Before names, before thrones, before time learned to count itself, the world was whole.
The people of Elarion do not worship gods in the shape of men. Their prayers are not cast to distant stars or golden idols, but whispered into soil and stone, into sky and storm, into the bones of what was left behind.
They call it the Rootstone Covenant, a sacred trust that the gods once held the world in balance, and that their gifts still lie hidden beneath the surface of all things. Every healing spring, every shiver of shadow, every bloom of starlight, remnants of a divine tapestry unraveling slowly, but not yet gone.
And bound into this faith is a warning, a prophecy carved into the oldest living tree in the heart of Hollowdeep Grove, guarded by silent monks, sealed in bark and root:
"In the age of fracture, shall be born two of one breath.
One shall bear the gift of root, the other the shape of shadow.
Together they may mend what the gods left broken—
Or crown ruin beneath one name."
Royal houses have tried to claim the prophecy, to shape its truth to match their ambitions. Most have failed. But in the mountain keep of Holdfast Citadel, where the ruling line still honors the old rites, the Covenant stirs.
On a storm-choked night, Queen Seralyne gave birth to twin sons, the first in generations. The Rootstone Priest himself left Hollowdeep to witness the moment, drawn by a tremor through the soil only he could feel.
The first boy came into the world quiet and watchful, as if he'd already heard the song of the land. The second burst forth as if defying silence itself, his cry echoing with something deeper, something old.
Kael, named for the old word for "stone-born."
Kaelen, for "those who walk with dusk."
The priest placed a shard of the original Rootstone between the twins. It glowed — not gold or green, but a wavering shimmer of earth and night.
And from the corner, unseen by most, Princess Eryx, the firstborn, the heir, watched. Her expression unreadable. Her breath held.
The priest's voice cracked like thunder as he spoke once more:
"The Rootstone has chosen. The prophecy wakes.
And the world… must decide if it will follow."