The desert stretched endlessly before Kael, a sea of golden dunes rippling beneath the blazing sun. The air shimmered with heat, distorting the horizon and making it impossible to tell where the sky ended and the sands began. His horse, a sturdy dun mare, trudged forward, each step sinking slightly into the loose sand.
Kael squinted into the distance, his green eyes narrowing as he scanned the horizon. He could feel the faint pull of the Tether Stone tucked away in his satchel, its weight far heavier than its size would suggest. It was a subtle, thrumming sensation in his chest, like the beat of a second heart, guiding him toward his destination.
The Tether Stone wasn't just a relic; it was a map, a compass, and a key, all in one. And right now, it was his only lead to finding the source of the strange disruptions that had been plaguing the regions near the Sarran Wastes. Villages had disappeared overnight, swallowed whole by sudden fissures in the earth. Crops had withered, and water sources had dried up as if drained by some unseen force.
Kael grimaced, running a hand through his sweat-dampened hair. He had seen what happened to those who strayed too close to these disturbances—shattered bodies, minds lost to madness. Whatever was causing the disruptions was growing stronger, and it was his task to stop it.
The thought made his grip tighten on the reins. He hadn't asked for this responsibility, but the Tether Stone had chosen him, binding itself to his essence the moment he'd found it in the ruins of a forgotten temple. The elders in his homeland had called it a blessing, but Kael knew better. It was a curse—a burden he could never put down.
A low rumble pulled him from his thoughts, and Kael instinctively pulled his horse to a halt. The ground beneath him trembled, a subtle vibration that sent a cascade of loose sand sliding down the nearest dune. He froze, his senses sharpening as he scanned the area.
Then he saw it.
A dark shadow snaked through the sand, moving unnaturally fast, leaving a faint trail of disturbed grains in its wake. It circled him once, twice, before darting toward the base of a nearby dune.
Kael slid off his horse in one fluid motion, his boots sinking into the hot sand. He reached for the blade strapped to his back—a broad, curved weapon forged from starsteel. The metal caught the sunlight, glinting with a faint, blue hue as he unsheathed it.
The shadow paused, quivering as if it sensed his intent.
"I don't have time for this," Kael muttered, his voice low. He stepped forward cautiously, his weapon held at the ready. "If you're going to attack, do it now."
The shadow didn't respond—not that he had expected it to. Instead, it shifted, rising from the sand like a living thing. At first, it was nothing more than an amorphous mass of darkness, but slowly, it began to take shape.
Kael's grip tightened on his sword as the creature solidified into a humanoid form. Its body was made entirely of shadow, its edges flickering like smoke in the wind. Eyes like burning coals stared at him from a featureless face, and its hands ended in long, claw-like fingers.
The creature tilted its head, as though studying him. Then, without warning, it lunged.
Kael moved on instinct, sidestepping the attack and bringing his blade up in a wide arc. The sword sliced cleanly through the creature's arm, and the severed limb dissolved into wisps of shadow that dissipated into the air.
The creature hissed—a high, keening sound that made Kael's ears ring. It lashed out with its remaining arm, claws raking toward his chest. Kael parried the strike, his blade colliding with the creature's limb in a burst of blue light.
The impact sent the creature staggering back, and Kael pressed the advantage. He drove his sword forward, piercing the shadow's chest. For a moment, the creature froze, its body shuddering as the light from Kael's blade spread through it like cracks in glass.
Then, with a final, anguished wail, the creature shattered. Its form dissolved into a swirl of black smoke that quickly dispersed, leaving nothing behind but a faint chill in the air.
Kael lowered his sword, his chest heaving as he caught his breath. The sand around him was undisturbed, as though the creature had never been there at all.
He wiped the sweat from his brow and turned back to his horse, sheathing his weapon as he approached. The mare snorted nervously, her ears flicking back and forth, but she stayed in place.
"It's all right," Kael murmured, patting her neck soothingly. "It's gone now."
But even as he said the words, he couldn't shake the feeling that the encounter had been a warning. The shadow creature hadn't attacked him by chance—it had been drawn to the Tether Stone.
Kael pulled the artifact from his satchel, holding it up to the light. The dark, crystalline stone pulsed faintly, its surface etched with patterns that seemed to shift and change when he looked away.
"Just what are you hiding?" he muttered, his thumb brushing over the stone's smooth surface.
The Tether Stone didn't answer, of course, but its pulse grew stronger, tugging him forward like an invisible thread. Kael sighed, tucking the artifact back into his satchel and mounting his horse.
As he urged the mare forward, his mind raced with questions. What was the connection between the stone and the disturbances? And more importantly, how was he supposed to stop something he barely understood?
The horizon shimmered in the distance, and Kael pressed onward, the weight of the Tether Stone and its secrets heavy on his shoulders.
End of Chapter 3