The night fell over Veilwood like a shroud, thick and suffocating.
Kaelen and Elowen stood at the mouth of the Sanctuary, the mist curling around them like ghostly fingers.
The corruption hadn't reached this place yet — but something else had.
Kaelen felt it before he saw it — a presence, sharp and venomous, slithering just beyond sight.
"Stay alert," Elowen whispered, drawing two curved daggers from her belt. Her eyes scanned the treeline with deadly focus.
From the shadows, figures emerged — silent, lethal.
Six of them. Clad in black, faces hidden behind silver masks. Each radiated magic tainted with Ashen rot.
The Ashen Court had sent Hunters — elite assassins trained to kill magic users.
Kaelen gripped his sword tighter, heart pounding.
No trial could have prepared him for this.
The leader — a tall figure whose very shadow seemed to ripple — stepped forward.
"The last Warden," the assassin hissed, voice low and mocking. "A relic that should have stayed buried."
Kaelen said nothing.
Words were pointless now.
The first Hunter attacked — a blur of blades flashing through the mist.
Kaelen dodged instinctively, the Emberwolf's reflexes guiding his body faster than thought.
Steel clashed against steel. Sparks flew.
Kaelen parried, countered, ducked — every move fueled by adrenaline and raw survival.
But the Hunters were not ordinary foes. They fought as one, weaving and striking in terrifying harmony.
Kaelen barely blocked a dagger aimed for his heart when another slash raked across his shoulder, blood spraying.
Pain lanced through him — sharp, real.
"Focus!" Elowen shouted, weaving between two attackers, her daggers dancing silver arcs.
Kaelen gritted his teeth.
He reached inward, calling the Flame.
And it answered.
A burst of blue light exploded from him, forcing the closest Hunters back.
Kaelen didn't hesitate.
He thrust his palm forward — Flamecast!
A lance of pure energy shot toward the leader, who deflected it with a shimmering barrier of dark magic.
The leader laughed.
"You have power, boy," he sneered. "But no control."
The assassins closed in again, faster, deadlier.
Kaelen knew he couldn't win a straight fight — not like this.
"Call it," the voice of the Emberwolf whispered within him. "Call the bond."
Kaelen slammed his sword into the ground, planting his feet.
He closed his eyes.
And called.
From the depths of the Warden Flame, the spirit answered.
A wolf wreathed in blue fire burst from Kaelen's chest, materializing with a thunderous roar.
The spirit wolf leapt into the fray, slamming into one Hunter and sending him flying into a tree with bone-crushing force.
Kaelen moved with the wolf, fighting as one.
Where he struck high, the spirit struck low.
Where he dodged left, the wolf countered right.
It was a dance of fire and death.
Within minutes, three of the Hunters lay broken on the ground, their dark magic leaking like smoke.
The leader snarled, realizing the tide had turned.
He raised a black dagger, whispering dark words.
The ground cracked beneath Kaelen's feet — a dark spell, meant to shackle him.
Kaelen's Flame flared instinctively.
A shield of blue fire erupted around him, absorbing the attack.
[New Skill Unlocked: Flame Shield]
Passive: Small flame barrier against magical and physical projectiles.
The leader cursed and vanished into the mist, retreating.
The remaining assassins fled with him, disappearing into the night like phantoms.
Kaelen stood breathing heavily, the spirit wolf fading into mist beside him.
The battle was over — for now.
Elowen approached, her face unreadable.
"You fought well," she said after a moment. "Better than I expected."
Kaelen gave a wry smile, wiping blood from his mouth.
"I had good motivation."
But deep inside, he knew this was just the first blood spilled in a war far greater than he could yet imagine.
The Ashen Court had seen his light.
And they would not stop hunting him until it was extinguished.
Far above, the stars burned cold and bright.
A silent witness to the beginning of the end.