[ AN: Music Recommendation: Mountain Oath by The Last Retinue ]
The guide stared back at them, or so it seemed. His face was hidden, cloaked in shadow. He stood with the sea lapping at his knees, facing them in silence. He looked like a spectre in the centre of cerulean waters, a beam of sunlight from one small, eroded opening in the cave above, casting him in a spotlight, as if this were a sacred moment lit by fate.
Each marked child shifted restlessly, eager to claim their victory, pass another trial, and take one step closer to the final goal of becoming the island's guardian, a role they knew was the island's greatest calling.
They had yet to understand its full meaning, or what would truly be asked of them beyond the expectation of protecting Tayun and its people. That knowledge was not yet theirs to earn. But they were marked, set apart by fate. Whether it was Tayun or Solkara, the Sun Weaver, they had been chosen above others.
