Ardath: The Story of a Dead Self

A fierce storm lashes the jagged peaks of the Caucasus, turning the Pass of Dariel into a whirling vortex of thunder, lightning, and icy rain. Amid the howling wind and crashing avalanches stands the Monastery of Lars, a crag‑bound sanctuary where a small brotherhood gathers beneath a Cross of Fire. Their stark white robes and unshorn heads set them apart from any known order, and inside the stone grotto they chant the Magnificat while organ tones rise above the tempest.

Within this isolated refuge a young monk wrestles with a restless spirit that refuses simple devotion. He is torn between the serene certainty of the community’s rituals and a yearning for something beyond the shadow of a dream, a hope that seems both impossible and inevitable. As the storm rages outside, his inner conflict begins to stir, hinting at a path that may lead far from the monastery’s ancient walls.