The road is wet. It is a long, dark ribbon of mud and stone that cuts through the fog. You walk it. Your boots are heavy with the clay of the valley floor. The air is cold and tastes of iron. You carry a sword on your back. It is old. The steel is dark. You have walked for three days. Your muscles ache. The pain is a dull, constant drumbeat in your legs. You are a man of the law. You wear the grey cloak of the Watch. The hood is up. It hides your face. It hides your eyes.

You are going to the house of Lord Aldric. You are going to arrest him. The charge is treason. The charge is murder. The evidence is solid. The witnesses are many. The King’s seal is in your pocket. It is warm against your thigh. You know what you must do. You know the law. The law is a wall. It is high and hard and unyielding. You are the brick in the wall. You are the mortar. You are the strength that holds the kingdom together.

The house rises from the mist. It is a place of stone and shadow. The walls are thick. The windows are narrow slits. They glow with a faint, yellow light. It is a light that does not warm. It is a light that watches. The door is pale. It is made of ash wood. It is worn. The grain is rubbed smooth by centuries of hands. It is a door that has been opened and closed a thousand times. It is a door that has seen everything. It has seen joy. It has seen sorrow. It has seen blood. It is now dull. It is faded. It is weary.

You stop before it. The mist curls around your ankles. It is like a living thing. It whispers. It tries to pull you down. You stand firm. You lift your hand. You knock. The sound is dull. It is a thud. It echoes in the empty air.

There is no answer.

You knock again. Harder. The wood shudders. It is weak. It cannot hold the weight of your intent.

A shadow moves behind the glass. It is still. It is watching. You feel it. You feel the weight of its gaze. It is heavy. It is cold. You lower your hand. You wait. The silence is thick. It presses against your ears. It presses against your mind.

The door opens. It does not creak. It moves with a terrible ease. It slides back into the frame. It is as if it has been waiting for you. It is as if it knows you are coming.

Lord Aldric stands there. He is old. His hair is white. His eyes are bright. They are clear. They are sharp. He looks at you. He does not smile. He does not frown. He simply looks. He sees you. He sees the sword on your back. He sees the seal in your pocket. He knows.

He steps aside. He invites you in.

You enter. The air inside is still. It smells of dust and old paper. It smells of decay. The floor is cold. It is stone. Your footsteps echo. They ring out like bells. They are loud. They are intrusive. You hate them. You wish they were silent.

Aldric walks ahead of you. He moves slowly. His gait is steady. He is calm. He is not afraid. He leads you through the hallway. The walls are bare. They are dark. They are covered in shadows. There are no pictures. There are no tapestries. There is only the stone. There is only the dark.

You follow him. You keep your distance. Your hand rests on the hilt of your sword. You are ready. You are prepared. You have done this before. You have arrested men. You have sent men to the gallows. You have killed men. It is your duty. It is your burden. It is your life.

You enter the great hall. It is vast. It is empty. The ceiling is high. It is lost in the gloom. The fire in the hearth is low. It is a small, red eye. It flickers. It casts long, dancing shadows on the walls. The shadows move. They twist. They reach out. They try to grab you.

Aldric stands in the center of the room. He turns to face you. He is alone. There is no one else. There are no guards. There are no weapons. He is defenseless. He is open. He is exposed.

He looks at you. His eyes are deep. They are wells. They are black. You look into them. You see yourself.

It is a shock. It is a jolt. It is a strike to the chest.

You see your own face. It is in his eyes. It is clear. It is distinct. You see your own fear. You see your own doubt. You see your own hunger. You see the monster that lives inside you. It is the monster that kills. It is the monster that obeys. It is the monster that serves the King.

You see the pale door. It is in his eyes. It is the door that you just opened. It is the door that you will close. It is the door that you have walked through. It is the door that you cannot go back through.

You are not the judge. You are the accused. You are the mirror. You are the reflection. The law is not a wall. The law is a mirror. It shows you what you are. It shows you what you have become. It shows you the truth.

The truth is that you are tired.

The truth is that you are afraid.

The truth is that you do not know why you are doing this.

You look at Aldric. He is not fighting. He is not resisting. He is accepting. He is surrendering. He is letting you win. He is letting the system win. He is letting the King win.

He knows. He knows that you are broken. He knows that the sword on your back is heavy. He knows that the seal in your pocket is cold. He knows that you are no longer a man of the law. You are a man of the void. You are a man of nothing.

He extends his hands. They are open. They are empty. He invites you to take him. He invites you to bind him. He invites you to lead him away. He invites you to commit the act.

You step forward. Your boots crunch on the stone. The sound is loud. It is final. You reach for the ropes. They are in your belt. They are coarse. They are rough. You pull them out. Your hands shake. The ropes tremble in the air.

You look at Aldric again. His eyes are still. They are steady. They do not blink. They do not waver. They hold you. They pin you. They hold you in place.

You see the door again. It is pale. It is worn. It is the only thing that is real. It is the only thing that has not changed. It is the door that leads nowhere. It is the door that leads everywhere.

You are the one who must open it. You are the one who must close it. You are the one who must walk through it.

You bind his wrists. The ropes are tight. They bite into his skin. He does not flinch. He does not react. He remains still. He remains calm. He remains present.

You lead him to the door. It is the same door. It is the pale door. It is the door that you entered through. It is the door that you must exit through.

You push him out. The air is cold. The mist is thick. It wraps around him. It wraps around you. It is a shroud. It is a veil. It is a lie.

Aldric walks away. He does not look back. He walks into the fog. He walks into the dark. He walks into the unknown. He disappears. He is gone.

You stand alone. You stand before the door. The door is closed. It is shut. It is sealed.

You look at your hands. They are red. The blood is not his. The blood is yours. The blood is the blood of the law. The blood is the blood of the King. The blood is the blood of the truth.

You are alone. The house is silent. The fire is out. The dark is total. The dark is absolute.

You turn around. You walk back to the center of the room. You stand still. You close your eyes. You breathe. The breath is shallow. The breath is short. The breath is hard.

You remember the road. You remember the mud. You remember the fog. You remember the sword. You remember the seal. You remember the fear. You remember the doubt. You remember the hunger.

You remember the mirror.

You remember the face.

You are the monster. You are the beast. You are the thing that kills. You are the thing that obeys. You are the thing that serves.

You are the door.

You are the pale door.

You are the worn door.

You are the door that is closed.

You are the door that is open.

You are the door that is broken.

You are the door that is gone.

You stand in the dark. You stand in the silence. You stand in the void.

You wait.

You wait for the end.

You wait for the dawn.

You wait for the light.

But there is no light. There is only the dark. There is only the silence. There is only you.

You are still. You are still. You are still.

The door is pale. The door is worn. The door is closed.

You are inside.

You are inside.

You are inside.