Chapter 27: The Meeting of Emissaries
The summit was arranged beneath tenuous peace—neutral ground in the ancient ruins of Aurenhollow, once a sacred city of the gods before dragons turned its spires to bone and ash.
Now, under the silver light of twin moons, the two divine emissaries would meet.
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Jean Luther arrived first.
Clad in a silver-gold mantle, her sword Solstice strapped to her back, she walked between crumbled pillars bearing forgotten scripture. Whitney padded at her side, ears alert, golden eyes wary.
The place thrummed with latent power. Here, even silence had a weight.
Jean gazed at the horizon where snow kissed broken towers.
"She's coming," she said.
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Moments later, Ilyana Veyr stepped from the northern fog.
She wore robes of layered ice-silk, her pale skin faintly glowing in the moonlight. No blade hung at her hip—she had no need. Her presence alone stilled the wind.
At her side, Thirn, massive and silent, snorted plumes of frost.
Their eyes met—gold and glacial blue.
Jean bowed lightly. "I thank you for agreeing to meet."
Ilyana inclined her head. "The light calls loud enough that even the frost must listen."
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For a moment, neither spoke.
Then Jean asked, "Will you fight beside us when the dragons rise again?"
Ilyana's gaze did not waver. "I do not fight for clans. I fight for balance. The dragons are fire incarnate. You... are fire cloaked in light."
Jean stepped forward. "You think I'll lose control."
"I think you haven't been tested," Ilyana replied. "Your soul shines like a beacon, but fire draws shadow. Power draws ruin."
Jean's hand tightened at her side. "Then test me."
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A silence stretched between them.
Then—ice cracked beneath foot.
Ilyana moved faster than expected, palm raised, a spiral of frost blooming in the air. Jean answered with a flash of golden aura, Solstice singing free of its sheath.
Their powers met mid-air—light against frost, a blinding explosion of opposing divine wills.
Whitney and Thirn growled in unison, circling.
But the clash lasted only a moment.
When the wind cleared, Jean still stood, aura stable. Not overextended. Not reckless.
Ilyana slowly lowered her hand.
"…Better than I expected," she admitted.
Jean smirked. "Still want me to prove it?"
Ilyana's lips curved slightly. "Not yet."
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The air softened.
The test had passed.
But alliance? That was still to be earned.
"I will not follow you," Ilyana said. "But I will not stand in your way. For now, the Frost does not oppose the Light."
Jean nodded. "That's enough."
The emissaries turned their backs and began to walk—one toward flame, the other toward snow.
But both knew—
This was only the beginning.
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