Chapter 3: The Gathering Storm
The night fell still, save for the quiet murmur of the forest surrounding them. The tower loomed behind her, a shadow in the fading light, its once-mighty structure now reduced to mere rubble. She stood at its heart, feeling the pulse of the land beneath her feet. Magic. Power. It was dormant, but not gone.
Elias, still lingering at her side, watched her, his expression a mixture of awe and suspicion. He had followed her into the ruins without question, but there was a tension in his stance now. The calm demeanor he had once shown was gone, replaced by uncertainty.
"What happens now?" he asked, his voice low, as if the very air around them might be listening.
She turned her gaze back to the wreckage of the tower, her eyes scanning the familiar landscape. The rain had stopped, but the air remained thick, heavy with the promise of change. "Now, we gather what was lost. We reclaim what was taken from us."
Elias frowned, his brow furrowing as he processed her words. "Reclaim? How?"
She gave a soft laugh, though there was no humor in it. "Do you really think a few crumbling stones can hold back the power of the witch who once ruled this land?" Her voice was cold, sharp. "No, Elias. The land remembers me. It has not forgotten."
He didn't respond right away. Instead, he turned to face the village, his eyes narrowing as he gazed at the distant lights. The place that had once been her home was now a memory. "And what of them? The people who turned on you?" he asked.
The question hung between them, the air crackling with unspoken emotions. She didn't flinch, but there was a flicker of something darker in her gaze. "They will come to regret it," she said softly. "They always do."
Elias looked back at her, his expression still uncertain. "And what of me? Why did you bring me here?"
The question was simple, but it struck at something deeper. She could feel the weight of his words, the unease in his voice. He didn't fully trust her—couldn't. Not yet. And she didn't expect him to.
"You're here because the past never really dies," she said. "You're here because your blood ties you to the very heart of this land. Because you, too, have a role to play in what comes next."
Elias' confusion deepened, but there was something else in his eyes now. A flicker of realization. "You want me to help you."
Her gaze sharpened, and she took a step closer to him, her presence commanding, almost suffocating. "Help?" She repeated the word, as if testing its taste. "No. I want you to understand. I want you to witness what happens when the past rises again."
He swallowed, clearly unsettled by her tone, but there was no turning back now. "What do you need me to do?"
She smiled, though it was more of a baring of teeth than anything else. "What you have already begun," she replied. "Stand beside me. Watch. Learn."
The ground beneath them shivered again, and the air seemed to hum with the gathering storm. The magic, the power that had once been hers to command, was stirring, awakening to her call. It was still weak, but it would grow. She knew it would.
"I need to know what you seek, Elias," she continued, her voice low, almost a whisper now. "What is it that drives you?"
He looked at her, meeting her gaze head-on. "I seek the truth," he said again, the words solid and resolute. "I need to know what happened to my ancestors. I need to know why you were condemned."
Her lips curled into a smile, though there was little warmth in it. "The truth," she repeated, as though savoring the word. "Yes. The truth is always the most dangerous thing to seek. The truth can change everything."
He didn't answer immediately, but his expression softened, something akin to curiosity in his eyes. She could see that he was torn, struggling between the legacy of his ancestors and the reality of the woman before him.
"You're afraid," she said suddenly, reading the hesitation in his gaze. "Afraid of what you might find."
He stiffened, but his eyes flickered briefly, betraying the inner conflict he was trying to hide. "And what if I am?"
She stepped closer still, so that there was barely an inch between them. "Fear is a powerful thing," she murmured. "But it can also be a great teacher."
Elias remained silent, his breath shallow as he took in her words. He seemed lost in thought, the weight of her presence pressing down on him. But he did not step back. He was not ready to retreat.
A low rumble of thunder echoed in the distance, and she lifted her gaze to the dark sky, her eyes narrowing as if seeing something far beyond the horizon. "They will come," she said, her voice distant, yet certain. "The ones who have forgotten. The ones who thought I was nothing more than a myth."
She turned away from him then, her eyes scanning the horizon, already seeing the world that would soon be hers again. The village, the people, the very land itself—all of it would kneel before her once more. She could feel the magic swirling inside her, growing stronger with every breath, every thought. It would be enough. It had to be.
Elias hesitated before speaking again. "How do we begin?"
She smiled, a slow, deliberate smile that was as cold and unyielding as the storm itself. "We begin by reminding them who I am."
The storm that had been raging in the distance was drawing closer, the air crackling with energy. The winds picked up, howling through the ruins of the tower, the trees shaking in their wake. Magic, ancient and powerful, responded to her command, rippling through the land as though it, too, had been waiting for this moment.
"We will need to move quickly," she said, her voice firm now, as the weight of their next steps settled upon them. "The old ones will try to stop us. They'll try to bury me once more. But they won't succeed."
Elias, despite his uncertainty, nodded. "What do you need me to do?"
She turned to face him again, her eyes glowing with a fire that had not been seen in this world for far too long. "We gather the allies who still remember the truth. We awaken the old powers. And we prepare for war."
Elias swallowed, the gravity of her words sinking in. He had no choice but to follow her now, to learn the dark truths that had been hidden from him all his life.
Together, they would ignite the spark that would bring the old world to its knees.