She found herself kneeling upon lush brown grass, watching as Saint Daniil carved a sculpture from starlight. Her predecessor did not acknowledge her presence, but she did not feel unwelcome. She tilted her head curiously as the Saint formed a pair of empty eyes upon a beautiful face.

    "Starlight can be shaped into anything you desire," Saint Daniil said. His voice was different than she expected. It was low and gentle, not matching his age-hardened features.

    He faced her, moonlit gaze mirroring her own. "But remember, what is not alive cannot grant life. The unliving are merely vessels waiting to be filled."

    She furrowed her brows, but asked no questions. She followed Saint Daniil's gaze back to his sculpture. Beneath its glassy skin, stars shown within inky darkness. Saint Daniil rose and stretched a hand over his creation.

    Her lips parted with a gasp of surprise as the sculpture's chest rose and fell, almost as if it had drawn breath. Slowly, the creature sat up, then pushed itself onto its feet.

    "Remember this as well, young Princess," Saint Daniil continued. "A vessel filled is a vessel sealed." There was no time to question his meaning. Darkness invaded her surroundings, accompanied by a tearful wail.

•༻᯽༺•

    Nastasia blinked her eyes open and cried out, rolling just in time to avoid a blow from a spirit's taloned hand. Moxie shrieked and reared back on her hind legs, yanking against the reins that kept her tied to a tree. Nastasia scrambled onto her hands and knees and flung herself at Morana. Talons whistled through the air. She managed to catch the blow on the flat side of her sword.

    Nastasia gritted her teeth, grunting as she fought to hold back the spirit. She kicked her legs, but to no avail. Her feet passed right through the spirit's lower half. Her muscles screamed against the force of the spirit's attack, but Nastasia struggled on. She thrust Morana up, throwing the spirit a few feet away.

    Nastasia hurled to her feet, starlight sparking to life at her palm. Shadows coiled around both of her arms, waiting for her to wield them. The spirit recovered itself and floated towards her, arms outstretched. Nastasia fought the gag that threatened to seize her throat.

    This spirit had very little clothing compared to some of the others she had seen. As such, she could see almost every inch of the creature's decaying form. Sinewy flesh hung from cragged bones. Crimson thorns were wrapped around the spirit's exposed ribcage, and had choked out a portion of its chest where she assumed a heart had once been.

    There was no skin whatsoever on the spirit's face and it was missing its lower jaw. A long tongue lolled from the roof of its mouth. Its nose was nothing but a gaping hole, and two red orbs glowed within empty eye sockets. Coarse, stringy hair hung from the spirit's skull in long locks, mingling with the tattered skin and cloth floating around it.

    "Let me in," the spirit begged, the sound of its voice more sorrowful than anything she'd ever heard. "Let me in."

    "Something tells me that's not a good idea," Nastasia replied. The spirit drew closer and she raised an illuminated fist. Starlight flared and the creature paused. "Why do you want me to let you in?"

    "Warmth and sound instead of cold and silence."

    "Silence? The wails of you and your kin fill every inch of this forest."

    "A memory of sound is what you hear. The echo of what has long since passed."

    "You're speaking to me now."

    "And just an echo of my voice do you hear. To me, there is naught but silence. I only know I speak because you answer. Let me in. Do let me in." The spirit reached for her once more. "I beg to share your warmth. I beg to hear my voice. Let me in."

    "Stay back," Nastasia warned. "I...I'm not done speaking to you. None of the other spirits have spoken to me. Why did you?"

    "The others will force their way inside. They will force your lips apart and pry a welcome from your throat with their fingers." The spirit clacked its talons together. "I wish to be welcomed not by force, but by free invitation."

    "It didn't seem like that when you attacked me."

    "I did not wish to be welcomed by you then. You had not yet spoken to me. But now you have. Now I know you. A pretender. A false Knight. A Princess. A Saint. You will save us, won't you? Please say you'll save us. Say you'll save me. Let me in. Let me in."

    "I won't let you possess me. There must be another way I can help you."

    "There is no other way," the spirit wailed. "To be free, we must have bodies. Only mortals will do. No birds or beasts. We have tried. The birds could not fly and were devoured. The beasts went mad and perished. Only mortals will do. Let me in. Let me in. Let me in!"

    Nastasia stumbled backwards as the spirit lunged. Starlight encased her arm and spread into an oval, shielding her from the creature's cruel talons. She buckled beneath its force, but held her shield aloft. "Wait!" She cried. "I can help you!"

    "You cannot help me," the spirit sobbed. "You will not! Mortals will never help us. They left us here to die. They left us to the elements and now we are trapped amongst the roots. Trapped beneath the soil. Cold and worm-ridden. Silent and decayed."

    "What if I give you a body of your own again?" Nastasia exclaimed. "A body you don't have to be invited into, and a body you will never be forced out of?"

