The children kept following in silence.
Their footsteps were light, but never light enough to escape the ears of a hunter like Azrael.
He never turned back, not once, and yet he knew exactly when their small shoes scraped against the stones of the path.
Elarwen whispered, her voice trembling like the wind:
"Why… why did Aurea turn into an elf? She wasn't Aurea… she was someone else."
Valtherion tugged at her sleeve, trying to sound firm even as his insides shook.
"It doesn't matter. If she really was Aurea, she'll protect us anyway. And if she wasn't… then we'll just have to become strong enough to find out."
Their voices faded into the dawn breeze, while before them walked the two shadows: the hunter and the elf.
It was Freya who broke the silence.
"Azrael," she said lazily, as if asking more out of boredom than curiosity, "where exactly are we going?"
The hunter didn't slow, nor turn his head.
"Eryndor."
Freya blinked.
"Eryndor?" Freya stopped, her eyes widening in disbelief.
"Eryndor." Azrael replied with a steady tone of voice.
"ARE YOU CRAZY?!" She yelled, "That's five hundred kilometers away. What, you planning to walk until the world crumbles around us?"
Azrael glanced at her, his expression carved in stone.
"Not on foot." he sighed.
At that moment, a rush of wings split the air.
From the sky descended a crimson raven, its feathers glowing like embers.
It landed gracefully upon Azrael's arm, who didn't flinch, as though he had been waiting for it.
Freya felt a sense of annoyance.
"Not that woman..." she thought, while clenching her fists.
She was probably feeling... jealous.
The raven's scarlet eyes shimmered, and in a sudden burst of light its body began to shift.
Feathers dissolved into streams of firelight, scattering like burning ash in the wind. From the smoke emerged the figure of a woman.
Her hair was long and golden, flowing like threads of sunlight.
Her eyes, piercing blue, gleamed with calm authority.
She bore a body sculpted by discipline and time — despite her fifty years, her beauty was striking, almost otherworldly, a beauty sharpened by power.
The children gasped, stumbling back in unison, and hid behind Freya's cloak.
The woman's gaze drifted to them.
"Who are they?" she asked to Azrael. Her voice was steady, curious but demanding, like one who expected an answer written in stone.
She didn't even notice Freya's presence, and because of that, the elf became more annoyed than before.
"That whore..." Freya thought.
"They will be new members of the Guild," Azrael said.
Only a few words. Nothing more. But it was enough.
The woman sighed, lowering her eyes as if accepting a verdict she couldn't dispute.
"Then I'll trust you." She said.
She bent slightly, her tone softening as she spoke to the children."My name is Sonisen," she said.
"You don't have to be afraid."
Valtherion clenched his teeth, unable to reply.
Elarwen pressed closer to him, her small frame trembling.
Sonisen's presence wasn't terrifying because of malice — it was terrifying because of her calm, immense power.
Without waiting for their answer, Sonisen straightened and took a step forward.
She had realized that the children couldn't speak.
"Stand back. This will take five minutes."
She knelt, pressing her palm to the ground.
A faint glow traced beneath her fingers, forming shapes like living fire.
Ancient runes flared to life, lines intertwining until they formed a vast circle pulsing with light — not carved into stone, but into the very fabric of the air.
"Oh, wow, is this the only thing you can do, Sonisen?" Freya teased, while crossing her arms.
Sonisen then moved her gaze to her.
"Oh, it seems like you're here too. Sorry, I didn't notice your presence... It seems like your power is close to zero..." The red crow replied, with a passive-aggressive voice.
Freya smirked , probably out of nervousness.
She hated that woman.
"Haha... at least I know how to fight. And I don't need to lure men to gain power." Freya said, with a malicious voice.
Azrael seemed totally indifferent to their conversation, like he didn't care about it at all.
He was actually scanning the whole area in search of any potential threats, in order to protect everyone.
Sonisen, instead, semeed to dislike Freya's sentence, but she pretended not to care.
"Tzch... just let me work, please. I don't have time for these stupid chats." She said, while starting to pronounce words in an unknown language.
Every single word triggered a magic rune in the air.
Every rune was a letter, and every letter formed a words, in circle.
She was probably opening a portal.
The children froze, breathless.
Every word Sonisen whispered bent the wind, lifted the ashes scattered across the path, and drew them into the glowing lines.
It was as if the world itself held its breath, watching the spell take shape.
Azrael tilted her head, smirking faintly. "Always the dramatist, Sonisen."
Freya ears twitched when Azrael talked to her.
Jealousy? Who knows...
The woman didn't answer, though a brief flash of blue in her eyes revealed she'd heard.
She was too focused to waste words.
Valtherion and Elarwen held hands tightly, their eyes wide.
To them, this wasn't just magic. It was a miracle.
The runic circle pulsed once, twice — then exploded in light.
The earth shook.
Before them, the air split apart.
A shimmering surface spread outward like liquid glass, reflecting not the ruined forest, but another place entirely.
Through the portal, the towering walls of Eryndor loomed.
Dark banners flapped from ancient towers of stone, and the air itself seemed thick with the weight of history, of blood, of power.
"It's ready," Sonisen said as she rose. Her voice was calm, as though she had simply lit a lantern — not torn open a path across five hundred kilometers of earth.
Azrael stepped forward without hesitation.
His cloak flowed into the portal like living shadow.
Freya followed, glancing back at the children with an amused glimmer in her violet eyes."Come along, little ones. The road has already begun."
Valtherion gritted his teeth. "I… I'm not afraid."Elarwen clung to him, her eyes shining with fear and awe alike.
Together, they stepped through.
The world bent around them. Light folded, shadows twisted, and in an instant the burning village was gone they were before, was completely replaced by another place.
"Welcome to Eryndor, hunters!" Sonisen exclaimed.
And in that moment, the children opened their eyes, looking to a completely new world.