The path back to Elaris blurred under their feet, as Kai and Lia hobbled forward, clinging on to each other for the support they badly needed - exhaustion and pain thumping through every step. There was blood across their faces, clothes torn and covered with dirt, the elation of survival dulled in the weight of injuries received. They had almost arrived at the entrance to the village when they fell down drained of any remaining strength left in them.
A distant voice, indistinguishable at first, screamed out. "It's the kids! Kai and Lia- someone grab the elders!"
A mob soon gathered, murmurs of alarm and concern rippling throughout the village. Someone was off to warn Mira and Eldrin, and they burst in just mere moments, their faces crumpled in horror over the battered and broken frames of the two young warriors.
"Kai!" Mira's voice was shaking as she kneeled down beside her son, her fingers brushing across his face full of blood. Lia lay by his side with a pale face, barely breathing. Her eyes passed over the wounds that were inflicted on her son, she clenched her fists, unbridled anger flashing in her eyes.
"Mira," Eldrin whispered, his reassuring hand on her shoulder. "We need answers, but let's wait till they wake up. For now, let's get them inside."
Together, they carried Kai and Lia into Aurelia's cottage, being mindful of their bruised limbs. With Aurelia absent, Mira took on herself to treat them. She pounded herbs into a thick paste, spreading them gently over cuts and bruises, her hands moving with such tenderness that barely anyone could tell of the fermenting anger inside her.
She tied a cloth to a very deep gash on the upper part of Kai's shoulder. "Who would do this to them?" She spoke the words out into the air, hardly above a whisper, but there was no mistaking the anger in her voice.
Eldrin sighed and slumped against the doorway. "Mira, Look at them—fighting through wounds like these. They'll be alright. And when they wake, we'll ask them. For now, they need rest."
But then, as if in response to her distress, a faint glow caught their attention. Mira and Eldrin turned towards Kai, and they saw something strange emanating from the pendant dangling around his neck. The glow pulsed softly, spreading over his wounds like ripples in a pond.
The light was stretched outward, crossing between Kai and Lia, enveloping her, too. Eldrin's eyes widened. "That pendant… what is going on?".
Mira and Eldrin shared a dazed glance, watching as the glow enveloped them both, warmth pulsing through the room as bruises receded and cuts healed. The fire in Mira's heart was replaced, for just an instant, with a deep curiosity mixed with an unsettling awe.
As the pendant worked its mystifying magic, Kai's breathing steadied, and someplace beyond consciousness, he drifted into a vivid dream.
---
Kai found himself standing on endless mist-shrouded ground, his senses heightened but still calm. The quiet crunch of footsteps echoed in the distance. He turned, and through the haze, the sharp silhouette of a woman, armed with a spear, emerged. Her piercing glance met his, full of warmth and silent power and stirring something deep within his being.
"Good, it seems that you've passed the first hurdle" she said, the voice both familiar and ancient, as if it could be calling to him across time itself.
Kai tried to speak, but the words wouldn't come. It was as if the dream held him in place, compelling him to listen.
"Your path won't be an easy one," she went on, lowering the spear as she stepped closer.
"Strength alone will not be your guide. Trust what you cannot yet see." With a soft gesture, she thrust the spear into the earth, and where it rested, the mist opened up to reveal a glimpse of the world beyond Elaris-the mountains stretching towards unknown lands, the distant shadows of great cities, and rivers winding like threads of fate.
Follow the call," she whispered, her voice dropping to a murmur, like a whisper in the wind. "But know this—power answers only to those who understand its cost."
A pull dragged him away before he could ask her anything; back towards the waking world, her figure fading as he felt the warmth of the pendant return him.
---
As Kai stirred to awake, his vision began clearing up, and he saw the worried face of his mother, softened to a certain extent by relief above him. Mira laid a light touch on his shoulder as she whispered to him, "You are safe now, Kai."
Kai blinked and swept his gaze around the space, until he could come to rest it on Lia. She lay beside him and seemed pale, breathing still with a steady but shallow pace, though unconscious. Wornness came over her features, as one to be written there, by now, that it was of power from the pendant, which reached her to ease her pains but so little from their worst severe-ness.
He tried to sit up, but Mira gently pressed his shoulder back down. "Not yet, Kai. Both of you have been through quite a lot."
Kai's eyes remained on Lia, worry flickering across his face. "She's… she's going to be alright, right?"
Eldrin met Mira's gaze for an instant before responding. "She's stable now."
He could only manage a faint smile at that, feeling comforted by their presence. He almost turned away to check on Lia before he caught sight of Mira's face changing, the widening of her eyes being ever so slight. Startled was what he made of her, as though something from him was suddenly coming she didn't know what to make of it. Her hand froze for an instant, and her expression became awe-inspired.
"Kai, you…" she began to say, her voice laced with incredulity as she felt a faint, pulsating energy emanating from him—a subtle but undeniable hum of something powerful and familiar. She stammered, unable to mask her shock.
"What's wrong, Mom?" Kai asked, catching the odd look in her eyes. Even though he was tired, he felt a flicker of concern.
Mira quickly swallowed and stopped herself. Brushing a loose strand of hair from his forehead, she went on to force a faint smile. "It is nothing, sweetheart. All you need is rest, okay?"
Kai, even tired, believed her and closed his eyes once more, slipping back into sleep. However, Mira's face was still pinched with tension, racing thoughts whirling in her head. She glanced back at Eldrin, sensing that something about Kai's aura had shifted. The two of them exchanged a look of amazement without words, each trying to absorb the implications of what they had felt.