Episode 45 – Trials of the Forgotten Realm
The chamber darkens. A pulse of ancient energy surges through the stone figure, and suddenly, the room begins to shift and rearrange. Walls disappear into shadow, the floor becomes transparent, and the team finds themselves standing on a floating platform suspended in a void of swirling mist and broken stars. The voice of the guardian echoes one last time:
"Three trials. One for the heart. One for the soul. One for the will. Only the worthy may leave."
Without warning, the team is split apart by a surge of magic—each person hurled into their own trial, tailored by the realm to test their deepest truths.
---
Lana – Trial of the Heart
Lana finds herself in a memory. Kael is dying again. Blood pools around him, the air heavy with smoke and screams. She's screaming too—clutching his lifeless body, just like the day he fell. Except this time, no one comes to help.
Over and over, she's forced to relive the moment of his death. Each time she tries to change it, the outcome stays the same. She punches the ground, sobbing, furious.
Then a version of Kael appears—not the real one, but a projection conjured by the trial. He speaks softly: "You couldn't save me. But can you forgive yourself?"
Lana hesitates, trembling. "I don't know how."
The projection reaches out and touches her chest. "Then start by saving yourself."
The moment she accepts her grief—not ignores it or buries it—the scene shatters. She collapses, emotionally drained but free. A glowing sigil appears in her hand. Trial complete.
---
Tunde – Trial of the Soul
Tunde lands in a bright, golden field. At first, he's smiling—then he realizes everyone around him is serious. A version of himself walks past him—cold, strict, responsible, everything he's always mocked.
"You waste your gift," the serious-Tunde says. "You hide your fear behind jokes. You'll never be strong enough."
Tunde laughs. "Strong? You're miserable."
But the trial doesn't let up. He's thrown into a battle—no magic, no humor, just raw survival. He struggles. Falls. Gets back up. Again. Again. Until finally, bleeding and breathless, he stands tall.
"Being light doesn't make me weak," he says. "I fight with heart. And that's enough."
The sky above him breaks open in applause. A sigil floats to his palm. Trial complete.
---
Rhea – Trial of the Will
Alone in a dark forest, Rhea searches for her wand. Every time she sees it in the distance and runs to it, it vanishes. Voices whisper around her—taunting, cruel.
"You're nothing without the wand."
"Just a girl who failed."
She stops running.
Then, for the first time, she closes her eyes and focuses inward—not on the wand, but on herself. A deep hum rises from her chest. Light spills from her fingertips. Not a wand. Not a spell.
Her own power.
She opens her eyes and lifts her hand. A flame—white and gold—erupts. She doesn't need the wand anymore. She is the magic.
The forest fades. Trial complete.
---
Kael – No Trial
Kael opens his eyes… and finds himself standing before an ancient mirror.
There is no trial. The guardian appears beside him, bowing slightly.
"You have already passed, Kael Velmorth. You are not a child of this age. You carry the storm of gods and the fire of judgment. You are the trial."
Kael doesn't feel triumphant. Just… tired.
"Let me protect them," he says quietly.
The guardian nods. "Then return to them."
---
Back to Reality
One by one, the team is returned to the floating platform. They're bruised, weary, but glowing with new sigils burned onto their skin—proof of passing the trials. The guardian steps aside. A hidden staircase of floating stones begins to appear, spiraling into a glowing portal.
Their path out of the unknown world lies ahead.
But something stirs in the void beneath them. Something ancient… and watching.