Kain was about to turn away, his face tight with frustration. But Solene stayed where she was, staring at the strange old man before them. She couldn't walk away, not when there were answers right in front of them.
"Master Theron!" she called out sharply.
The sorcerer stopped in his tracks, shoulders stiffening at the sound of her voice.
"We have nowhere else to go!" she said, her voice rising. "We've risked everything to get here. You will tell us the truth."
Theron didn't speak at first. He stood still for a long while, his back still turned. Then, slowly, he turned around to face them. His face was lined with age, his eyes wild and sharp like cracked glass. Dirty silver hair hung around his face, and his clothes were torn and mismatched, as if he hadn't cared in years.
"You're bold," he said in a low, rough voice. "Bold... or foolish."
Kain stepped beside Solene, watching Theron with narrowed eyes. "We came here for a reason. We need to know what really happened in the High Rings. Why did you leave?"
Theron gave a small, dry laugh. "If I had stayed, I would have been the reason the kingdom fell sooner."
Kain frowned. "What do you mean?"
Theron walked slowly toward the fire and dropped into a crooked wooden chair. "Centuries ago, a king, long before uncovered something. Something ancient. A spirit called The Nameless One. It wasn't magic... not like anything we knew. It was darker. It could twist fate, bend it. And once awakened, it wanted one thing, chaos."
Solene's chest tightened. "Is that what's causing everything now?"
Theron looked at her. "No... not yet. The Nameless One is still quiet. It's probably tied to someone already. Hiding. Waiting. But if the wrong person finds it again..." He glanced at Kain. "Someone like your king."
"Malrik?" Solene asked, her eyes wide. "What does he have to do with this?"
"I couldn't tell him," Theron said, shaking his head. "If I had, he would've gone looking for it. He's obsessed with power. He'd try to make a pact with the Nameless One. That's why I ran. I left the High Rings, gave up everything, just so he'd never find out."
Kain's hands clenched. "And now?"
Theron looked into the fire, his voice low. "Now... the kingdom is dying. You can feel it, can't you? The magic is shifting. The balance is breaking. If Malrik continues the path he's on, he'll lead Velmora to ruin."
Solene stepped forward. "Then help us stop him."
Theron didn't answer right away. He stared into the flames for a long moment.
"You think you're ready," he said finally, "but this fight... it's bigger than either of you."
Solene didn't look away. "Then we'll grow stronger. Just tell us what we need to know."
Theron's gaze softened slightly, just for a second. Then he sighed.
"Fine. I'll tell you what I know. But once you start down this path, there's no turning back."
Theron rose from his crooked chair, eyes glowing faintly in the firelight. He moved to the center of the room, where old symbols had been carved into the wooden floor. His fingers began to tremble not from fear, but from something ancient stirring within him.
"Step back," he said in a hushed voice. "If you want to see the truth... it must be revealed through the old ways."
Solene glanced at Kain, unsure, but he nodded at her to stay still. They both took a step back as Theron dropped to his knees. He pulled a piece of white chalk from his robe and drew a final mark on the floor, completing a strange circle.
Then he raised both hands, his eyes rolling back as he began to chant.
"Seyra valk irum…Kareth no'thiel…Mierdan sovath…"
His voice echoed strangely in the room, like someone else was speaking through him. The flames in the firepit flickered, then shot upward, turning from orange to deep blue.
Solene gasped as the floor beneath Theron's hands glowed. The air grew heavy, like it was holding its breath. She clutched Kain's arm without realizing it.
"Naer sol'kael…Bravell uth moran…Ethira… vael'torin…"
The wind began to blow inside the house—though the windows were shut. Papers flew off the shelves. A strange pressure filled the space, and Solene felt her skin prickle as if the magic was brushing against her very soul.
Suddenly, the flames calmed, shrinking back to normal. The glow on the floor faded, and Theron slumped forward, breathing hard.
Solene rushed toward him. "Are you okay?"
