The hall smelled of cedar smoke and crushed herbs — fragrant, warm, familiar in a way Zelene couldn't explain. The villagers gathered outside like a red tide, murmurs rising and falling like distant waves. But inside, the world seemed to contract into a single thread of silence.
The elder woman approached her with slow, careful steps, as though Zelene might vanish if she moved too quickly.
Up close, she looked both fragile and powerful — copper hair streaked with ash white, eyes sharp as flint, her back straight despite her age. She wore layers of woven cloth dyed in shades of ember and rust, each strip embroidered with symbols Zelene didn't recognize.
"I am Eldermother Saela, keeper of our blood and memory," the woman said softly. "And you… you carry the light we have waited generations to see again."
Zelene's pulse stumbled.
"I think you're mistaken," she said, trying to keep her voice steady. "I'm no one special. I'm not—"
She hesitated, swallowing.
"I'm not some chosen figure in your stories."
Saela tilted her head slightly.
"Then why," she asked gently, "do you bear the hair of dawn-silver? Why do your eyes hold twilight's violet flame?"
Zelene stiffened.
"It's just a trait," she insisted. "An odd one, maybe. But it doesn't mean I'm… whoever you think I am."
Finn cleared his throat awkwardly, but Saela's gaze did not leave Zelene — unwavering, ancient, searching.
"You resemble someone our ancestors knew," the Eldermother whispered. "The first Crimson Auryn was said to possess hair exactly like yours, and eyes the color of dying day."
Zelene stared.
"That— that couldn't be me. Right?"
She turned to Finn as if begging him to contradict the woman.
Finn shrugged helplessly. "I mean… coincidences happen? Really magical, destiny-shattering coincidences?"
Saela stepped closer. Her presence felt like standing before a fire — warm, but commanding respect.
"We are the descendants of the Aureate Auryn," she said. "The ones who followed him after the great fall. The ones who swore to wait. To remember."
Zelene's breath caught.
"You're… his people?"
Saela nodded.
"The Aureate Auryn lived among our ancestors. He taught them the old ways, the ancient songs, and the truth of the Auryn bond. He entrusted them with his legacy — to guard the world until the Crimson Auryn returned. Until the silver dawn rose once more."
The Eldermother's gaze softened.
"And now you stand here."
Zelene shook her head again, the denial cracking slightly.
"This is wrong. I'm not a relic of some prophecy. I didn't even know Auryns existed until a few days ago. And even then…"
She faltered.
"Why would you think the Crimson Auryn would return through me?"
Saela touched a weathered hand to Zelene's cheek — a gesture startling in its gentleness.
"Because destiny often hides in those who doubt it most."
---
The Story of the Aureate
Zelene exhaled, shaky and unsure.
"If you're truly descended from the Aureate Auryn… then tell me. What happened to him? The stories don't say. They just… end."
At this, something inside Saela dimmed — a quiet grief sinking behind her amber eyes.
"The tale is not told by bards in the capital," she murmured. "Too painful. Too real."
She motioned for Zelene, Finn, and Ray to sit around a low firepit in the center of the hall.
Flames flickered upward, dancing in shades of amber and gold — the same colors that marked the villagers' hair.
Saela began softly, as though reciting something older than memory itself.
"When the Crimson Auryn fell into slumber — when his flame weakened and faded — the world trembled. The balance broke. The Aureate Auryn searched desperately for a way to wake him. For years, he wandered the lands, seeking knowledge, relics, forbidden magic… anything."
Her voice cracked slightly.
"But slumbering Auryns do not die. They wait. They drift. And without their leader — without the Crimson — the Auryns scattered. Lost their bond. Lost their purpose."
Finn leaned forward. "So that's why no one can find the others?"
Saela nodded.
"They drift from bloodline to bloodline, fading, stirring, lingering in shadows. Their power sleeps until the right spark touches it. That is why you cannot simply seek an Auryn. They must reveal themselves."
Zelene's skin prickled with a cold wave of understanding.
"And the Aureate?" she whispered.
Saela looked into the fire for a long moment before answering.
"He searched until his body broke. Until his spirit dimmed. Until hope became ash on his tongue."
Her hands tightened around her shawl.
"Finally, one winter night… he returned to our ancestors. He said he could no longer carry the weight of the world alone."
The fire popped.
"He gave us his knowledge. His stories. His warnings. And then…"
Saela swallowed.
"He vanished into the mists. Some say he died. Some say he became light. Some say he walks still, searching in silence."
Her voice lowered.
"But in his final days, he left us one command:
"When silver dawn returns, so shall the flame."
And we… have waited."
The room grew still.
Zelene sat frozen, her heartbeat loud in her ears.
Saela watched her as though seeing both past and future converging in a single fragile girl.
Finn whispered, "Zee… you okay?"
Zelene didn't answer.
Her fingers trembled slightly in her lap.
"Why me?" she whispered, her voice barely audible. "Why would destiny choose me?"
Saela leaned in, her tone soft but anchored in certainty.
"Child… destiny does not choose the powerful."
She touched Zelene's heart with two fingers.
"It chooses the one whose flame has not yet realized it burns."