Ryn Valcor
The main square of Veylaris seethed with anxious energy. Ryn Valcor shouldered through the crowd, his Terrakin senses prickling with unease. Stoneborn wardens formed a somber ring around the base of the Emerald Spire, their faces set and wary. Magic flickered in the air—an undercurrent of power gone awry.
At the edge of the square, Kaelen hovered, pale and silent, eyes fixed on the Spire's emerald heart. Ryn watched his friend, noting the tension in Kaelen's stance, the way his gaze kept drifting north, as if searching for something only he could sense.
The ground trembled, a low, rolling quake. The Spire's surface—usually smooth as glass—crackled with new fissures, veins of molten light pulsing beneath. An elder's voice rose above the murmurs: "The Pillar's heart is wounded. There has been… an awakening."
Ryn's heart hammered. He remembered the stories, the warnings. When the Pillars falter, the world follows.
A sudden, keening cry split the air. Above the city, a vast shadow wheeled—the Ziz, the Stone-Cloud King. Its emerald wings cast a blessing and a warning as it circled the Spire, then vanished into the clouds.
Kaelen shuddered. Ryn reached out, steadying him. "You feel it too, don't you?"
Kaelen nodded, voice rough. "It's like something's breaking and healing at the same time."
Ryn studied his friend—the mark on his wrist, the haunted look in his eyes—and wondered how much Kaelen was truly hiding, and what secrets the twins' awakening might unleash.
Lysera
Far across the sea, Lysera knelt by the Temple's reflecting pool. The water shivered, images flickering across its surface: lightning-riven skies, storms over stone, and the emerald shadow of a bird with wings broad as a city.
She pressed her palm to the water, feeling the world's ache echo through her blood. The tides rose at her touch, swirling with new strength.
A voice whispered at the edge of her mind—not her own, not Kaelen's, but something older, deeper.
"When the Pillars tremble, the soul must choose: fracture, or heal."
Lysera opened her eyes, breath trembling. The world was changing, and she could feel the storm approaching. For the first time, she was not afraid. She was ready.