In the hallowed vaults beneath the Sylvaran royal library, Queen Selene traced her fingers across the bark of the Elderroot Codex,..a tree grown from the last seed of the First Grove, whose leaves bore living memory instead of ink.
Today, the leaves were bleeding.
Red sap dripped from the ancient wood, forming strange runes on the marble floor.... symbols none of the elves had ever seen. The druids, once proud keepers of lore, now stood in silence, fearing to even speak.
Kaelen watched uneasily from a distance. "It's happening everywhere," he murmured to Selene. "The trees weep, the rivers whisper, and half the sages claim they hear the first tongue in their dreams."
Selene didn't look away. "This is Velkaron's doing. Not just reshaping time.., but unsealing knowledge that was never meant to return."
One of the runes shimmered and formed a recognizable shape: the crest of the Highblood Lineage, the divine ancestry of the Four Kings.., Leonhart, Thalorien, Durgan, and Nyxara.
Kaelen stepped forward, eyes wide. "That symbol… it's sacred. Known only to the heirs of the Creator's blessing."
"And now it's burned into a tree that predates the Four Kingdoms," Selene whispered.
The tree trembled once more. And a voice, not quite alive, not quite memory..echoed from within.
"They were not chosen by fate. They were shaped by guilt."
In Solhaven, King Alden sat across from a robed stranger in the Council Chamber. The room was empty, save for Elira and two of the realm's most trusted guards. The man's cloak shimmered with mirrored fabric, reflecting every face around him in distorted form.
"I come from the Echoes," the man said calmly, as though he were asking for tea. "I am a Remnant."
Alden's fingers tapped the hilt of his blade. "Remnant of what?"
The stranger smiled. "Of the world that came before yours."
The chamber grew cold.
"Before Eldaris?" Elira asked carefully.
The Remnant nodded. "Eldaris was not the first world shaped by the Creator. Nor the first to fall under his shadow. Before there were Four Thrones, there were Five Wells. Five bloodlines, each gifted a piece of the divine. But when one rebelled… the others buried his memory."
Alden's voice was like steel. "Velkaron."
"Yes," the Remnant said. "But he was not born of shadow. He was born of light, just like the rest. His descent came only after the Creator abandoned them all."
Alden leaned forward. "What does this have to do with us?"
The Remnant tilted his head. "Everything. Because your blood carries the echo of those ancient lines. And now, the Fifth Velkaron's...awakens again."
Elira's hand tightened on the arm of her chair. "So what are you saying?"
The Remnant smiled. "That to stop him, you must remember who you truly are. You must awaken the Fifth Lineage."
Far beneath Ironspine Hold, Queen Freya descended into the Vault of Chains, a sealed crypt where forbidden relics of the dwarven past were entombed—locked behind stone and rune, never to be unearthed.
She stood before a sarcophagus sealed in obsidian. Upon its lid was a carving of a dwarf… but not one like any ever known. This one bore wings of metal and stars for eyes.
Myrin approached hesitantly. "Your Majesty, this isn't just ancient history. This is myth."
Freya's hammer echoed against the stone. "It was myth. Now it's prophecy."
The tomb hissed as runes unraveled.
Inside lay a dwarven king clad in armor fused with glass and gold. In his chest: a gem shaped like a heart, pulsing faintly.
Myrin gasped. "The Firstblood King. The one who helped the Creator shape the world's bones."
Freya looked down at the ancient body. "His blood runs in me. And now, it's calling."
The heart gem pulsed brighter, as if responding.
In a temple buried beneath the Netherhollow spires, demon scholars read from scrolls once scorched by divine fire. The texts bore names that no longer appeared in the histories of the living: Velkaron, Vyr'kaen, Saelon the First Flame.
But one name appeared over and over again, Nyxara.
She who bore the broken blessing, torn between shadow and light.
One warlock stepped forward, trembling as he addressed the ruling council of demon clans.
"She was not born