The wind howled through the jagged peaks of the Varyndell Mountains, carrying whispers of the past. Kaelen pulled his cloak tighter, the cold biting through the worn fabric. He had spent years away from Eldoria, but the land had never truly left him. Now, as he stood on the edge of the kingdom that had cast him out, he felt the weight of his return pressing down like an iron gauntlet.

Beyond the cliffs, the valley stretched wide, shrouded in mist. Somewhere beneath that fog lay the capital, Varethorn, where the Shattered Crown's first shard resided. His father had once ruled there—before the empire burned it to the ground.

A rustling in the underbrush snapped Kaelen from his thoughts. He spun, hand on the hilt of his dagger. The forest was dense here, thick with ancient pines and shifting shadows. Then he saw it—a figure crouched low, barely visible between the trees.

"Come out," he commanded, his voice steady despite the unease creeping into his gut.

Silence. Then, a soft chuckle. A woman stepped forward, golden eyes glinting beneath her hood. "For a man returning from exile, you're awfully bold."

Kaelen frowned. "Who are you?"

She smirked. "Someone who knows what you seek."

She tossed something his way—a small pendant, etched with the sigil of Varethorn's royal house. Kaelen's breath caught. Only a handful of these had ever been made.

"Where did you get this?" he demanded.

"The same place you're going." The woman pulled back her hood, revealing a cascade of dark curls and a scar that ran from her temple to her jaw. "The city is not as you remember it, prince. If you walk in unprepared, you won't walk out."

Prince. It had been years since anyone had called him that.

Kaelen's grip tightened around the pendant. "Then tell me what I need to know."

The woman nodded, glancing toward the valley. "Varethorn has fallen to the empire's grasp. But the shard of the Shattered Crown? That's still there, hidden beneath the ruins of the old keep."

Kaelen's pulse quickened. He had returned for many reasons—to reclaim his home, to avenge his father—but above all, to stop the emperor's conquest before it was too late.

If the first shard was within reach, he had no choice but to act.

"Then let's get to work," he said.

The woman smiled. "I thought you'd say that."

And with that, they vanished into the trees, the storm brewing over Eldoria heralding the beginning of Kaelen's long road to war.