Snow fell in slow spirals over the walls of Thalyra's former city. The crest of the Aeryn Line now flew from every tower, a falcon of silver ice stitched onto deep blue banners. The wind carried them high, visible for miles across the frozen plains. Messengers rode out in every direction, their mounts kicking up plumes of frost. They carried the same message to every town, village, and stronghold... the Tempest Heir had risen. The city was free. The storms had a master again.
Within days, word spread across the Shattered Empire. Markets in the western ports buzzed with rumors. In the desert provinces, where the heat of the sun burned like open flame, merchants whispered Kaelin's name over cups of spiced tea. Along the jagged coasts, fishermen claimed they had seen strange patterns in the clouds, as though the winds themselves had taken a side.
The Guilds listened too. In the obsidian halls of the Fire Guild, masters pounded their fists on the table as they heard of Thalyra's fall. In the mountain fortresses of the Stone Guild, their warlords spoke in low voices about the boy who had tamed the storm. Deep in the lightning towers, sparks danced around the council chamber as the Electrum Archons argued over whether to strike first or wait.
Kaelin knew they would not ignore him for long. Standing on the balcony of the frost palace, he looked over the city he had claimed. Torches glowed in the streets below, their light reflecting off the ice-capped rooftops. The air was sharp and cold, filled with the faint sound of hammers as the freed captives rebuilt walls and homes. Each day, more refugees arrived, drawn by the promise of safety under his banner.
He felt the weight of their hope pressing on him. It was heavier than any weapon he had ever carried.
His mind kept returning to the nights in the slums, when he had been no one, when the Guild enforcers had beaten men and women for speaking out. He remembered hiding in shadows with numb fingers, wishing for a savior to come… and finding none. That memory drove him now. Every flag raised, every street freed, was a step toward ending that world.
In the war chamber, his closest allies gathered. Map tables were covered in markers... some blue, some the red, gold, and black of the Guilds. Already, his forces had secured trade routes in the north and a chain of river forts that gave him control over key supplies. His generals spoke of pushing south, striking at the Fire Guild before they could mobilize. Others warned of the Stone Guild's defenses in the central mountains.
Kaelin listened in silence. The frost relic pulsed faintly at his side, as if sensing the storm ahead.
By the third week, the Guilds' fear had turned to action. Reports came in of strange movements along their borders. Entire legions were pulling back to central fortresses. Caravan guards doubled in number. In the Lightning Guild's domain, coastal watchtowers lit up at night with steady signals, warning of incoming storms.
One night, as Kaelin stood alone in the great hall, a messenger arrived from the far west. His clothes were torn, his face pale from exhaustion. He knelt, holding up a scroll sealed with crimson wax.
Kaelin broke it and read.
The words were brief, but their meaning was sharp as ice. The Guilds had met in secret. For the first time in a century, they had agreed to unite their armies against a single enemy. That enemy was him.
The scroll slipped from his fingers and fell onto the frost-covered floor.
The war he had been building toward was no longer a distant horizon. It was here. And the storm would not be his alone to command.
...
The first sign of the assault was not the sound of horns but the smell of smoke.
Kaelin stood at the northern watchtower, staring across the frozen plains. The horizon glowed with an unnatural red, as if the dawn had come hours too early. His scouts had been reporting strange movements for two days... fires lit at night in enemy encampments, tremors beneath the ground, and thunder rolling over clear skies. Now, all three omens converged into a single truth. The Guilds were no longer hiding.