Allandra stared at the stone that lay on the ground before her. It was flat, round, and perfectly smooth — and it hadn’t been there a moment ago. Now, it nestled among the wildflowers she had just been picking.

A thrill of excitement made her smile. A Calling! It was a miraculous thing to be chosen by one’s Deity, especially since it happened so rarely these days. Allandra certainly had never expected to be one of the few.

She murmured a brief word of praise and bent down to gingerly pluck the stone from the meadow. There was no rune engraved to represent her Deity. Odd. Every Deity marked its Calling, so others would know whom the new priestess served.

Allandra turned the stone over — and gasped, dropping the stone.

Demon! Monster! Betrayer!

There, on the opposite side, was the rune — but not that of her own Deity. This was something else.

Her palm burned, and she looked to see the rune burned permanently into her skin. Elation turned to fear, and she did the only thing she could.

She ran.