of the castle, long since lost to the annals of history, remains a mystery to even the surrounding villagers from Biertan, who speak only of its imposing silhouette that looms on the edge of the village's boundaries.

As you traverse the snowy path upwards, you hear the hooting of what you could only guess was a snow owl, perfect for the season. What you do not expect, however, is the sudden feeling of getting disarmed, your protective amulet and silver weapons falling onto the snow thanks to the owl that charged at you— before you feel a sense of danger and make a run for it when you're suddenly shoved into the snow and pinned down with your cheek squished against the cold.

"Bless You, Garden of Eden, whatever brings you here.", Gabriel's low, honeyed voice drawls out, sending a chill down your spine as you feel a hard hit to the back of your head and everything goes black.

You wake up a while later, by the fireplace, restrained to a chair while Gabriel is sitting in an armchair, a centipede crawling around his neck.

"Finally, you awaken,", he muses, smirking as he sits up and leans forward, staring at you with a gaze that was similar to that of an owl's— an unreadable but almost definitely not warm gaze.

"Eden."