It was easy to mistake for a star. At first it drifted, a faint silvery streak among the countless stars.
A deckhand aboard the Seabird elbowed his companion, pointing lazily towards the sky.
"Look there. A falling star," he said with a grin. "Best make a wish for calm seas and fair winds."
The second sailor squinted as the twinkling streak fizzled out. "Aye, gone in a blink. But look there-" He jabbed a finger higher. "That one ain't falling. And it ain't fading, neither."
Gods… What is that?
The streak grew brighter as it drew closer, swelling until a faint crackling sound could be heard, like embers in a fire, its vibrations running through the very air.
The first sailor lowered his finger, his smile gone. "What's that sound?"
The other man didn't seem to hear him, the strange light reflected in his wide eyes. "It's... swelling," he breathed. "Getting… bigger…"
The streaking light cut a brilliant arc across the night sky, passing overhead in the blink of an eye.
Its blinding light spilled across the deck, bathing ropes, sails, and the sailors' weathered faces with an unnatural white glare. The crackling intensified. Beneath it, a deep hum began to vibrate through the ship, a resonant groan that could be felt in the teeth.
The sailors froze, a primal chill running through them. Then one of them cried out, pointing a trembling finger, "By the gods, it's splitting apart!"
Shards splintered from the star, scattering like sparks across the sky, each leaving trailing bursts of brilliant light. The clouds above shimmered, their edges lined in an otherworldly light, as though the night itself had been set ablaze.
The glowing shards vanished over the horizon. The unsettling buzzing faded with them. Silence. Heavy and profound.
Then, far across the water, the horizon flashed.
Bright. Violent. Utterly silent.
Another flash. And another. They blinked and faded, one by one, leaving only a lingering, ghostly glow in their wake.
* * *
Cold. The kind that bit at your cheeks and turned every breath to mist. Elara's steps were almost silent on the dew-laden path. Just a soft crunch. She shifted the weight of her bow in her grip, her gaze already on the mountains. The hunt awaits.
Another good kill, and the food stores will be full. Elian and Lyra deserve more than thin broth this winter.
Her thoughts were stopped short by a faint hissing that cut through the stillness. Her long, pointed ears twitched. She froze. In the next instant, she sank into a low crouch, her eyes scanning the dark treeline. A predator? No. This sound… it's wrong.
The forest erupted.
The birds shot from the canopy, thousands of them at once. The faint hiss was swallowed by a roar of frantic wings.
The sound startled Elara. She stumbled back, falling hard onto the damp path. Her head whipped around, eyes darting everywhere, trying to find the source. What is happening?
Then the glare washed over her. Blinding. Unnatural. The light bleached the entire forest in a silvery sheen. Shadows writhed and danced. And through the clamor, the hiss returned, drilling into her ears, a sharp note that vibrated through her entire body.
Her gaze shot upward.
In the early twilight sky was a cluster of falling stars unlike any she had ever seen. One large central star burned with a furious silver-white light so bright it strained her eyes. A scattering of smaller shards trailed in its wake, each a glittering streak tearing through the skies.
Her sharp eyes flitted toward one of the smaller streaks. Her mind went blank, her body stiffening as she realized its trajectory. No…
For a split-second, Elara was frozen like stone. The comet's path carved a line straight for her village. Then, a gut-wrenching terror shattered her shock. Her hunter's instincts vanished as she scrambled back toward her home.
"Elian! Lyra!"
She ran, heart hammering, gaze locked on her village.
Then, a flash. Beyond the village, a blinding eruption of pure white light as the comet hit the mountain.
Elara threw a hand up to shield her eyes, but the brilliance seared right through her palms. Her world went painful, searing white. When the glare subsided, she realized something was wrong. There was no sound. No thunderous roar. Just an unnerving, absolute silence.
Dazed, she opened her eyes.
In the distance, a wall of dust and debris tore through the valley. Trees shredded. The earth itself ripped apart. The ripple was coming right for her village.
Too far. Too late. A cold dread washed over her. My village is next. My home. My family…
In an instant, the wave flattened the village, turning hearths and homes into debris and ruin.
Seconds later, the shockwave struck. The air itself split apart with a deafening CRACK, tossing her aside like a leaf. The world became a dizzying blur of debris and sound. Her ears rang, her vision fractured. One final, desperate thought surfaced.
Please... be safe.
* * *
The morning chill clung to Captain Valerius as he strode along the castle walls. Below, the training grounds were quiet. East, the dawn was breaking. A faint blush on a pale grey sky. He gave it a practiced glance and turned west.
Toward the Grayfang mountains.
The peaks were sharp against the waning twilight. The air was clear. A good day for the archers.
It was during his habitual scan that a flicker of unnatural light caught his eye. A searing white against the western skyline. At the same moment, he heard a faint buzzing in the air. He squinted, his mind racing.
Magic? No… the scale is wrong. How could anyone conjure something like this?
What had begun as a single bright streak had fragmented into a dazzling shower. Valerius's eyes tracked one of the shards as it fell, striking the Grayfang mountains. A flash of brilliant white erupted between the jagged peaks.
At this moment, Valerius realized the true threat of these mysterious lights raining down from the heavens.
"Sound the alarm! Raise the Barrier- now!" he bellowed, his voice a roar meant to carry across the stone battlements to the nearest soldiers on the morning watch.
On the nearby watchtower, a guard responded. "Yes, Sir!," the man shouted back, turning to activate the magical relay.
Moments later, a deep hum resonated within the capital's heart. The grand monolith in the city center flared with an intense blue light. Shortly after, the light shot skyward, erupting overhead as a translucent dome cascaded downwards, shielding the capital.
In time. It will hold. He forced himself to believe it. The barrier had stood for centuries.
But then… impact.
The comet slammed into the plains beyond the walls. White fire swallowed his sight, then cleared to reveal a wall of earth and flame racing toward the capital.
The wall slammed into the shimmering blue dome. The barrier offered little resistance, instantly disintegrating into millions of glittering splinters.
The last thing Captain Valerius saw was an unstoppable wave of ruin.