The forgotten city of Eryndor was silent.
Kael, Neferet, and Vaelthira descended through the ruined observatory and entered a city suspended beyond ordinary space. Silver rivers flowed between abandoned towers, and enormous dragon statues watched over empty streets.
Vaelthira stopped before a white-stone house.
Its door remained open.
Inside, a wooden table stood beside three small chairs. Dust covered the floor, but a child's drawing remained attached to the wall a picture of a white dragon flying above a city.
Vaelthira touched the drawing gently.
"Someone expected to return," she whispered.
Neferet examined the doorway.
"Then why did they leave everything behind?"
Kael looked toward the distant council chamber.
"Perhaps leaving was more important than taking anything with them."
They continued through the deserted streets until they reached a circular building surrounded by broken pillars.
The ancient council chamber.
Eight seats stood around a central table.
Seven were carved from silver stone.
The eighth was completely empty, surrounded by markings resembling those discovered beneath Aaru.
Neferet's expression became serious.
"The First Covenant."
Vaelthira approached the table and discovered a sealed record beneath its surface. She opened it carefully.
The inscription read:
THE CLANS OF ERYNDOR CHOSE TO DEPART VOLUNTARILY.
THEIR LOCATION MUST BE REMOVED SO THAT THE EIGHTH THRONE MAY REMAIN UNDISCOVERED.
Vaelthira stared at the words.
"My ancestors chose to leave?"
Before anyone could answer, Kael found another record.
Its message contradicted the first.
THE CLANS WERE ORDERED TO ABANDON ERYNDOR AFTER THE FIRST BETRAYAL. THEIR DEPARTURE WAS NOT A CHOICE.
Neferet looked between the inscriptions.
"One claims they left willingly. The other claims they were forced to leave."
"Perhaps one is false," Vaelthira said.
"Perhaps both are incomplete," Kael replied.
He examined the empty eighth seat.
There were no chains, no restraints, and no signs that anyone had been imprisoned there.
Instead, the stone beneath the seat contained a final inscription.
THE EIGHTH THRONE WAS NEVER MEANT TO BE OCCUPIED IN ERYNDOR.
Vaelthira frowned.
"Then why build it here?"
The chamber trembled.
A hidden compartment opened beneath the central table, revealing a small silver medallion bearing the crest of Vaelthira's ancestors.
She picked it up.
On its reverse were five words:
WE LEFT TO PROTECT IT.
"Protect what?" Neferet asked.
Vaelthira turned the medallion over, searching for another inscription.
There was none.
Then a distant voice echoed through the abandoned city.
THE QUEEN HAS RETURNED.
The silver rivers stopped flowing.
Every dragon statue turned its head toward Vaelthira.
Kael stepped forward, placing himself between her and the nearest statue not because he believed she was helpless, but because something in the city's sudden awakening demanded caution.
A final message appeared across the council chamber wall.
ASK YOUR ANCESTORS WHY THEY FEARED THE EIGHTH.
Vaelthira tightened her grip on the medallion.
For centuries, she had searched for a lost civilization, believing she would discover how it had been destroyed.
Instead, she had found evidence that her ancestors might have deliberately erased it.
And whatever they had protected was still hidden beneath Eryndor.
Kael studied the inscription.
"Looks like we have more questions than answers."
Vaelthira raised her blue-grey eyes toward him.
"Then we keep investigating."
Beyond the chamber, a sealed door slowly opened.
Behind it lay a corridor marked with eight silver lines and the unmistakable symbol of the First Covenant.
Their next discovery was waiting below the city.