The morning dawned over Lyranth, quiet yet tense, as if even the village held its breath after the soldiers' unsettling visit. Dorin sat at the edge of his bed, staring out the small window. The weight of the previous night pressed down on him, the soldiers' gaze lingering in his mind like a brand. His thoughts churned like a storm he couldn't control. He couldn't shake the feeling that something was shifting, something he couldn't yet name.
He had always felt like an outsider in his own skin, though he had never dared to question the life Calen had given him. But now, the words of the officer—the mention of a mark, the search for someone like him—haunted him. What if he was the one they were searching for? He rubbed his temples, trying to shake the thought, but it clung to him like an oppressive fog.
The quiet of the morning seemed wrong. Even the birds didn't sing. The air felt too still, heavy with something Dorin couldn't name. As he stared at the village outside the window, the world seemed both distant and unbearably close, as if the reality he'd known all his life was slipping away, crumbling bit by bit.
A knock at the door jolted him from his thoughts. He stood quickly, half-expecting to see one of the soldiers, though his heart sank when it was only Selene who stepped in, her bright eyes searching his face. Her presence was grounding, yet there was a gravity between them now—a feeling they couldn't ignore. Something had changed in the air between them, something more than the quiet unease of the night before.
"Dorin, we need to talk," she said softly, her voice barely more than a whisper. The warmth in her eyes was still there, but there was an undercurrent of something darker. She didn't wait for an invitation. She stepped inside and shut the door behind her, her brow furrowed in concern.
Dorin gestured to the wooden chair by the hearth. "I know," he replied quietly, his voice hoarse from a restless night. He sat back down on the edge of his bed, his gaze fixed on the floor, avoiding her eyes. He wasn't sure he could look at her without seeing the question that had settled between them—was he the one the soldiers were searching for?
Selene sat across from him, her fingers fidgeting with the sleeve of her shirt, twisting it nervously. The silence stretched between them, heavy and uncomfortable. She wasn't one to shy away from confrontation, but today she seemed to be measuring each word carefully, as if afraid to say too much, or perhaps too little.
"The soldiers... the mark they spoke of... what if it's you they're searching for?" she asked, her voice low. Her eyes never left his face, watching him closely, searching for some sign that he had already made up his mind, that he had already accepted the truth.
The question hung in the air, pressing down with the weight of everything Dorin had tried to ignore for years. He clenched his fists, feeling the familiar burn in his chest. "I don't know," he admitted after a long pause. "But I think they know more than I do. I've always felt… different. Like something was missing, or just out of reach." He trailed off, his words fading into the heavy silence between them.
Selene leaned forward, her brow furrowed in concern. "Dorin, there's something you're not telling me, isn't there?"
He hesitated, but in her eyes, he saw trust—the kind of trust that made him feel, for the first time, that he didn't have to carry this alone. His chest tightened as he finally spoke the words that had haunted him for years, the truth he had buried so deep he thought he could ignore it forever.
"Calen found me as a baby," he admitted, his voice a little more than a whisper. "I was left on the forge steps—no note, no sign of who I was. I thought it didn't matter, but now..." His voice trailed off, and he looked away. He couldn't keep her eyes, couldn't hold her gaze while the truth hung between them.
Selene was quiet for a moment, her gaze softening as she listened. "Now, it feels like it does," she finished for him, her voice a soft echo of his own thoughts. She didn't need to say more. They both understood what he meant, what was at stake.
Dorin nodded, the knot in his throat tightening as his thoughts tumbled over one another. "The soldiers were looking for someone with a mark, a sign of something. What if I'm the one they're after?" The question slipped from his mouth before he could stop it, but the fear in his voice betrayed him, something he rarely allowed anyone to hear.
Selene's gaze grew distant, her lips pressing together in thought. Then, without warning, her expression hardened. She straightened, determination flickering in her eyes. "If that's true, you can't stay here. You need to leave, Dorin. Before they come again."
"Leave?" he repeated, disbelief rushing through him. "Where would I go? I have no family, no name, nothing to guide me—"
"Except your destiny," she interrupted, her voice rising with a sudden intensity. "You don't need to understand everything right now. But you can't keep running from this. You're more than a blacksmith's apprentice, Dorin. You always have been."
Her words struck a chord deep within him. He had always felt there was something buried inside him, something unexplainable, but he had ignored it, buried it in the rhythm of the forge and the quiet life Calen had given him. Hearing it spoken aloud felt like a door opening to a world he had never considered, one that had always been just beyond his reach.
"Where do I go?" he whispered, the weight of the question settling in his chest.
Selene was quiet for a moment, but then she spoke, her voice urgent. "There's a temple beyond the mountains," she said, her eyes flickering with something like fear. "My grandmother spoke of it as a sanctuary for those who are marked—a place where you might find answers. But it's a dangerous path, Dorin. Many have tried to reach it and never returned."
Dorin rose to his feet, his mind racing. The idea of leaving Lyranth, the only home he had ever known, filled him with a terrifying finality. He had never thought of leaving, never even considered the possibility. But now, the pull to find answers, to understand the mark, was too strong to ignore.
"I'm ready," he said, surprising even himself with the strength in his voice. His stomach twisted with anxiety, but something else burned in him now, something fierce. The weight of destiny, the urge to learn the truth about who he was, was too much to resist.
Selene's smile was tinged with sorrow, her eyes filled with a sadness Dorin didn't quite understand. "We leave at first light," she said softly. "But know this, Dorin." She stepped closer, her voice dropping to a near whisper. "You're not just running from the soldiers. There's something darker in this world, something that's been watching you for a long time."
Dorin's heart skipped a beat. "What do you mean?"
"I don't know," she admitted, her voice low and urgent. "But we'll find out."
The weight of her words sank deep into him, curling around his heart with icy fingers. He didn't know what she meant, but a dark feeling gnawed at him. Something more than the soldiers was coming. Something ancient and powerful, something that had been waiting for him.
That night, sleep was a stranger. The weight of what lay ahead pressed on him like an invisible force. He thought of Calen, of the life he would leave behind. Would the old blacksmith even notice he was gone? Would he search for him? The thought of never seeing his father again tightened in his chest.
But the memory of the soldiers, the officer, and the strange mark haunted him, gnawing at his insides. He was hungry for the truth, for something more. It was like a thirst that nothing could quench, a longing he didn't fully understand.
At last, he stepped out into the cool night, casting one last glance at the village he had called home. The houses stood quiet in the moonlight, their windows dark and empty. The life he had known was still there, but now it felt distant, like a dream he couldn't quite remember.
He found Selene waiting at the edge of the village, her figure a shadow against the starlit sky. She didn't speak as he approached, but the look in her eyes told him all he needed to know. She was ready, and at that moment, so was he.
Together, they walked into the unknown, leaving behind the life they had known and stepping into the shadows of destiny. The road ahead was uncertain, filled with dangers they could not yet comprehend. But they would face it together, and for the first time in his life, Dorin felt a spark of hope.
As they moved through the quiet streets, Dorin felt something ancient and powerful—a presence like a whisper on the wind, guiding them forward. It was as if something was watching them, something familiar, but not quite. He didn't know what it meant, but the feeling was undeniable.
And as they disappeared into the night, Dorin understood that this was only the beginning.