Isilyn

The lights of Nethraven burned in the distance, a jagged line against the night. I stood there, breathing hard, my fingers still curled around my dagger. The man's words clung to me like a curse, poisoning the air in my lungs.

You're still running.

I shook my head, forcing my feet forward. Maybe I was running. Maybe I wasn't. Either way, I wasn't stopping now.

The forest thinned as I moved closer to the city, the air thick with the scent of damp earth and distant smoke. My muscles ached, exhaustion creeping in like an unwanted guest. I had been walking for hours—maybe longer—but the moment I set foot on the well-worn path leading to Nethraven's outer gates, something shifted in my chest.

I wasn't sure if it was relief or something else.

The city was massive, sprawling past the high stone walls that loomed ahead. The closer I got, the more I could make out—the slanted rooftops, the towering spires of old buildings, the flickering lanterns that lined the narrow streets. Even at this hour, the city pulsed with life.

A place like this would swallow me whole. And maybe that was exactly what I needed.

As I approached the gates, I pulled my hood up, shrouding my face in shadow. The last thing I needed was anyone recognizing me—especially not a guard who might question why the hell a lone traveler was creeping in at this hour.

Two men stood at the entrance, clad in worn armor, their spears crossed lazily in front of them. One of them straightened as I neared, his eyes sharp beneath the flickering torchlight.

"Business?" he asked, his voice rough from years of shouting over city noise.

I hesitated for half a second before forcing my shoulders back. "Just passing through."

The other guard eyed me, his gaze lingering a little too long. I resisted the urge to tighten my grip on the dagger beneath my cloak.

"Not much to pass through to," he muttered. "Nethraven's the kind of place you either get lost in, or you never leave at all."

Something about his words sent a shiver down my spine, but I only forced a smirk. "Sounds perfect."

The guards exchanged a glance before stepping aside, lifting their spears. "Don't cause trouble," one of them warned as I walked past.

I didn't bother answering.

Inside the city, the streets twisted in ways that made my head spin. Narrow alleys bled into wider roads, where vendors still shouted their final sales of the night. The scent of roasted meat and ale tangled with something fouler—damp wood, smoke, the sharp tang of too many people packed together.

Nethraven was alive in ways that the forests could never be.

And yet, something about it still felt wrong.

The shadows stretched unnaturally in some corners, and the city's heartbeat—loud, erratic—felt like a warning I wasn't sure I knew how to read.

I needed a place to rest, to think. Somewhere no one would look twice at a stranger with a hood and a dangerous gleam in her eyes.

I moved deeper, slipping through the tangled streets like a ghost.

And even as I walked, I couldn't shake the feeling.

That somewhere out there, someone was still watching me

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Zarek

The wheels rattled over uneven stone, the sound grinding against my skull. The carriage swayed with every shift in the road, but I barely felt it. My mind was elsewhere—trapped between the weight of what we were about to do and the creeping sense that something was off.

I leaned against the wooden frame, staring out through the small gap in the covered window. The city walls rose in the distance, dark and unmoving against the pale light of dawn. A fortress built on centuries of power. A power we were about to tear from its roots.

The men around me spoke in low murmurs, their voices hushed but tense. No one said it, but I could feel it in the air. The uncertainty. The quiet unease that came when the line between victory and disaster blurred into something impossible to see.

I ran a hand over my face, exhaustion settling deep in my bones. It had been hours since I last closed my eyes, but even if I tried, sleep wouldn't come. Not now. Not when everything was on the edge of a knife.

Korrin rode ahead, his silhouette barely visible through the shifting canvas flaps. He was a soldier to his core, built for moments like this. Unshaken. Unyielding. But me?

I wasn't sure what I was anymore.

The city gates were still a ways off when I felt it—something shifting in the air. A presence. Watching.

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I stilled, my fingers tightening around the hilt of the dagger at my side. The feeling was sharp, like the moment before a storm breaks, when the world holds its breath.

I turned my head slightly, just enough to catch movement beyond the tree line. A figure, barely more than a shadow, slipping between the ruins near the road.

Not one of ours.

I exhaled slowly, my pulse steady but alert. Whoever they were, they weren't here by accident.

I tapped my knuckles against the wooden wall of the carriage. Once. Twice. A silent signal.

Korrin's head turned, his gaze flicking toward me before following my line of sight. His hand went to his sword.

"Scout?" he muttered under his breath.

"Maybe," I said. But my gut said otherwise.

Korrin's expression darkened. "Could be someone looking for the same thing we are."

"Or someone trying to stop us."

His jaw clenched, but he didn't argue.

I forced myself to look away from the window, back to the map still clutched in my hands. The plan hadn't changed. The objective was the same. But the sinking feeling in my chest told me we weren't the only ones about to strike.

And for the first time in a long time, I wasn't sure if we were the hunters or the hunted.

I shifted in my seat, a crack in my usual calm starting to form. It wasn't just the mission or the uncertainty of the enemy ahead. There was something deeper, something gnawing at me. The cracks in my own resolve were widening. My role in all of this, my place in the grand scheme, felt... precarious.

