Petals fall with silent grace
Guiding paths through misty space
The little sapling at her feet grew. Slowly, steadily, impossibly. Branches twisted upward, leaves shimmering with moonlight. Vines curled to greet her as if recognizing the goddess who brought it to life. Rune was utterly speechless as the tree rose up, her dancing around it, limbs graceful, her body swaying with the rhythm of the song.
He remembered this song.
She had sung it before, long ago, in the fading light of another life. He hadn’t heard it since the day she died. And now magic wove through every note ringing through the cavern, and the growing tree split at the seam, forming into a circle, branches fanning outward like a crown.
Echoes hum of tales once told
Gold lies hidden beneath the cold
An ancient charm in every sound
Magic lingers on the ground
Rune’s vision blurred, tears burning in his eyes, moved by some unspoken emotion. Alora shone like the sun itself, and the air vibrated with something sacred. Divine. She wasn’t mortal anymore. Maybe…she never was.
The tree stretched higher, toward the opening in the cavern roof.
Rune stepped forward instinctively, but sunlight streamed in and spread through the cavern. It struck his skin, and he hissed, withdrawing instantly.
Step by step through the haze we roam
Lost in time where the spirits call home
Hollow laughs and bells faintly ring
In the fog where the fairies sing
Her voice echoed through Rune, shaking his very being. The heart of the tree opened with a slow, creaking breath, a hollow spiraling like a luminous whirlpool. It spiraled brightly, with white light and a powerful charge of magic rippled through the air.
This magic… it felt like…
His eyes widened.
“Alora!”he shouted her name, his voice sharp, torn from him like a prayer.
She looked back, standing before the portal she created. Her glowing eyes locked with his. The sunlight graced her hair like a crown of flame, and she looked like a goddess born of the sun.
But then she took Caelum’s hand and stepped through the opening, vanishing out of sight.
The portal faded and the enchanted tree fell still.
Rune stood frozen in the cave, staring at it as silence swallowed everything. The leaves settled. Magic dimmed. The shadows crept in again.
A coldness swept over him. Then panic surged.
And a scream came.
His.
The darkness howled. Rune flitted across the cavern toward the opening above.
Calla shouted, voice rising in panic. “Sire—STOP! The sun?—!”
He didn’t care.
