Aeren didn't sleep that night. Not because he wasn't tired—but because he couldn't. The visions still burned behind his eyes, and the mark on his palm throbbed with a pulse that no longer felt like his own heartbeat.
Kaelen had gone quiet after the trial. She sat near the memory well, sharpening her curved dagger, always watching the trees.
Just before dawn, she spoke. "We're heading east."
"Why?" Aeren asked, rubbing his eyes.
"There's another bearer. I felt her awaken three days ago." Kaelen stood and slung her satchel over her shoulder. "Her mark is different from yours. Earth-based. Heavy magic. Violent."
"Another… like me?"
Kaelen nodded. "They're waking up. All of them."
---
By midday, the forest grew dense and twisted. The ground shifted underfoot, unnatural and unstable. Trees leaned in strange angles, and the wind carried echoes that didn't belong.
They emerged into a clearing—and froze.
The land was cracked. Trees uprooted. Stones shattered like glass. And in the center, kneeling beside a pool of crushed flowers, was a girl.
Maybe Aeren's age. Short, stocky, hair shaved on one side and the rest in tight braids. Her arms were covered in dirt and blood—but her eyes shone gold, and the air around her rumbled with power.
Kaelen stepped forward slowly. "You survived the Trial."
The girl looked up, wary but calm. "Barely." She stood, dusting her hands. "It showed me the end of the world."
Aeren stared. "What's your name?"
She looked at him for a long time, then said: "Bryn. Bearer of Stone. And you… have the mark of fire."
Kaelen narrowed her eyes. "Stone and Fire awaken together. Just like the old prophecies said."
Bryn crossed her arms. "If the prophecies are true, we're in more trouble than we thought. The Herald is already hunting."
Aeren's blood ran cold. "The Herald?"
Kaelen's voice dropped. "The one who serves before Kael'tharan rises. A corrupted mage. One who hunts the marked… and takes their power."
Bryn turned toward the shattered trees. "He's close. I barely escaped him last night."
Suddenly, the ground trembled again.
But this time, it wasn't magic.
It was footsteps.
Heavy. Inhuman.
Kaelen's dagger flashed out. Bryn clenched her fists, stone cracking around her boots.
Aeren raised his hand—and the mark on his palm began to glow again.
Whatever was coming… was already here.