The Emperor asked to be left alone. The news that had reached his ears worried him. Darkness was creeping into his empire, and he wondered where it came from and what it meant. From the icelands to the waters of the sea-elves, tales had reached him, news had come swift. It reached him from so many sources that he wished no longer to ignore it.

He would call an assembly, later, he was sure about that. But for now he wanted to go to his library. There he knew were the books he needed, there, he thought, was a prophecy that had foretold what was about to happen.
But was it something that would be unchangeable? Something that fate would bring? Or was there something he could do about? Slowly but with firm steps, he walked through the halls of his palace, up the round winding stairs, towards the huge library.
The library itself was high, with seven balconies, connected by stairs, because from floor to ceiling, from east to west, there were books, thousands of them.

But the emperor knew where to look. On the third balcony, his fingers touched several books, he hesitated a moment, took a step back, but shook his head. He counted the numbers of a row with only grey books, and finally picked out the 7th. A large, grey book, the title of the front cover in pure gold said “Darkness Covers the Sun”. Here he would find what he needed.