Chapter 87 up
The wind carried the scent of smoke across the valley as dawn slowly revealed the devastation left behind.
Elara stood at the edge of the ruined village, her boots crunching against broken wood and scattered stone. What had once been a lively settlement was now little more than blackened beams and drifting ash.
Behind her, Kael tightened the straps on his pack.
“We shouldn’t stay long,” he said quietly. “Whoever did this might still be nearby.”
Elara nodded but did not move. Her eyes scanned the remains of what used to be homes. A child’s wooden toy lay half-buried in soot near her feet.
“They didn’t deserve this,” she murmured.
“No one does.”
A low rumble echoed from the mountains to the north. Kael looked up sharply.
“Did you hear that?”
Elara finally turned away from the ruins.
“The mountain again,” she said. “It’s getting worse.”
For weeks the ground had trembled beneath their feet. The elders had spoken of old powers waking beneath the earth—forces that had slept for centuries.
Kael stepped beside her.
“If the legends are true,” he said, “then we’re already too late.”
Elara pulled the folded map from her coat and opened it carefully. The edges were worn, and the ink had faded in places, but one symbol still stood clear: a spiral mark deep within the northern mountains.
“The ruins of Velkaris,” she said. “That’s where we need to go.”
Kael frowned.
“You’re certain?”
“It’s the only place left that might have answers.”
They had been following fragments of clues for months—ancient scrolls, forgotten libraries, half-burned records hidden in abandoned monasteries. Each piece pointed toward the same destination.
Velkaris.
A city that had vanished long before the modern kingdoms were built.
Kael exhaled slowly.
“Then we should move. The pass will freeze once the sun sets.”
Elara folded the map and slipped it away.
Without another glance at the destroyed village, they began walking north.
The road into the mountains was little more than a narrow trail winding between jagged rocks and frozen streams. Snow still clung to the higher peaks despite the arrival of spring.
By midday the sky had darkened with thick clouds.
Kael walked ahead, scanning the ridges.
“We’re being watched,” he said suddenly.
Elara’s hand moved to the hilt of her sword.
“Where?”
He nodded toward the cliffs above them.
“I saw movement.”
For several moments, nothing happened. The wind howled through the stones.
Then a voice called down from above.
“You travel dangerous roads.”
A figure stepped out from the shadows of the cliff.
The man wore a dark cloak and carried a long staff. His beard was streaked with silver, and his eyes were sharp.
Elara relaxed slightly but did not remove her hand from her weapon.
“And who are you?” she asked.
The man climbed down the rocky slope with surprising ease.
“A traveler,” he replied. “Like yourselves.”
Kael crossed his arms.
“Travelers don’t usually hide on cliffs.”
The stranger smiled faintly.
“Old habits.”
He studied them for a moment.
“You’re heading north.”
“Yes,” Elara said carefully.
“To the mountains.”
“That’s usually what north means.”
The man chuckled.
“Fair enough.”
He leaned on his staff.
“You’re looking for Velkaris.”
Both Elara and Kael froze.
“How do you know that?” Kael demanded.
The stranger’s expression turned serious.
“Because everyone who walks this path lately is looking for the same thing.”
Elara stepped closer.
“You’ve been there?”
“No.”
“Then how—”
“But I know someone who has.”
The wind grew stronger around them.
Elara studied the man’s face, searching for deception.
“Who are you?” she asked again.
This time the stranger answered.
“My name is Corvin.”
Kael raised an eyebrow.
“The historian?”
Corvin inclined his head slightly.
“I see my reputation travels faster than I do.”
Elara had heard the name before. Corvin was known across several kingdoms for collecting lost knowledge—especially stories about ancient civilizations.
“If you know about Velkaris,” she said, “then you know why we’re going there.”
Corvin nodded slowly.
“The Heart.”
Kael glanced at Elara.
So it was true.
Corvin tapped his staff against the ground.
“You believe the Heart of Velkaris still exists,” he continued.
“We know it does,” Elara said.
Corvin sighed.
“Many have believed the same thing.”
“And?”
“And most of them never returned.”
Kael shrugged.
“That doesn’t mean they were wrong.”
“No,” Corvin agreed quietly. “But it does mean the journey is more dangerous than you realize.”
A deep tremor shook the ground beneath them.
Loose stones tumbled down the slopes.
All three of them looked toward the distant mountains.
A faint red glow flickered between the peaks.
Corvin’s voice dropped.
“It’s waking faster than expected.”
Elara turned sharply.
“You’ve seen it before?”
“Not directly.”
“Then how do you know?”
Corvin’s eyes darkened.
“Because I’ve read what happens when the Heart awakens.”
Kael shifted uneasily.
“And?”
Corvin looked toward the burning glow in the distance.
“The last time it happened,” he said quietly, “an entire empire disappeared.”
They made camp that night in a sheltered valley between two ridges.
The fire crackled softly while the wind roared overhead.
Elara sat across from Corvin, watching him carefully.
“You still haven’t told us everything,” she said.
Corvin stirred the fire with a stick.
“I rarely do.”
Kael leaned against a rock.
“Let’s start with something simple,” he said. “Why are you here?”
Corvin didn’t answer immediately.
Finally he said, “Because I made a mistake.”
Elara frowned.
“What kind of mistake?”
“The kind that wakes things better left sleeping.”
The firelight flickered across his face.
Years of exhaustion seemed to weigh on him.
“I found a fragment,” Corvin continued. “An artifact from Velkaris. A key, perhaps.”
Kael sat up.
“And you used it.”
“Yes.”
“And that triggered the awakening.”
Corvin nodded once.
Silence settled around the camp.
Elara stared into the flames.
“So this is your fault.”
“Yes.”
Kael whistled softly.
“Well. That’s unfortunate.”
Corvin looked up.
“You should turn back.”
Elara shook her head immediately.
“No.”
“If the Heart fully awakens, the entire region could collapse. Cities. Kingdoms. Everything.”
“All the more reason to stop it.”
Corvin studied her expression.
“You believe you can.”
“I believe someone has to try.”
Kael smiled slightly.
“That’s usually how our problems start.”
Corvin sighed again.
“You remind me of someone I used to know.”
Elara raised an eyebrow.
“Did they also chase impossible missions?”
“Yes.”
“What happened to them?”
Corvin looked away.
“They failed.”
The fire popped loudly.
For a long moment none of them spoke.
Then Kael stood.
“Well,” he said, stretching, “that’s encouraging.”
Elara smirked slightly.
“Get some rest. We leave at sunrise.”
Corvin watched them both carefully.
“You’re serious about this.”
“Yes.”
He stared into the fire for a long time.
Finally he said quietly,
“Then I suppose I’m coming with you.”
Kael laughed softly.
“Of course you are.”
Corvin looked up.
“You expected that?”
“You’re the one who woke the problem,” Kael said. “You’re not the type to run from fixing it.”
Corvin smiled faintly.
“You know me surprisingly well for someone I met today.”
Kael shrugged.
“Scholars always feel guilty.”
Elara lay down beside her pack and stared at the stars breaking through the clouds above.
Somewhere deep within the mountains, another tremor echoed.
The red glow pulsed brighter.
Whatever waited beneath Velkaris was growing stronger.
And for the first time since this journey had begun, Elara felt the weight of what they were about to face.
Not just a forgotten ruin.
Not just an ancient power.
But something older.
Something that had once destroyed an empire.
She closed her eyes slowly.
Tomorrow they would enter the high passes.
And beyond them…
The lost city of Velkaris.
Waiting beneath the ashes of history.