The first light of dawn stretched across the battle-scarred plains, painting the ruins in shades of gold and crimson. Kael stood over the fallen assassins, Veyrion pulsing faintly in his grasp. The Dragon King's blood burned in his veins, its raw, untamed energy settling deep into the marrow of his bones.
Rynn hurried toward him, her cloak torn and her face smudged with dirt, but her eyes were fierce with relief."You're alive," she breathed, reaching him.
Kael gave a shaky nod, his heart still pounding from the surge of power. "Barely."
She glanced at the assassins, most already dissolving into shadowy mist — a sure sign they hadn't been fully mortal."What were they?" Rynn asked quietly.
"Something drawn to the blood," Kael answered grimly. "And more will come."
He sheathed Veyrion, feeling the dragonfire energy still crackling beneath his skin like a slumbering storm. He didn't understand it fully yet, but he knew one thing — he was changing.
Before they could speak further, a chill swept through the clearing, carrying with it a different kind of presence. Not hostile — but vast, ancient.
The clouds overhead thickened, swirling into a spiral. From the heart of the formation, a figure descended, wings unfurling wide against the morning sky. Not a dragon, but a being shaped like one — a humanoid figure clothed in flowing robes of deep azure and white, with horns curling from his temples and scales marking his exposed arms.
Rynn instinctively drew her dagger, stepping closer to Kael."What now?" she hissed under her breath.
The figure landed with a soundless grace, the very air bending around him. His eyes, golden and slitted like a serpent's, fixed on Kael with an intensity that made the newly-awakened power inside him respond, stirring like a beast recognizing kin.
"I mean no harm," the figure said, his voice like distant thunder. He bowed slightly — a gesture both respectful and commanding. "I am Vaelen, Envoy of the Skies. Servant to the Throne of Dragons."
Kael narrowed his eyes. "Throne of Dragons?"
Vaelen smiled, a faint, enigmatic curve of his lips. "The legacy you now bear."
Rynn remained tense, but Kael raised a hand to steady her. He stepped forward, standing firm though every instinct told him he was in the presence of something far beyond mortal understanding.
"Why are you here?" Kael asked.
Vaelen's gaze deepened. "To guide you."
The wind stirred around them as Vaelen continued, "You have awakened the Dragon King's blood within you — a seed of power few have ever carried. Left alone, it will consume you. It must be nurtured, forged into a weapon worthy of the storm you will soon face."
Kael's stomach tightened. He had barely survived the Hunger. Now this?
"I didn't ask for any of this," he said, voice low.
"No one asks to be chosen," Vaelen said simply. "Fate does not wait for permission."
The words stung with truth. Kael remembered the storm that had changed him, the wargs driven mad by unseen forces, the Hunger that had nearly swallowed the world. He hadn't asked for power — but he couldn't deny it either.
"What do you want from me?" Kael said.
Vaelen's expression grew serious. "To survive. To become what the world will soon need."
He lifted a hand, and a small object materialized — a silver sigil, etched with a swirling pattern of wings and storms."Take this," Vaelen said, offering it.
Kael hesitated, then reached out. The moment his fingers brushed the sigil, a surge of images flooded his mind: soaring through endless skies, wielding powers that could split mountains, commanding beasts older than cities.
"You are not alone, Kael Stormborn," Vaelen said. "There are others who would stand beside you — and others who would see you dead before you can awaken fully."
The sigil pulsed once, then faded into Kael's palm, leaving behind a faint brand in the shape of a dragon's eye.
"What... was that?" Rynn asked warily.
"A key," Vaelen said. "To the paths ahead."
He turned his golden gaze back to Kael. "If you would master the blood you carry, you must seek the ancient places — the remnants of the Dragon King's dominion. There are shrines, hidden and lost, where you will awaken your true strength."
Kael set his jaw. "Where?"
Vaelen gestured eastward, beyond the distant mountains shrouded in mist."The first shrine lies within the Valley of Shattered Stars — a place few dare to tread."
Rynn swore softly under her breath. Even Kael, who had never feared the wilds, felt a chill at the name. Legends told of the valley where the stars themselves had fallen in ancient wars, leaving the land broken and haunted.
"You must go," Vaelen said, his voice hardening. "Time is not your ally. Already forces move against you. The blood you bear shines like a beacon to those who would see the last of the Dragon Kings extinguished."
Kael met his gaze without flinching. "Then I'll go."
Vaelen inclined his head. "Good."
He stepped back, wings folding behind him."I will not aid you directly," Vaelen said. "This path is yours to walk. But know this — should you falter, the world will falter with you."
Without another word, Vaelen launched skyward, vanishing into the swirling clouds with a sound like a thunderclap. In moments, the sky was once again clear.
Kael stood still for a long moment, the brand on his palm still tingling, the weight of destiny pressing down on him.
Finally, Rynn stepped beside him.
"Valley of Shattered Stars," she muttered. "You sure about this?"
Kael let out a breath, feeling the power coiled within him, the call of something vast and waiting."No," he said honestly. "But we don't have a choice."
Rynn chuckled grimly. "Story of our lives."
They turned back toward Virestead, already preparing in their minds what they would need. Supplies, maps, everything they could gather before setting off. The road ahead would be long — and far more dangerous than anything they had yet faced.
As they walked, Kael felt something stir inside him again — a whisper of wings, a promise of storms yet to come.
He was no longer just a survivor.He was the heir to a forgotten throne.And soon, the world would remember what it meant to fear a Dragon King reborn.