Lyra, Caelum, and Aiden stood in the Guardian's Sanctuary's war room, all three looking at their coiled net of maps representing Eldoria, noting the locations of each disturbance. Bizarre events—the disappearances, the storms, and the unexplained occurrences—began to crop up throughout the land. The worst places were in the deep woods and caverns, places with histories that said they were ancient and untouched by time.
This isn't some random thing," Caelum said, his eyes narrowed as he studied the maps. "These disturbances are occurring along the ley lines-the places where the earth's magic is strongest."
Aiden's mind immediately turned back to the old legends, stories passed down by the earliest Guardians. The most remarkable was the story of Aarun-the forgotten earth god-proclaimed to guard the deepest secrets of the world. There would be a legend of Aarun's slumbering beneath the earth, where the channels of the old Eldoria held their hushed silence. But as the legends warned, where there was earth's magic, disturbing it might well awaken the ancient god—and with him, the destroying force that had once brought the world to the brink of ruin.
"We may have awakened Aarun," Aiden said quietly, his mind racing. "When we destroyed the Heartstone, we shattered the earth's balance. We may have disturbed something much older than the Eclipsed Ones.".
Lyra's eyes went wide. "Aarun? The earth god? But… that was only a myth. No one has seen him for centuries."
"Or so we thought," Aiden said. "The darkness we felt isn't just tied to the Heartstone—it's something older, something that was buried long before the Eclipsed Ones.".
We must find the well of this strength before it devours Eldoria," said Caelum, his tone stern. "If Aarun fully awakens, the earth will shatter at his anger."
Aiden nodded. "We must go to the core of the turmoil. If the ley lines are the way forward, then we must follow them to the source.".