The Herald was the unofficial leader of the Sanctuary.
Biography
Little is known about the Herald, other than what the Mountaineers know of her from Eaves’s correspondence through the Sanctuary. She was a seer who led those who were searching for magiq to safety, to a place where they could speak openly about it and practice in peace. It is believed that her granddaughter was the one who initially left the 30 Day Spell behind when she ran away to seek magic and join the Sanctuary.
The Search for Magiq
The Herald was first mentioned in the Sanctuary’s third post to the Mountaineers from the @searchformagiq account:
“We believed you were lost. But perhaps not lost, only somehow obscured, or pulled behind a veil too powerful for even the herald to pierce? Were we wrong to doubt your resilience? The Mountaineers, alive? We want to hope, but need to be sure. Please continue.”
In their fourth post, the Mountaineers learned more of the Herald’s abilities:
“Verso and Recto. Different, but still bound together now in our shared journey. After the day of change we thought you were lost, riven from the world. We are hopeful that we all were wrong. Have you felt it? The fundamental foundations of magic have broken and what remains is vanishing. But the herald saw a distant light. A possible future. She was so much before she had to close her eyes. The sight took too much from the world. She called to one, but you also answered. We are close now. Please continue and confirm our hopes.”
In their messages via Neithercourier, the Sanctuary also explained that though they knew nothing about any previous heralds, some held the belief that a new herald was born before every era, meant to usher in the new. They explained that the title had been granted to her “by some unknown force,” and that she had been rejected by many in her life because “she felt called to a purpose no one could understand.”
While the Herald seemed to be losing strength in the weeks leading up to the Day of Change, no longer able to see into the future, she regained clarity on the Sanctuary’s trek to Lion’s Heart. She took Eaves aside at one point on the journey and told him that she foresaw the Book of Kings closing, and that others were out there unknowingly bringing about the next age and binding the book that would chronicle how it came to be. Eaves believed she was referring to the Mountaineers and the Book of Briars.
When the Silver discovered their camp on the way to Lion’s Heart, the Herald ordered Eaves to leave her behind, telling him that she was fulfilling her duty to usher in the new age by leaving this world. Her exact fate after the Silver’s siege is uncertain, as there was no longer enough magic left in the world for her to be able to see into the future, which would have rendered her useless to the Silver should she have been captured.