The rain came without warning.
One moment the sky over Armathis was clear, the next it was veiled with black clouds that churned as if alive. The storm rolled in faster than any natural weather, and the people knew it. They whispered of omens, of gods displeased, of devils stirring.
Darian pulled his cloak tighter as he hurried through the market square. The whispers were louder tonight, slithering at the edges of his thoughts.
Move the piece. Take what is yours.
He clenched his fists. "Leave me," he muttered under his breath. But the voice only laughed, soft and cruel.
Then it happened.
A merchant screamed. His cart of goods had tipped on its own, scattering fruit into the mud. Children wailed as the air grew heavy, thick with dread. A dog snarled at nothing.
And in the chaos, Darian saw them figures on the board. Not carved wood. Not imagination. For an instant, the world around him shifted, and every passerby became a game piece. Soldiers of shadow, pawns of light. And his hand... his hand itched to move them.
He staggered back, nearly colliding with a girl carrying a satchel of herbs.
Elira.
She caught herself, eyes flashing with irritation then froze. She had seen it too. Just for a heartbeat, the storm revealed the same vision to her: the city not as it was, but as a game board, lines of power stretched across every living soul.
Her chest tightened. The gods' warning echoed. The shadow stirs. Find it.
Their eyes met.
Darian's were dark, restless, as though a storm lived behind them. Elira's glowed faintly, almost imperceptibly, as if light itself had taken shelter in her veins. Neither spoke, but something passed between them recognition, fear, inevitability.
The storm cracked open. Lightning split the sky.
And then, from the rooftops, shadows leapt.
Figures cloaked in ash and smoke descended, their eyes glowing red. The page's servants. Mortals twisted by whispers only they could hear.
The crowd scattered in panic. Darian staggered back as one of the creatures lunged at him. The voice in his head screamed....Command it! Command it now!
At the same time, Elira felt the crystal burn in her palm, a flash of light forming a shield around her as another shadow struck.
Two paths, light and dark, crossing in chaos.
The game had begun in earnest.