This illustration takes place 20 years following the Hundred Years War. Maria Reynard was a mere serf of Orleans when she and her lord's second in line to the throne, Nicolas Reynard, met and fell in love with each other. Though neither family would agree to the marriage, they married against their will, and fled deep into the Black Forest. Soon, Maria gained a terminal illness where there was no cure...except for a strange springwater that granted eternal life...at a certain price.