Chapter One: Whispers in the Locket
The night was quiet, almost too quiet, as if the world itself held its breath. A pale moon spilled silver across the valley of Vale Estate, washing the old stone walls in ghostly light. The ancient house had stood for centuries, its ivy-covered towers whispering stories of a time when magic was not just legend but life itself.
Liora Vale paused on the threshold of the attic door, her lantern casting a trembling glow across the dust-choked stairwell. She had come here countless times as a child, sneaking past her grandmother's watchful eyes to sift through forgotten trunks and moth-eaten cloaks. But tonight was different. Tonight, something had called to her.
It was not a sound, not exactly—more like the faint brush of a melody at the edge of her thoughts. A hum that grew louder with each step she took upward.
Her hand, pale against the wooden banister, tightened as she reached the top. The attic air was thick with the scent of cedar and old parchment. Shadows huddled in corners, watching her with the patience of years. She set down the lantern on a low chest, its light flickering across a row of forgotten boxes.
And then she saw it.
Half-buried beneath a tattered cloak lay a small, ornate locket. Its surface shimmered faintly as though it had trapped a fragment of moonlight inside. The melody in her mind sharpened into whispers—low, urgent, and strange, yet somehow achingly familiar.
Liora's breath caught. Her fingers trembled as she lifted the locket, brushing away years of dust. At her touch, warmth pulsed from the metal, spreading up her arm and into her chest. The whispers grew clearer, words threading together like fragments of a broken lullaby.
"The shadow rises… guard the echoes… the key is bound to you…"
She stumbled back, heart hammering. The locket swung from its chain, glowing now with a soft golden light. For one wild moment, she thought she saw a figure reflected in its surface—a tall man cloaked in shadow, watching her with eyes that burned like embers.
Then, as quickly as it came, the vision was gone. The whispers faded to silence.
Liora clutched the locket to her chest, her pulse racing. She had grown up with tales of enchantments and forgotten realms, stories her grandmother told beside the fire. But those were only stories. Weren't they?
Her voice came out in a whisper, more to herself than anyone else.
"Why… why me?"
The silence did not answer.
But deep within the locket, something stirred.
And far away, in the depths of the Whispering Woods, a pair of unseen eyes opened—eyes that had been waiting for the one who could hear the echoes.