Chapter 36: The Divine Reckoning
The Hall of Verdicts had not echoed with such charged silence in millennia.
Perched atop the jagged cliffs of Etheryon, where time bled into mist and the stars felt near enough to touch, the Divine Council had gathered. Thrones forged of primordial elements ringed the obsidian dais—each representing a ruling deity of ancient domains. Fire, water, air, earth, void, and ether—all sat in tense stillness, their gaze fixed on the radiant flare floating above the Judgment Well.
Aetheris, the High Arbiter, descended in a weave of silver vapor, his eyes moonlit orbs that saw not merely truth, but the roots beneath it. "Let the Council bear witness," his voice rang out, reverberating through space itself. "The Flame of Pyranthos has split. A second heartbeat echoes within the unborn heir."
A low murmur rippled through the assembly. The representatives of each realm, cloaked in ancient authority, whispered in confusion, then apprehension.
From her obsidian throne laced in molten gold, Lady Thiranya of Fire narrowed her eyes. "This has not happened since the Sundering Age. A dual essence within one womb? Either a mistake in the fates or... manipulation."
Jaxen Thalor, now seated beside Mira in spirit alone, watched from the edge of the chamber. He had not spoken since Mira had been removed from the realm of mortals, her form protected deep in the Etherhold. Her pregnancy had become more than just a lineage of Fire and Water. It was a storm wrapped in flesh.
Lord Vaerion of Void floated slightly above his seat, folds of shadow swirling like galaxies. "Two divine entities. Not one heir—but two souls."
"That would mean a tearing of the prophecy," hissed Maelon Pyranthos, stepping forward from the Fire contingent. "Our child carries the rebirth of Valeria. The flames recognize her. This... other... threatens the line."
Aetheris lifted a hand. "Let testimony begin."
First to rise was Sevariel, Oracle of the Whispering Winds, eyes veiled, speaking not her words but those carried on the ancient winds. "There is more than blood in the womb of Pyranthos. A guardian has awakened. Not of flame, nor of water. But of the Seal left behind."
Gasps.
"The Seal?" Thiranya leaned forward, voice sharp. "That is myth. The final safeguard created at the end of the Godwars."
"Then it is no myth," Sevariel whispered. "The heartbeat within Mira carries the same resonance as the sealstone."
Vaerion stood. "If the second soul is a guardian... it will awaken with purpose. Protection? Destruction? None can know."
Jaxen rose now. "I felt it. Before I brought Mira home. The second presence. It spoke through the flames. It spoke through Kael. It called itself Elantris."
Another wave of silence. Then murmurs of ancient fear. The name had not been spoken in eons.
Thiranya stood now, her presence fiery, divine. "Elantris was sealed. Banished. A force too strong to destroy, too proud to submit. If this is true... the child may not be heir. It may be a prison."
Maelon flared. "You speak treason against your own blood!"
"I speak caution," Thiranya replied coldly.
Aetheris turned to Jaxen. "Do you believe Elantris endangers the line?"
"I believe Kael needs Mira," Jaxen replied. "And I believe whatever Elantris is... it is tied to her past. To all our pasts."
Another member stood—Lady Elaria of Ether, draped in mist. "Then the question becomes: Do we allow the birth to occur? Or do we intervene now and cleanse the threat?"
Mira appeared then, not in body, but through the mirrored flames of the Judgment Well. Her voice rang out, steady and strong.
"I am not your vessel. I am Valeria reborn. And this child—these children—are not threats. They are balance."
A final silence fell.
The Council must now decide. And the heavens held their breath.
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