Visions of Another Life
The darkness was not empty this time. It gave way to warmth, sunlight streaming through an open window.
Elara blinked, finding herself seated in a familiar room. Her childhood room. The walls were lined with shelves of books and trinkets from her father's travels. A wooden sword rested against the corner, its surface worn from years of use.
Her hair hung in loose waves over her shoulders, its color icy black, glinting in the sunlight. She reached up to touch it, a small smile tugging at her lips.
"Elara, you're late again!"
The voice was unmistakable. She turned, her heart swelling as she saw him. Kaelion stood in the doorway, arms crossed, his usual smirk tugging at the corner of his lips. His turquoise eyes sparkled with amusement.
"Training starts in ten minutes," he said, feigning exasperation.
"I know, I know," she replied, rolling her eyes but already moving to grab her boots.
The memory played out with startling clarity, every detail vivid. Kael's voice, the smell of lavender from the flowers her mother insisted on keeping in the windowsill—it all felt real.
But as the scene unfolded, something shifted.
Kael's voice began to fade, replaced by laughter—light and carefree. The room dissolved around her, replaced by a garden she didn't recognize. A young girl, her silver hair gleaming in the sunlight, ran through the flowers. She was barefoot, her laughter filling the air as she chased a butterfly.
Elara frowned. Who was this girl? The memory was hers, and yet… it wasn't.
The girl turned, her face obscured by the sunlight. "Come on!" she called, her voice echoing like a distant melody.
Elara moved to follow, but her surroundings shifted again.
The girl was older now, standing in a grand hall, her silver hair braided elegantly. The air was heavy with tension. A man stood beside her, his face eerily familiar yet indistinct. The girl whispered something, her expression somber, but the words were lost to Elara.
The visions continued to flicker, moments of a life she couldn't remember but felt inexplicably connected to.
The darkness of unconsciousness pulled her deeper, and Elara found herself in another vision. This one was sharp and vivid, yet it carried a strange detachment, as though it belonged to someone else.
She was back in the family's drill hall, its expansive stone floor cold beneath her bare feet. The clang of weapons from distant training echoed faintly, but she was alone.
A young girl, no more than twelve, stood in the middle of the hall, her silver-blue hair tied back in a loose braid. She held a wooden sword, the weight of it too heavy for her small frame, yet determination shone in her eyes. Her movements were clumsy but purposeful, each swing punctuated by a grunt of effort.
The large doors creaked open, and the girl froze, her gaze darting toward the entrance.
A familiar face stepped into the hall, his unusually silver eyes with a hint of green and violet were sharp and cold. Barely seventeen, his tall, lean frame carried a confidence that belied his age. His silver training uniform was spotless, his steps measured. He glanced at the girl, his expression unreadable, and stopped.
The girl's heart leaped, a flicker of hope lighting her face. "Brother!" she called out, her voice bright and innocent.
Riven's gaze lingered for a moment. Something flickered in his eyes—an emotion too fleeting to name—but it was gone as quickly as it appeared. His icy eyes returned to their stoic coldness, the expression that had become his shield.
The girl lowered her sword, her small hands clutching the wooden hilt tightly. "I was practicing," she said softly, her tone almost apologetic.
Riven's lips curved into a faint sneer. "You'll never improve like that," he said, his voice cutting. "Stop wasting your time."
The girl flinched, her grip tightening on the sword. "But Brother Kael said—"
"Don't embarrass yourself," Riven interrupted, his tone dismissive. He turned sharply on his heel and left without another word, the doors slamming shut behind him.
The girl stood there, her chest tightening with a mix of confusion and sadness. Unlike Kael, who had always been kind and encouraging, Riven had never shown her the warmth she craved. The coldness didn't suit him—she was certain of it—but she didn't understand why he never looked at her any other way.
The vision began to blur, shifting again.
The scene changed, the hall dissolving into a snowy expanse.
A young girl, now barely five years old, sat at the center of a clearing. Around her, the snow sparkled under the pale moonlight. A dozen silver flowers surrounded her, their crescent-shaped petals glowing softly with an otherworldly light. The flowers shimmered with a faint blue hue, their beauty surreal.
The girl giggled, her small hands brushing over the delicate petals. Her silver hair spilled over her shoulders, shining in the moonlight in response to the otherworldly flowers, and her turquoise eyes sparkled with innocent joy.
Beside her, a wolf sat quietly, its gray fur blending with the snow. Its light green eyes gazed at the girl with a softness that was almost human.
The wolf lowered its head, nuzzling against the girl's small frame protectively. The girl laughed, her fingers sinking into the wolf's thick fur. "Thank you for saving me. You're my best friend now," she whispered, her voice light and pure.
The wolf's gaze softened further, a silent understanding passing between them.
The vision began to fade, the snowy clearing and the wolf dissolving into nothingness.
The warmth of the first vision faded, replaced by a chill that seeped into her very bones.
Elara found herself in a grand hall, its cold marble floor stretching out beneath her bare feet. The air was tense, heavy with unspoken words. She stood frozen, her silver hair falling loosely around her face.
Before her, a man knelt—Riven, her second brother. He was older, his expression shadowed by anger and guilt. His violet-silver eyes, so unlike hers and Kael's, burned with frustration.
"Why do you hate me so much, Elara?" His voice was low, bitter.
She flinched at his tone. "Why? You betrayed Kael!"
Riven's head snapped up, his gaze sharp and cutting. "You think I betrayed him?"
"You abandoned him when he needed you most, you were never there when 'I' needed you" she spat, her hands curling into fists.
He rose to his feet, towering over her, his voice cold as steel. "You don't understand anything, Elara. You never did."
The scene shifted abruptly. They were no longer in the hall but in a frozen wasteland. The wind howled around them, snow whipping at their faces. Riven's expression was hard, unreadable, as he stood at the edge of a cliff overlooking the forbidding forest.
"This isn't about you or me," he said, his voice distant. "It never was."
Elara reached for him, but he stepped back, vanishing into the blinding snow.