The road ahead was clearer than it had been in days.The Withered Court was distant.The Flamebearers had found a rhythm—if not peace, then movement.
But that night… Alari began to murmur again.
🛏️ The Dream Begins
She lay in Kael's cloak, breathing slow. Her eyes twitched behind closed lids.
And then, she sat up.But she didn't wake.
The firelight dimmed.
Her voice, still gentle, said:
"There's someone… behind the stars."
Kael stirred. Seren watched. Vaelrix slowly stood, instinct burning.
Alari turned her face toward the sky, her hollow eyes reflecting no stars, only a swirling, pale light.
☁️ Inside the Dream
Alari floated—not in the sky, but in a vast, silver-white nothing.
Shapes moved in the fog. Not figures. Memories. Feelings. Lost names.
And then a voice.Soft. Too soft to fear.
"You are not broken.You are unwritten."
A silhouette appeared—humanoid, tall, elegant. Wings not of light, but feathers dipped in dusk.
Not Veil. Not Light.Something in between.
It whispered:
"He left us… because we chose to fall.But we remember him.And you remind us of what we once were."
Alari trembled.
"Who… are you?"
The figure's face was veiled in shadow.
"One of many.One of the Almost-Forgotten.And if you listen, we will show you what the light never wanted you to see."
💠 Alari Begins to Fracture
Suddenly, images flash—a broken tower in the sky, a child left behind, a wing torn and handed to fire.
Alari screams.
Kael jolts awake. Her body begins to glow faintly—too faintly.
"She's dreaming too deep," he says.
Vaelrix steps forward.
"Or something's pulling her."
⚖️ The Choice: Enter the Dream?
Kael turns to the others.
"I can reach her. If I speak the Word… she might hear me."
"But if I go in… I may not come back."
Seren:
"Then we go with you."
Vaelrix:
"I'll hold the line here. If anything crosses into our world, I burn it."
Kael closes his eyes.
"Elarion… guide me."
And speaks the Celestine word for:
"Awaken."