The clearing was still, the remnants of the light from the arch flickering like fading embers in the cool air. Maerlyn stood at its edge, his senses sharp as he scanned the surroundings. The creatures that had pursued them were gone, but the silence left in their wake felt heavier than any sound. It was a silence that hummed with possibility, with danger.
Beside him, the man—who had introduced himself as Kaelen—slumped against the arch, still breathing heavily but slowly recovering from the ordeal. His eyes were clouded with exhaustion, but they had regained some measure of clarity. Kaelen looked at Maerlyn, his gaze lingering on the archway for a moment longer before he spoke, his voice hoarse.
"You made it through," Kaelen said, the awe and fear in his voice mixing together. "I didn't think anyone could still cross the Threshold, not like this. Not after the Veil."
Maerlyn gave him a sharp look. "What do you mean? You've crossed it before?"
Kaelen nodded faintly, though his eyes darkened at the memory. "I did. Long ago. But the Threshold isn't something people can control, Maerlyn. It takes everything from you and leaves you with nothing but pieces of yourself scattered across worlds. That's the curse of the Veil. It traps you, twists everything you know until you can't tell where the truth ends and the lies begin."
Maerlyn's mind raced as he processed Kaelen's words. He had known there was something off about the Veil, something more insidious than mere darkness, but this? The Threshold… it sounded like something far older and far more dangerous than he had anticipated.
"Then why did you come back?" Maerlyn asked, his voice tinged with suspicion. "You said you were lost. What brought you back to this place?"
Kaelen's face twisted in pain, his breath coming in short bursts. "I had no choice. The Veil—it pulls on you, forces you to return when it wants you. No matter how far you run, no matter how much time passes. You've felt it, haven't you? The whispers, the pull on your mind."
Maerlyn didn't answer. He couldn't. He had felt it, too. The sense of something lurking just behind his thoughts, a presence that never fully left him, no matter how far he wandered. The woman in his dreams, the fleeting glimpses of places and faces he couldn't remember—they were all tied to the Veil. And it was no mistake that he had ended up here, at the Threshold.
"You're right about one thing," Maerlyn finally said, his voice low. "I've felt the pull. But I don't know what it means. What am I supposed to do next? How do I fight this?"
Kaelen's eyes darkened again, his fingers twitching as if he were about to speak but held back. He looked up at the sky, then back at Maerlyn, his expression grave. "You need to find the others, the ones who still remember. They're scattered, lost in the corners of this world. The ones who can stand against the Veil. But they're not easy to find, and they're not easy to trust."
Maerlyn frowned. "Who are they? What makes them different from anyone else?"
"They were once part of the Order," Kaelen replied, his voice low. "The Order of the Wakened. It was an ancient group, bound by blood and oath to fight against the Veil. They knew the truth of the Threshold, the truth of what lay beyond the Veil. But they were hunted, hunted to the ends of the earth. Some died, others… others became part of the Veil itself. The Wakened are few now, and they are scattered. But there's one—just one—who can help you. If you find him, Maerlyn, you might have a chance."
Maerlyn's heart pounded in his chest. The Wakened. The Order. It all sounded so distant, like a legend or a dream. But there was a glimmer of hope in Kaelen's words, a hope that seemed to flicker just beyond reach. If they were real—if the Order truly existed—then perhaps there was a way to break the Veil's grip on the world. A way to piece together the broken fragments of his past.
"Where do I find him?" Maerlyn asked, his voice barely a whisper.
Kaelen's eyes flickered with uncertainty, as if the question itself was dangerous. "I… I don't know. But I can tell you this—there's a place, an old temple, deep in the Ashen Peaks. It's said to be where the last of the Wakened hid. It's a place that no one dares to enter, not anymore. The Veil... it doesn't want anyone to find the temple."
The Ashen Peaks. Maerlyn's mind raced. He had heard of the Peaks before, in passing—a range of mountains said to be cursed, where no travelers returned. It was a place feared by even the bravest of souls, a place where reality itself twisted and shattered. But if Kaelen was right, if the Wakened truly hid there, then it might be Maerlyn's only chance at learning the truth.
"I'll go there," Maerlyn said, his voice firm with resolve.
Kaelen gave him a weary look. "It's not that simple, Maerlyn. The Veil is already hunting you. You won't make it to the Peaks without its influence catching up to you. You need to be prepared, or you'll end up like the others."
Maerlyn clenched his fists, his heart pounding in his chest. He had no choice. He had to move forward. The Veil had already cost him too much. He had to know who he was, what had been taken from him, and how to stop the spread of its darkness. The Ashen Peaks were his only lead.
"I'll be ready," Maerlyn said, though he wasn't sure how. But he knew one thing: The time for hiding was over.
Kaelen sighed deeply, as if weighing something in his mind. "You'll need allies. You won't survive alone in the Peaks—not with the creatures, not with the land itself working against you. There are others, scattered in the world, who might help you. Seek them out. But be careful. Not all are friends."
Maerlyn nodded grimly. Allies, he thought. He hadn't trusted anyone in a long time, but if there was even a sliver of hope in Kaelen's words, he had no choice but to follow the path laid before him.
The Veil was still out there, and its reach was far greater than Maerlyn had ever imagined. But now, he had something to fight for.
"I'll find them," Maerlyn said, his voice resolute. "And I'll make them understand. The Veil ends now."
With those words, Maerlyn turned away from the arch, the world beyond the Threshold stretching out before him. The journey was long, and the path uncertain, but he would walk it, step by step. The Ashen Peaks awaited. And with them, the last hope of the world.