Aelira sat across from Maera, her hands clenched in her lap, the weight of the hourglass still pressing on her thoughts. She could feel the tremor in the air — something ancient, something sorrowful. Kael had stepped out of the room to give them some space, but Aelira could feel his presence lingering just beyond the door, like a silent guard.
Maera hadn't spoken much since their arrival, her sharp eyes studying Aelira as if weighing the girl's very soul. But now, the silence between them was palpable, the weight of the room growing heavier by the second.
Finally, Maera spoke, her voice softer than before, tinged with a distant sadness. "You wish to know why the Timekeepers fell. Why I'm the last one left."
Aelira nodded slowly. "If I'm supposed to be the last hope, then I need to understand. I need to know what happened."
Maera's eyes darkened, and for a moment, she seemed to be lost in a memory. She stood and walked over to a small shelf, pulling down an ancient book that was bound in worn leather. She set it gently in front of Aelira and opened it, revealing faded pages filled with intricate drawings and symbols. The book looked like a history of the Timekeepers — a record of their lineage, their duty, and their power.
Maera's hands hovered over the pages for a moment before she began to speak, her voice growing distant as she shared her story.
---
The Past of Maera:
"I was born many lifetimes ago," Maera began, her voice calm but heavy with memory. "In a time when the Timekeepers were revered. We weren't just guardians of time; we were its stewards, its guides. The world was in balance, and we ensured that history flowed as it should, untouched by the hands of those who sought to change it."
She paused, her eyes faraway, lost in the echoes of her own past. "But with power comes temptation. There were those among us — a faction, a splinter group of Timekeepers — who believed that time was too fragile, too unpredictable. They believed that if they could control it, they could shape the future to their will. They called themselves the 'Rewriters.'"
Aelira's brow furrowed. "Rewriters? You mean they tried to manipulate history?"
Maera nodded slowly. "Yes. At first, it seemed harmless. Small changes, minor adjustments. Averted disasters here, averted wars there. But as time passed, their ambition grew. They began to reshape entire timelines, erasing certain events, creating others. They saw themselves as the true guardians, the ones who could craft a perfect future. But what they didn't understand was that time is delicate — too delicate to be twisted so carelessly."
Her fingers brushed the pages of the book, tracing over a symbol that seemed to pulse with a faint light. "The Rewriters were led by a man named Faelan. He was once my closest ally, my mentor. We fought side by side to protect the flow of time, but he was seduced by the idea of control. He saw the hourglass, the artifact that binds all of time together, as the key to ultimate power."
Aelira's eyes widened. "Faelan… the man I saw in the vision. The one in the battlefield. He was a Timekeeper?"
Maera's expression darkened. "Yes. Faelan was once the brightest of us all. But when he took control of the hourglass, everything changed. The power it held over time was too much for one person. No one could control it alone."
Maera's voice grew tight, the pain of the past clawing at her words. "I tried to stop him. I tried to reason with him, to remind him of the balance we were sworn to protect. But Faelan didn't listen. He unleashed a chaos beyond anything we could have imagined. Time fractured. It splintered into countless pieces, creating rifts — pockets of history lost to time, erasing entire eras, undoing centuries of progress."
Aelira felt her heart racing. "So, that's why time is broken. The war, the rifts… all of it?"
Maera nodded gravely. "Yes. The war between the Timekeepers and the Rewriters tore apart the very fabric of existence. We were forced into hiding, hunted by our own. Faelan... he became something else. A monster. He wasn't the man I knew anymore. The moment he gained full control of the hourglass, he became obsessed. He sought to reshape the world in his image — to create a timeline where he was the ruler, and all would bow to him."
Aelira felt a chill run down her spine. The man she had seen in her vision, the one who had seemed so powerful, so focused — he had once been a protector. Now, he was the harbinger of destruction.
Maera's voice broke through Aelira's thoughts. "In the end, I was the one who had to stop him. I was the one who shattered the hourglass to keep him from undoing everything. But in doing so, I sealed my fate. The moment I destroyed it, I lost my place in the flow of time. I became... a shadow. An echo of what I once was. The Timekeepers were scattered, and the balance of time was broken beyond repair."
Her hands trembled as she closed the book, her eyes dark with sorrow. "Now, all that's left are fragments. Fragments of the past. And you, Aelira, are the key to restoring it. You hold the hourglass, the only thing that can heal what has been broken. But know this — Faelan is still out there, and he will stop at nothing to reclaim what was lost. Time is still under his control, and he will not let you undo the damage he's caused."
---
Aelira sat in stunned silence, the weight of Maera's words sinking in like a stone. She had thought she understood the stakes, but now, the true danger of the hourglass, of Faelan, was clearer than ever.
Maera's eyes softened, her voice filled with a quiet resolve. "It's not just your destiny to restore the balance, Aelira. It's the world's. The future you protect will shape the generations to come. But remember — time is not a gift. It is a burden. And the hourglass will test you in ways you can't yet imagine."
Aelira stood, her mind racing, her heart heavy with the weight of what she had learned. "I don't know if I'm ready for this. I don't know if I can stop Faelan."
Maera's gaze was steady, unwavering. "You have no choice. Time has chosen you, Aelira. And you will rise to meet it, or you will fall."