Chapter 3: The Mark of the Forgotten
Night fell quickly over Eryndor.
Lanterns flickered to life along the narrow stone streets while shadows stretched across rooftops like silent watchers.
The marketplace that had been loud and alive only hours before now sat quiet, its stalls covered and abandoned until morning.
But Kael could not sleep.
He sat near the small window of his room, staring at his hands. The strange energy he felt earlier still lingered beneath his skin like a slow-burning flame.
He clenched his fingers.
For a moment, faint strands of light flickered between them.
Kael quickly pulled his hands apart.
"What is happening to me…" he whispered.
He had never known his parents. The village elders had always told him he was found as a child near the forest edge during a violent storm. No one ever explained how he survived alone.
Until now, he had never questioned it.
But tonight… things felt different.
Like pieces of a forgotten story were beginning to move.
Across the city, hidden within the oldest district of Eryndor, a group of figures gathered in a candlelit chamber beneath an abandoned chapel.
The room was circular, its stone walls carved with ancient symbols.
Eight figures stood around a large table.
Each wore a dark cloak marked with a silver emblem — a broken crown.
One of them stepped forward, removing his hood.
His hair was streaked with grey, and his eyes were sharp with experience.
"The seal in the Blackstone Mountains has weakened," he said.
The others shifted uneasily.
"That prison has held for centuries," one woman replied. "What could break it now?"
The man placed an old scroll on the table.
"The prophecy."
The room grew silent.
He slowly unrolled the ancient parchment.
"The blood of the forgotten king will awaken. When it does, the beasts will rise… and the world will remember the war it tried to bury."
One of the younger members frowned.
"You think the heir has been born?"
The older man shook his head slowly.
"No."
He looked toward the city beyond the chamber walls.
"I think he has already awakened."
Kael suddenly felt a sharp pain in his chest.
He grabbed the edge of the table beside him as the room spun.
A strange symbol began glowing faintly on his wrist — one he had never seen before.
A circle surrounded by jagged markings like broken runes.
The mark pulsed with light.
Kael stared at it in shock.
"I didn't have this before…"
As the mark glowed brighter, the air around him began to vibrate.
Then—
BOOM.
A distant thunder echoed from the mountains.
Kael rushed to the window.
Far beyond the city walls, above the dark shape of the Blackstone Mountains, a massive cloud of dust rose into the night sky.
Something had broken free.
Deep inside the shattered cavern, ancient chains lay broken across the stone floor.
A massive creature slowly stepped into the faint moonlight that now reached the cavern entrance.
Its body was covered in dark scales, and its eyes burned like molten gold.
It stretched its wings, tearing loose the last pieces of stone that had imprisoned it for centuries.
The creature inhaled deeply.
"The scent… of the heir."
Its voice echoed through the mountain valley.
"The world will burn again."
With a thunderous roar, the beast leapt into the night sky.
Back in Eryndor, Kael watched the distant mountain as fear crept into his chest.
He didn't know why…
But he felt certain.
Whatever had awakened out there…
Was somehow connected to him.
And somewhere in the darkness of the city, unseen eyes were already searching for him.
The war of the forgotten had begun to move.
And Kael stood unknowingly at the center of it.