He locked his hand with Jaq's, their palms meeting, fingers tangling in a familiar grip. Jaq’s presence, solid and calm beside him, was like a deep root holding firm against a rising tide. Dalazar closed his eyes, took another deep inhale, slow and measured, and exhaled, letting the tension bleed ...

Dalazar listened, brow furrowed in concentration. Jaq's voice, calm and patient, had just unveiled a concept that felt both profoundly intriguing and utterly outlandish. This “Cordo,” this inherent will residing within everyone, was no mere muscle to be flexed, but something far more nuanced. It ...

"Neighbors...yes...I suppose you're right about that..."

The words, spoken aloud to Jaq as they stood knee-deep in the cool, azure water of the Jaida Coast, lingered on the edges of Dalazar’s mind a moment longer than usual. Neighbors, comrades… friends. Concepts that had once felt foreign ...

Dalazar watched the courier gallop away, the small leather pouch containing his letter bouncing against the horse’s flank. He hoped the rider was swift and discreet. The message was simple enough on the surface, a mundane missive about his health and travels, but woven beneath the surface was a ...

His deceased wife, Lyra, had been a wound that never truly healed, a scar that throbbed with every reminder. For Myos, King of Denkou, that reminder came in the echoing footsteps of his mother, Ascendant Queen Onohall, as she entered the throne room. The effect was immediate. Myos froze.

Onohall ...

Two days have passed since the King decreed the tournament. The atmosphere within the kingdom was tense, but in a single day, their home was about to become a battlefield with the nobles bearing arms against civilians. Down the grand hallway, the stern clacking of heels could be heard respunding off ...

As he entered, a veil of anxiousness overcame Emerion. She folded her arms to hide the trembling in her fingertips. The stoic elder closed the door behind him, sensing his student's growing despair. Emerion had always proved herself to be a thoroughbred Urso through and through. Ever loyal to the ...

Several Hours later

The kingdom's skies were thick with clouds, another wave of the eternal storm encompassing them. The Gamallow had devised a method of manipulating and contracting it, allowing them the privilege of expiring sunny days. However, since the dawn of the third astral year, the storm ...

As the doors to the throne room shut, there was an intense silence after the chambers were sealed shut again. Though the King blanketed his true intention, a decorative casualness, the undertone of what this tournament served ass was plain as day to them all. A final assessment of loyalty, a culling ...

“ I appreciate your flagrant imagination, but contrary to popular demand, I am not a total tyrant.”

Myos chuckled lightly; he didn't need to pry into the Pathways to read Kosilek's intentions or devise how he might be seen by the old one. That was the thing about legends, remarkably accurate ones ...