The wind howled through Hollowroot Vale like a warning cry from the heavens.
The standing stones that had glowed gently before now hummed with a deep, crackling pulse. The sky overhead churned, clouds twisting into a spiral of dark gray and violet. Lightning danced across the horizon, and thunder rolled so loud it shook the earth beneath their feet.
Kael stood at the center of the circle, his cloak whipping around him, both arms trembling but ready. Two glowing rings now circled the mark on his palm.
Elenor stood outside the circle, gripping her sword tightly.
"Kael," she called through the wind. "You don't have to do this alone—"
He turned to her, eyes glowing bright.
"I do. This one… it's mine."
A final gust of wind blew through the vale—and from the sky, a bolt of silver lightning struck the center of the stones.
Where it hit, a form rose—not human, not beast. A storm shaped like a man, formed of clouds, thunder, wind, and fire. Its face was a blank mask of glowing light.
It looked down at Kael as if it had always been waiting.
"Stormborn. You are the child of sky and silence. Are you ready to claim your name?"
Kael took a step forward, feeling the power pulsing from within his chest.
"I don't even know what my name means."
The storm-figure raised one hand, and wind slashed toward Kael like a blade.
He ducked, rolled, and leapt up, raising Windshale—his staff—which burst into blue light the moment he moved.
"Then learn!" the figure thundered.
⸻
The Trial Begins
The storm roared. Lightning struck in rapid bursts, thunder shook the ground, and rain poured like blades. But Kael was no longer the same boy who had arrived.
The Trial of the Mind gave him memory.
The Trial of the Spirit gave him strength.
But the Trial of the Storm—this would give him power.
Kael leapt into the fight, staff glowing with the energy of wind and light. The storm-being lashed out with arms made of living wind, each blow a gale force slam.
Kael deflected one, then another. But the third hit sent him flying back, slamming into a tree. Elenor cried out.
He rose slowly, bleeding, breath heavy—but eyes determined.
He extended his hand. The pendant at his neck flashed, and from the sky came a spark—a flash—a bolt.
It struck his hand.
He didn't burn.
He absorbed it.
The runes on his staff flared wide, brighter than ever. Wind rose from his back, forming wings of pure air—brief, flickering—but real.
The storm-being paused.
"You are awakening."
Kael shouted, slamming the staff to the ground. A shockwave burst out in all directions, tearing the clouds back for a brief second, revealing the night sky.
He lunged, faster now—striking the storm-figure across its glowing core. Another blow. Another.
Then—
The figure caught his weapon.
Lightning surged up Kael's arm. He screamed.
"You wield the storm… but do you accept it?"
The pain was unbearable.
And yet…
Kael closed his eyes.
"I'm not afraid."
He pulled the energy into himself—not to destroy, but to understand.
To become.
The storm exploded in a final flash of light—
—
Silence
Then it was gone.
Kael knelt at the center of the stone ring. Windshale glowed faintly beside him. His mark now bore three rings, rotating slowly in a circle of golden-blue light.
Rain fell gently now—no longer sharp.
Elenor ran to him, dropping to her knees.
"Kael!"
He looked up.
And for a moment… he smiled.
"I'm here," he whispered.
—
Later That Night
A fire crackled in a shallow cave just beyond the Vale. Kael sat in silence, staring at the flame.
Elenor sat beside him. She hadn't asked any questions—not yet. She was waiting.
Finally, Kael spoke.
"I saw it. In the storm. My mother… my real name… the one she gave me."
Elenor leaned closer.
"What was it?"
Kael looked to the stars.
"Kael Dareth Stormline. Last of the Skybound. Heir to the Balance."
Silence followed.
Then he turned to Elenor.
"They're coming for me, Elenor. The man in black, the burning towers—this wasn't just a warning. It was a beginning."
She nodded.
"Then we fight. Together."
Kael smiled faintly. "I don't know where we're going yet."
She grinned. "Doesn't matter. You're not going alone."
Thunder rumbled softly in the distance.
But this time, it didn't feel like a threat.
It felt like… a heartbeat.