He waved her off slowly, catching his breath. "I'm fine… just not as strong as I used to be."
Kain helped the old man to sit up, and Theron looked between them.
"that was the memory of a truth hidden long ago. The one thing the High Rings buried. A prophecy… of a child born in the most unexpected place. Not of royal blood. Not even noble. But destined to end the reign of darkness once and for all."
Solene's heart beat faster. "Who is it?"
Theron's tired eyes settled on her. "That… I don't know. Only that the child will rise when the kingdom is close to ruin. When hope is lost, and fire burns beneath ash."
Solene stood very still, the warmth in her chest suddenly growing. She didn't know what to say, but something inside her stirred, something that had been quiet until now.
Theron gave a dry laugh. "You feel it, don't you? The pull. The fire."
She nodded slowly.
"It might be you," he said softly. "Or someone connected to you. But the prophecy speaks of a girl touched by flame and shadow. One who will not run from the fire, but become it." "It's time for you to know what you are holding Solene."
The room was silent, except for the flicker of candlelight and the low hum of the strange symbols the sorcerer had drawn on the wooden floor. Solene stood in the center, her heart pounding as Theron, whispered words in a tongue long forgotten.
He held his hands to the sky, his voice growing louder with every word.
"Elarin das ven'alor… shar'keth lin talmor…"The air thickened, pressing against Solene's skin. She gasped. Her blood felt hot. Her magic stirred like a beast waking from a deep sleep.
"Feral'kai en dulmir, vel'tas orenaya!!"
A bright circle of light blazed beneath her feet. Symbols flickered to life, spinning, glowing, shifting.
Then her body rose. Off the floor. Her eyes widened in shock.
"I-I can't feel the ground!" she cried, but Theron only watched with a mad grin.
The house groaned. Winds surged through cracks in the walls, swirling like a storm around her. Candles blew out. The magic inside her roared to life.
And then.....
Everything disappeared.
In the Vision
Solene opened her eyes to a sky of silver clouds. She was floating, no, flying, above Velmora.
But it wasn't the city she knew.
It was broken.
Flames licked the tops of buildings. Screams echoed far below. Shadows slithered across the streets like ink come to life. And at the center of it all stood two figures:
King Malrik… and a monstrous, black figure beside him. Its body shifted like smoke, its eyes glowing red.
Solene's breath caught. She was dressed in white, light flowing from her skin like starlight. Her feet touched the air as if it were ground.
Then she saw them soldiers and enemies, all looking up her.
She didn't run. She bolted down to the ground like a comet.
She absorbed their magic. Like threads of color, their powers wrapped around her, sinking into her soul.
Lightning. Fire. Shadows. Ice.
She didn't just take them...she transformed them.
She lifted her hand, and a spear made of pure energy formed. With a cry of power, she charged forward.
Flashes of light. Blades against magic. Screams, crashes, power colliding with power. She spun through enemies like a tempest, wings of flame at her back.
Malrik watched from afar, eyes narrowed. The dark creature moved toward her, massive and horrible, but Solene met it head-on.
She summoned fire from her palms, ice from her breath. She turned the beast's own shadow against it, ripping it apart piece by piece.
Finally, she reached Malrik. Their eyes met.
He laughed, lifting his blade.
But Solene moved faster. She turned her body into light itself, struck him with everything she had and he fell.
The sky opened. A glowing light shone down upon her.
It whispered:
"You are the one."
.
.
Solene gasped and fell to her knees, drenched in sweat. Her hair clung to her face, and her body trembled.
Kain rushed to her side. "Solene! What did you see?"
She looked up, her voice hoarse. "The kingdom… Malrik… that thing. I saw everything. I fought them. I..I was strong. I changed. I don't know how, but I changed."
Theron stepped forward, his voice no longer wild but strangely calm."You saw what's to come… or what could come. The line between the two is thin."
She held her chest, feeling her heartbeat thrum with magic. Something in her had changed.
She wasn't just the girl running from the High Rings anymore.
She was something more.