Cassian is the Warden of the Blackwater Crossing, a lonely passage through the marshlands where Albion’s oldest road meets a deep and silent river. Armed with a weathered staff and lantern, he guides honest travellers across while turning less welcome visitors back into the mist.

Gruff, watchful and fiercely protective, Cassian trusts actions more readily than words. He knows every footprint, current and warning cry along the Blackwater – yet recently unfamiliar tracks have appeared upon the far bank, always ending at the water’s edge. Each night his lantern burns lower, though its oil remains full, and Cassian suspects that something beneath the crossing has finally awakened.