Umbraja's tongue flicked the air,slow and deliberate.
"There are things hidden with your blood, Rohini Sharvara. Relics that hum with the life given to your name."
Rohinis' fingers twitched at her side, brushing against her ring.
"Relics?"
Sarun didn't look back. He was already at the far wall, running his hands along an iron shelf that hadn't dusted itself in years,
"There are paths that don't reveal themselves until you are ready," he said
"But sometimes..a whisper helps."
Umbraja coiled tighter, head tilted
"Your mind seeks more than trinkets.
You feel the pull-something older stirs in you,
Something that a part of you still remembers."
Rohini didn't know how to answer.
The air around her shifted- smoke curling tighter around her shoulders like a cloak. Something in her blood did stir, and not for the first time.
Not a memory, exactly. But hunger. A direction
.Like how prey might know where the predator waits without seeing it. Like something ancient had rolled over in its sleep, just below her skin.
Sarun's voice pulled her back.
"There are objects," he said to her, looking at her from across the room.
"That only reveals themselves to those shaped by blood and fire. That's not myth- it's lineage. And sometimes, what calls you… isn't always a gift."
He met her eyes fully.
"Are you sure you want to follow that call?"
Rohini didn't flinch
She tilted her head slightly, the moon gifted strands catching in the shop's light.
"If it isn't a gift" She started, voice smooth as silk drawn of steel." then perhaps it's a test"
Sarun exhaled through his nose,almost a sigh.
"Some doors don't ask politely before opening"
"And some of us," Rohini countered "are born to walk through them"
The shop door creaked shut behind her, cutting off the smell of incense and the echoes of candlelight.
Outside, the sun struck her like a dare.
It was nearly noon, and Sunreach Hollow had bloomed into its midday bustle.Market stalls overflowed with glittering charms and chattering gossip; wind chimes bickered overhead, children darted between the fountain steps like sparrows. The town shimmered with its golden rays- but to Rohini, fresh from the quiet tension from the serpent's gaze and ancient truths, it all felt…louder.Tighter. Thin.Not suffocating though.
She blinked slowly against the brightness, adjusting to its warmth. The pull in her blood hadn't left-it just sank deeper. Coiled comfortably, like a serpent curled atop a sun-warmed rock.
Rohini's lip twitched up on one side.
"Yes," she murmured to herself under her breath.
"And I always find what calls for me"
She'd run through these same roads before.
Not in the same body-not quite anyways- but with the same sharp grin,quick feet, and sticky hands, It had been many years ago, a school trip she barely remembered the point of. Something educational no doubt. They were meant to observe the architecture or study ley lines or some other random lesson that Rohini hadn't found nearly as interesting as slipping away with a couple friends and a borrowed map of hidden paths.
They had scattered down alleys losing track of time, daring each other to run inside "creepy" shops, or knock on cursed doors. They had giggled behind wards they weren't meant to see.
She remembered ducking behind a stall of dried bugs and seeing, just for a moment, something in the shadow of an old and crumbling archway. Watching.
She never told the others, and they never asked.
Rohini blinked once more. The sun's position had shifted. Somehow her feet carried her father down the road than she realized.Past the hum of the shops and towards the edge of town,where the air was cooler and sounds thinned out.
Paved stone gave way to lose gravel. Shadows stretched long and narrow between the nearby buildings.
The alley opened, it was quiet save for the faint sounds of boots on cobblestone and the low murmur of voices
Rohini stilled.
Two figures stood half-shrouded in the gloom of the alley,where the sunlight seems to refuse to settle.
The shorter of the two looked half-desperate, voice low but strained.
"Please-I beg you, this is all the money I have. Can I have it now?"
The taller figure,a woman draped in heavy layers and sharp edges, tilted her head.Her voice came out cool and unimpressed.
"It's not enough. You do realize how are this stone is."
The man faltered,his words tumbling out in haste.
"What if I told you-about a wand? I have it. It's a relic, old…older than me, from some random bloodline non one remembers-?"
The man pleading at this point
He was cut off by a sudden motion.The woman shifted the box in her hands,just enough for something to catch on the faint light-amber and pulsing, unmistakably magical.
"Fine," she said, almost bored. "If its so important to you-bring me the wand, and i'll give you the stone. That feels more even.
"T-thank you" he stammered,relief flooding his voice. " I can bring it later?I just need to–"
Her head shook once,firm.
"Tomorrow night at dusk," she interrupted. "Bring this wand…or dont come at all."