    The blows ceased falling and the spirit retreated. "Of what body do you speak?"

    Nastasia gulped down steadying breaths, hesitantly lowering her shield. "I can make you a body. Any body you want." At least, she prayed to the Goddess that she could. That she understood what Saint Daniil had been telling her in her dream.

    The spirit was silent for several minutes. At last, it retracted its talons. "I was a woman in life. A warrior. I was beautiful and strong. I could break a wolf's jaw with my bare hands. I was called Inesa's Heir. The people claimed that I could rival the Dwarf Queen in both beauty and brawn. Make me a body worthy of such a claim."

    Nastasia exhaled slowly and set Morana aside. "Very well. I'll do what I can."

    Starlight flickered around her fingertips as she closed her eyes. Nastasia let the face of a woman form in her mind. She recalled the carvings and tapestries of Queen Inesa that lined the walls of the palace. She envisioned the depictions of the Dwarf that were immortalized in stained glass.

    Bearing the images in mind, Nastasia opened her eyes and, with painstaking detail, began sculpting similar features out of starlight. She let her fingers follow the pattern that Saint Daniil's hand had, smoothing lines and ridges into the glassy substance. All the while, the spirit watched. Nastasia glanced at Morana, but didn't break off her work.

    Minutes dragged by. Nastasia was certain that each one would be her last, though the spirit did not move. With trembling hands, Nastasia smoothed one last line into the body's sculpted hair. Stars shimmered within its almost translucent frame, but there was something missing.

    "What is not alive cannot grant life," Nastasia whispered to herself, recalling Saint Daniil's words. "My starlight isn't alive." Her gaze shifted to her shadow bound arm. "But my shadows..."

    Carefully, Nastasia turned her hand palm up and touched the tips of her fingers to the body's lips. At her behest, the shadows slid down her arm and vanished into the body. The same inky blackness that had filled Saint Daniil's sculpture now filled hers.

    Nastasia looked up at the spirit. "I believe it's ready."

    "It is like nothing I've ever seen," the spirit said. "But it looks cold."

    "Maybe it's warmer on the inside than it is on the out," Nastasia replied.

    "Maybe." The spirit came closer, staring at the body with obvious hesitation. "I do not trust this body."

    "Can it be worse than the body you already bear?"

    "This is no body," the spirit moaned. "It is a shell." It reared back, then rushed for her.

    "No, wait!" Nastasia flung her arms over her face, but the impact never came.

    Her arms fell and she watched in stunned silence as the spirit immersed itself in the starlit body. Red mist swirled through the shadows and stars. Nastasia covered the body's mouth with her hand, willing the starlight to fuse, sealing the spirit inside.

    She backed away and reclaimed Morana as soon as the process was complete. Nastasia watched the body, waiting. Her heart hammered against her ribs, each beat threatening to knock the breath out of her. Then, the body's chest rose. And fell. And rose. And fell.

    The red mist began to glow gold and the same radiant light spread to its empty eyes. The body rose unsteadily. Nastasia tensed as it faced her. She was surprised to see glistening tears rolling down its glassy cheeks.

    "I am warm," the spirit said. "And I can see clearly. I can hear myself. I can hear these shadows and this starlight. They say they are mine to share. That I can pass them onto my kin and they will create bodies for them as well."

    Nastasia sheathed Morana as the spirit fell to its knees and hauled itself towards her. "I am freed," it wept. "I am freed, thank the Goddess. Thank the Saints. Thank you, Princess. I am freed."

    "I...I can't believe it worked," Nastasia whispered.

    The spirit grabbed her hand and kissed her knuckles with surprisingly soft lips. "How can I repay you? How may I atone for the lives I have taken over the centuries? How can I prove myself worthy of such a gift? Blessed be the Goddess. Blessed be the Saints."

    "You can free the other souls who were trapped like you," Nastasia answered. "Stop them from hurting the men in these Woods, and all those who might come after. You asked me for warmth and sound. You asked me for comfort and kindness. Provide the same to those who pass you by."

    "I will," the creature vowed. "You have saved us. At last, we have been saved. Praise be to you, Nastasia Ekaterina Morozov. Praise be to you, Moon Blessed Saint."

    The spirit released her and vanished in a flash of pale light. Nastasia stared at the spot it had been. Slowly, she lowered herself to her knees and pressed her palm against the bent blades of grass. The warmth of another body still lingered there.

    "I saved her," Nastasia whispered. "I didn't know my powers could do something like that. I've never heard of it being done before."

    She shook her confusion and awe aside as Moxie whinnied. Nastasia stood and grabbed her helmet, tossing it onto her head. She gathered up the rest of her scattered supplies and began saddling Moxie. There was no point in sleeping any longer. She had work to do and only a few hours left to do it.