With each breath, Isaac felt a strange new sensation—hope, fragile and tentative, blooming within him. He closed his eyes, pressing close to the dog, the rhythmic beating of its heart lulling him into a dreamless sleep.

The following morning, as the village began to stir, it was the sound of Valor’s bark that shattered the usual silence. It was a sound that sent shivers through the villagers, a call to attention that something had awakened within the soul of the animal.