The weight of leadership felt heavier with every mile we crossed, and the fear that had been buried beneath layers of resolve was starting to seep back in. How had we ended up here? Was this really the only way?

A low thud from the front of the carriage pulled me from my thoughts. Korrin had dismounted and was making his way toward the edge of the tree line, motioning for the others to follow. The scout, whoever they were, was getting closer.

I watched his figure disappear into the shadows. Every instinct screamed at me to follow, but I stayed put, too conscious of the fact that every decision now could shift the entire course of the mission. Could lead to the downfall we'd been working to avoid from the start.

I glanced back at the others. Their eyes flicked between me and the darkening forest, tension radiating off them. I could almost taste the fear rising in the air. But this was it. We had no choice but to push forward. There were too many lives depending on the success of what we were about to do.

But what if we were wrong?

The thought gnawed at me, persistent and cold.

I couldn't afford doubt. Not now.

I stood up abruptly, the motion making the others stiffen. "Stay alert," I muttered, not looking at them. "We're not alone out here."

And then, I took a breath. Because whatever came next—whether it was an enemy or a twist of fate—I knew one thing for certain: we wouldn't be leaving this road the same way we came in.

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Dravena

The hum of the temple still lingered in the air, reverberating through my bones as I stepped away from the pedestal. Each movement felt deliberate now, calculated. The artifact's power was still present in my veins, like an echo of the storm that had once defined my life. But this time, it was different. I wasn't fighting it. I wasn't afraid of it.

The chaos that had once threatened to consume me, the very essence of the storm I had unleashed, was no longer a wild force out of my control. It was mine.

And yet, as I walked, the whispers returned—quiet at first, almost imperceptible. I knew they weren't just in my mind. The power of the temple, the artifact, they were speaking to me. Urging me onward. But I wasn't going to listen blindly again.

I had heard the warnings before: Chaos will consume you.

Was this the price of power? The cost of controlling something so wild? My past had been littered with those who had tried to contain me, those who had feared my magic. I had destroyed so much already, and each piece of the wreckage seemed to be a reminder that this path wasn't one that could be walked without consequence.

But I wasn't the girl I had been. I had made my peace with that girl, the one who had torn apart her village with a reckless wave of magic. That moment, that disaster, had shaped me into who I was now. It had shown me the price of losing control, and I had learned.

I reached the edge of the temple ruins and looked back, the ancient stones now nothing more than a shadow in the distance. The silence of the place felt oppressive as if the walls were watching, waiting for me to turn around, to reconsider. But I didn't.

The chaos inside me was not a burden anymore. It was power, and I would wield it.

But Nethraven awaited.

The city had been on my mind ever since my last visit—a city of stark contrasts, where the poor roamed the streets in the shadows of towering, gilded spires. A place where secrets festered in every corner. A place where answers could be found, if you knew where to look. And right now, I needed answers.

What had I really unlocked with the artifact? What deeper truths would it reveal? And what role would I play in the larger story that was unfolding?

I shook my head. I wasn't going to overthink it. The path forward was uncertain, but one thing was clear: Nethraven wasn't just a city. It was the gateway to everything I needed to understand about the magic within me—and about the world that had been shaped by forces much older than I was.

I pushed forward, the wilds of the land stretching ahead of me. The breeze was crisp, carrying the scent of pine and damp earth. It reminded me of the forests I had wandered through in my exile, back when I had been alone, when I had thought my chaos was a curse I could never outrun.

But I wasn't alone anymore. Not in the way I had once been. And I wasn't just running from myself.

The power I had embraced, the control I had gained, it wasn't just for me. I didn't know exactly what was coming, but I could feel the pull of something larger than myself—something that demanded I be ready. Nethraven, with all its turmoil, would be the crucible that would forge the next step of my journey.

As I walked, I could feel the stirrings of a deeper connection—almost like the earth itself was aware of my passage. There was something alive in this world, something ancient, that had been waiting for me. I didn't know if it was the magic or something else altogether, but I felt its presence on the wind, in the crackling of the leaves beneath my boots.

And then, something else shifted.

A sudden, familiar sensation crawled up my spine—the sensation of being watched. It wasn't a new feeling, not by any means. I had spent most of my life as an outcast, hunted by those who feared my magic, and I had learned to always be aware of my surroundings.

I spun on my heel, scanning the shadowed woods around me. Nothing moved. No sound except the whisper of the wind and the distant calls of birds. But I felt it—an energy, a presence, hidden just beyond the edge of my perception.

Was it the artifact? Was it something—or someone—else?

I wasn't sure. But the nagging feeling wouldn't go away. For all the power I had gained, all the control I had taken back from the chaos, I still wasn't truly in command of what I didn't understand. I still couldn't see everything, and that was the most dangerous thing of all.

I shook my head again, clearing away the creeping thoughts. No. I couldn't afford to be distracted. Not now. Not when Nethraven was so close, with its dark promises and hidden truths.

My footsteps quickened as I moved through the woods, the trees giving way to the open plains that marked the border of the city. The path ahead was becoming clearer now, and despite the uncertainty gnawing at my insides, I was ready for it. The chaos that had once held me captive no longer ruled me. It was mine to command.

I had come far, but the true test had yet to begin.