The sky over Velandor split into lavender and silver as twin moons slowly rose from opposite ends of the horizon, casting the ancient kingdom in an otherworldly glow. Wind whispered through the trees of the Eldenvale forest, stirring leaves that shimmered like crystal. A hush fell over the land, not of peace, but of a world holding its breath. For tonight, fate would choose its Heartbound.
Deep in the heart of Eldenvale, beneath the roots of a massive silverwood tree, a heartbeat pulsed where none should have been. It echoed through soil and stone, calling out to a soul long fated for magic.
Aeryn Valemire stood at the edge of a ravine carved by time and magic, her cloak billowing in the wind like the wings of a raven. Seventeen winters old, she was neither noble nor soldier—just the adopted daughter of an herbalist who'd always known her world was not meant to be ordinary.
The heartbeat called again—thud-thump, thud-thump—and she clutched the pendant around her neck, a piece of obsidian wrapped in silver wire. Her mother had given it to her with a warning: "When it beats, your true story begins."
And now it was alive with rhythm.
Behind her, footsteps broke the silence.
"Still hearing it?" a familiar voice said.
She turned to see Kael, her childhood friend and the only person who believed her stories about dreams that bled into daylight and about stars that whispered her name.
"It's louder," she whispered, her voice trembling. "It's…calling me."
Kael stepped beside her, eyes narrowed. "We shouldn't be this far into the Vale. If the Sentinels catch us—"
"I know," she cut in. "But something's happening, Kael. Something ancient."
He sighed, brushing back his windblown hair. "You always said you weren't meant for this world."
Aeryn didn't answer. Her eyes locked on the canyon below, where mist rose like breath from the earth. The forest shimmered strangely under the moonlight, and the obsidian in her hand grew warm.
Suddenly, the ground trembled.
Aeryn staggered. From the ravine, a column of light burst upward—golden, spiraling, and impossibly wide. Birds scattered. The sky crackled with raw energy. Kael cursed and grabbed her arm, but she stepped forward, drawn.
"Do you see that?" she whispered.
A figure emerged in the light.
Or not a figure… a being.
It stood nearly ten feet tall, cloaked in radiance, with wings of fire and a face hidden behind a mask of stars. Aeryn could barely breathe.
Kael dropped to one knee, eyes wide. "By the gods…"
The being spoke, and the voice was neither male nor female—it was a choir of echoes.
"The One Heartbound is chosen."
The pendant around Aeryn's neck shattered with a crack like thunder. Light flared from her chest, wrapping her in golden bands. She screamed, the sound swallowed by the wind.
Then everything went black.
---
When Aeryn woke, she was no longer in the forest.
She lay in a vast circular chamber with a domed ceiling painted like a moving sky. Stars blinked in strange constellations. Floating lanterns hovered midair, and walls pulsed with soft, breathing light.
"Where…am I?" she whispered.
"You're in the Hall of Eternara," said a deep voice.
A man stood nearby, robed in navy and silver, with a staff of crystal and a face carved with age. His eyes glowed faintly violet.
"I am Elrieth, Keeper of the Bonds," he said.
Aeryn sat up slowly, her body aching. "The Bonds?"
"You are Heartbound now," Elrieth said. "Chosen by the Core of Magic itself to restore balance to our crumbling realm."
She stared. "There must be a mistake."
"There is none," he said solemnly. "The Heartbound appears once every millennia—when magic fades and darkness rises."
"What darkness?"
Elrieth's face tightened. "The Shroud. A force of unraveling. It has returned, devouring magic from the inside out. If left unchecked, Velandor will fall into a silent void. No stars. No light. No love. Nothing."
Aeryn's pulse quickened. "And I'm supposed to stop it?"
He nodded. "You and your Boundguard."
"My…what?"
A doorway behind Elrieth opened. Aeryn's heart leapt when Kael stepped through, armor strapped to his chest and a dazed look in his eyes.
"You?" she blurted.
Kael shrugged. "I followed the light. Next thing I know, they're strapping metal to me and calling me a guardian."
Elrieth smiled faintly. "The Heartbound cannot walk alone. Each is fated a Boundguard—one soul tied to protect and walk beside them through all trials."
Aeryn looked at Kael. "Is this…real?"
He grinned. "Feels real. And terrifying."
Elrieth's tone turned grave. "Your journey begins now. The Heartbound must find the Four Crystals of Origin before the Shroud reaches them. One lies in the Glade of Whispers. You must travel swiftly. Time is unraveling."
Aeryn stood shakily. "I don't know how to use magic."
"You don't need to know," Elrieth said. "You are magic now."
He raised his staff. Symbols burned in the air—a circle of ancient runes. They wrapped around Aeryn, and the warmth from her chest flared.
A mark bloomed on her wrist: a golden sigil shaped like a phoenix wrapped around a heart.
Kael's eyes widened. "That's the Crest of the First Flame."
Aeryn touched it, feeling something ignite inside her—like a sleeping dragon stirring.
"What now?" she asked.
Elrieth's gaze darkened. "Now, you run faster than the dark."
---
By morning, they rode wingbeasts—serpent-like creatures with feathers instead of scales—across the skies of Velandor. The wind lashed at their cloaks as mountains passed beneath.
Kael leaned close to Aeryn. "Still think you were meant for ordinary?"
She laughed, the sound shaky. "I think I'm losing my mind."
"No," he said. "You're finding it."
Their destination rose in the distance: the Glade of Whispers, hidden in the Dreaming Woods. Legends said trees there spoke in riddles and time bent like a ribbon in the wind.
But as they neared, the sky darkened unnaturally. Shadows crawled along the clouds. Lightning crackled, but there was no thunder—only silence.
The Shroud had found them.
Aeryn barely had time to leap from the wingbeast before the forest attacked. Vines shot out, twisting into claws. The trees wept black sap. A figure emerged—a woman draped in darkness, with silver tears and hollow eyes.
"Heartbound," she hissed, voice laced with sorrow. "You awaken too late."
Kael drew his sword. "Back away."
The woman raised a hand, and the ground shattered. Kael was thrown back. Aeryn screamed and stepped forward, the sigil on her wrist glowing furiously.
"Don't touch him!" she cried.
The woman sneered. "You hold a flicker of flame. I am eternal dusk."
Aeryn clenched her fists. The warmth inside her exploded outward. A pulse of golden fire surged from her chest, blasting the shadow-woman back. The trees recoiled. The wind howled.
Magic. Real magic. Not summoned, not learned—born.
Kael coughed as he rose. "Okay… that was new."
Aeryn blinked at her hands, still glowing. "I didn't even think."
"Good," said a voice behind them.
Elrieth stepped through a portal of stars, robes flaring. "You didn't think. You felt. That is the essence of Heartbinding."
The Glade of Whispers opened before them—a clearing bathed in soft violet light. Floating above a crystal pool was the first Origin Stone, glowing with memories of a thousand years.
Aeryn approached it, her fingers trembling.
Voices filled her mind—songs of past Heartbound, memories of love and loss, of courage and fear. She gasped as the stone flared.
And then it settled in her palm like it had always belonged there.
Behind her, the trees whispered a name.
"Liora…"
Aeryn turned. "What did they say?"
Kael frowned. "It sounded like—your real name."
She stared at the glowing stone in her hand.
For the first time, she felt like she was waking up from a long dream.
She wasn't just Aeryn Valemire anymore.
She was Liora, the One Heartbound.
And her story was just beginning...