Interlude: Calm Before the Storm
The air was still, unnaturally so.Even the wind seemed to hesitate—waiting for something unspoken.
Alari sat with her knees to her chest, watching the flames.The stars were dim tonight.The ground… felt too soft beneath them. Like the world wasn't sure if it should hold together.
And inside that stillness, the Flamebearers began to speak.
🕯️ Kael – The Believer's Question
"I thought I understood this war.""Light versus shadow. Truth versus lies."
He stared into the fire, voice quiet.
"But now it feels like we're walking a battlefield of memories—And the enemy… might just be a forgotten brother."
He turned to Alari.
"I don't think you're cursed.But I think what's inside you… was never meant to wake up."
🏹 Seren – The Protector's Dilemma
Seren sat beside Alari, close—but not touching.
"If this voice inside you is part of the Veil…Then why doesn't it feel like it wants to destroy you?"
She looked into the girl's hollow-gold eyes.
"What if it's not whispering to control you…But because it's afraid?"
She reached out—held Alari's hand.
"If it tries to take you, I'll stop it.But if it's just trying to be heard…I'll listen."
🐉 Vaelrix – The Warrior's Fire
Vaelrix paced like an animal watching the horizon.
"I don't trust voices in dreams.Dreams lie."
"But…"
He stopped, breathing deep.
"I know what it's like to carry something inside you that no one else understands.Something that burns and whispers and begs to be named."
He looked at Alari—his eyes not fierce, but familiar.
"So… I'll protect her.No matter what name comes out of her mouth."
🕯️ Alari – The Burden She Didn't Ask For
Alari finally spoke.
"I don't want this voice."
"But it's not cruel. It's not loud.It just… sounds lonely."
She looked up at Kael.
"It doesn't ask me to serve it.It asks me to remember it."
"Is it so wrong… to want to be remembered?"
The fire popped once, like it agreed.
And then… the stillness broke.
A breeze—not cold, but wrong—swept through the clearing.
The ground shivered.
And the stars began to shift.