The first signs are easy to mistake for another cruel season. Frost arrives early, fields lose light and settlements report attacks with increasing regularity. Arlinn follows a string of killings through Kessig and finds more than a predator. Tovolar has returned, werewolves are answering his call and the moon itself seems to be granting them greater freedom.
Beneath the Celestus, Katilda and the Dawnhart Coven explain the larger pattern. The ancient mechanism once helped regulate Innistrad's seasons, but it cannot be restored by effort alone. Its ritual requires the Moonsilver Key, a relic tied to the plane's oldest protective magic. Harvesttide will gather the covens and provide the moment to act, provided Arlinn can bring the key before the last useful sunset.
Elsewhere, the same failing daylight turns local mistakes into lethal folklore. Astronomancer Vadrik and cathar Rem Karolus uncover a guardian called Stickfingers that obeys the boundaries of an old estate rather than the intentions of its summoner. Their case captures Innistrad's central problem in miniature: magic meant to protect a home becomes monstrous when nobody remembers the terms that bind it.