Lila’s fingers brushed the cracked leather of the book, its spine frayed where decades of curious hands had pried it from the library’s forgotten shelf. The air smelled of dust and old paper, but beneath that, something else—a faint metallic…
Clara tightened the straps of her leather satchel as the dust of Red Rock Town clung to her boots. The sun hung low over the cracked earth, casting jagged shadows across the town’s wooden buildings. She had traveled three days…
The air in the village of Virelle hung thick with the scent of burning pine and damp earth. Kael wiped soot from his hands, his calloused fingers leaving smudges on the iron anvil. The forge’s glow cast long shadows across…
The sun hung low over Valenar, a bruise of molten gold bleeding into the horizon. Kael’s hammer rang against the anvil, each strike sending sparks into the dusk. The forge’s heat clung to his skin, thick as smoke, but he…
The air in the village of Virelle hung thick with the scent of pine and ash, a reminder of the fire that had scorched the eastern hills a decade past. Kael stood at the edge of the forest, his fingers…
The sun dipped below the jagged peaks of the Obsidian Range, casting the city of Avaris into a twilight that never ended. Kaela wiped soot from her hands, the acrid tang of molten iron sharp in her nostrils. The forge’s…
Mira’s fingers trembled as she traced the rusted hinges of the hidden door, the salt air thick with the scent of brine and something older—something metallic, like blood dried to dust. The lighthouse had always been a tomb, its spiral…
The sky above Veyra bled crimson, a slow, viscous drip of color that clung to the horizon like a wound. Lira stood at the edge of the Obsidian Spire, her fingers curled around the cold iron railing, watching the sun…
The air smelled like rust and wet earth when Lila found the journal. She’d been digging through the attic of her grandmother’s house, searching for old photos, when her fingers brushed against the leather cover. It was cracked, the edges…
Mara’s boots crunched over frost-brittle twigs as she followed the narrow path, her breath a pale cloud in the predawn air. The forest around her was a cathedral of shadow and silence, branches skeletal against the indigo sky. She hadn’t…
The air in Emberfall reeked of burnt pitch and damp stone, a sour tang that clung to Kael’s throat as he trudged through the village square. Lanterns flickered along the cobbled paths, their flames dimmer than they’d been a fortnight…
The salt-kissed air bit at Clara’s cheeks as she trudged through the tide-puddled dock, her boots squelching with each step. The journal had been hidden beneath a loose plank, its leather cover cracked and brittle. She pried it free, fingers…
Mara’s boots crunched over frozen gravel as she pulled her jacket tighter, the wind slicing through the thin fabric. Jax jogged to catch up, his breath visible in the pale afternoon air. “You sure about this?” he asked, glancing at…
The air in Kael’s workshop reeked of iron and burnt oak, the scent clinging to his skin like a second layer. His hammer struck the anvil with a rhythm that had not faltered in twenty years, each blow shaping molten…
The salt air bit Mara’s cheeks as she traced the cracked spine of the journal, its leather cover damp from the fog that clung to the cliffs like a secret. The lighthouse beam swept across the darkening sea, casting jagged…