Moraliska

He was running,

His feet sinking into the muddy earth,

The sky above him weaving colors of blood and purple.

Around him, the trees screamed in silence,

And Leora screamed too… but his eyes could not see her.

"Leoraaa!"

He reached out, but touched only smoke that crumbled through his fingers.

Then he saw them—

His parents, standing on a shore of fire,

His mother smiling with a strange calm,

Saying in a voice that pierced the fearful quiet:

"Don't look back…

What follows you… is not of this world."

He slowly turned—

And saw it.

A faceless creature,

Walking above the ground but never touching it,

With a single, unblinking eye in its chest.

Riven screamed,

But his voice was trapped inside his chest,

Then felt his heart float away,

As if slipping free from his ribs…

⸻

He woke up,

Panting, the air biting cold—

But not the air of Moraliska.

Under his feet, soft grass,

And his eyes frantically searching:

"Leora?!"

He saw her—

Lying beside an ancient tree trunk,

Her body still as a broken shadow,

Her black hair scattered like a cloak of night.

He ran to her,

Gently shook her:

"Hey… Leora? Wake up…"

But her eyes remained closed.

⸻

Hours passed,

The sun still shy,

A gray sky, no birds,

And a heavy silence suffocating all.

Riven sat beside her, trying to piece together his thoughts:

"The light… father… mother… the banishment… how did we get here?"

Then he heard it—

A soft, heavy sound, like something crawling through the shadows.

He stood quickly, eyes sweeping the gray forest,

When suddenly, from the bushes emerged a strange creature:

A body like a deer,

Its head covered by a stone mask,

And its legs made the sound of breaking glass.

Riven whispered to himself,

"No… not now… not your time!"

He froze,

Drew a glowing arrow from his magic,

Shot it—but it only grazed the creature.

But his mother's pendant began to pulse with a strange light,

Glowing in his hand,

He raised it toward the creature,

Which screamed in a terrifying human voice,

Shrank, then vanished into the mist.

⸻

Leora moved suddenly,

Gasping as if rising from deep underwater,

Sitting up with shallow breaths, trembling:

"Where… are we?"

Holding her head in confusion,

Riven replied, still shaking:

"I don't know… there are creatures unlike anything we've known."

She looked at the gray forest,

Then said with a loss of hope,

"They got us out… just in time."

⸻

They moved cautiously,

No water, no food,

Every step felt watched by the very earth beneath them.

Suddenly, they heard a scream,

Distant but human, urgent.

They ran toward the sound,

Stopping at a small cliff,

Where they saw a man fighting a massive creature,

Long shadowy arms twisting,

The man wielding a strange spear,

Glowing whenever it touched the beast.

He struck,

Cut off one arm, then raised his hand saying:

"Return to your shadow source… or burn in the daylight!"

The creature screamed and vanished into thin air.

The man stood panting,

Then looked toward Riven and Leora,

Calmly asking:

"Are you from Moraliska?"

They exchanged surprised glances,

Leora shook her head:

"How do you know?"

The young man smiled faintly, saying:

"I've been waiting for you."

Then beckoned them to follow:

"Come. The forest won't keep you alive for more than another night."

⸻⟡

Thus began the first encounter with their mentor, Eliora—

A man in his early twenties,

With an ancient pain hidden in his eyes,

And a story yet untold.