Morgana stood in the center of the destruction, her robes somehow untouched by the carnage around her. Her black hair moved gently in the breeze, and her ancient eyes surveyed the survivors with a mixture of sadness and purpose. The blue flames that had danced around her fingers during the battle were gone now, but everyone could still feel the power that radiated from her like heat from a forge.
The survivors gathered around them—maybe fifty or so people from a village that had held twice that number just a few hours before.
Their faces were hollow with shock and grief, their wedding clothes torn and stained. Children clung to their parents, too frightened to cry. The elderly sat where they had fallen, staring at nothing with eyes that had seen too much.
Valara grew more confused after what Morgan said. She looked at her daughter.
"You are all special," Morgana said, her voice carrying across the square despite its soft tone, watching the three of them.
"Chosen in this generation for a purpose that you do not yet understand. The attack tonight was not random—these creatures came here seeking something. Seeking you."
Her gaze moved across the survivors, lingering on certain faces.
Rena, still wearing her torn dress, stood beside Taeryn and Baren.
The young woman’s face was pale but determined, her hands steady despite everything she had witnessed. She was a strong girl.
Taeryn had blood on his shirt from carrying his wounded mother to safety, while Baren held his wife, Ryanna, close, her eyes still red.
"The old powers are stirring," Morgana continued.
"Forces that have slept for generations are waking up. Three of you already feel it—a fire in your blood, a whisper in your dreams, a sense that you are meant for something greater than the life you have known."
All three of them looked at each other, wondering if it was true.
Taeryn’s strange instincts, Rena’s sudden appearance of Origin power, and Baren’s strange transformation.
They have all felt the same way Morgana had described.
Jaenor was listening to her, but his gaze was on his father. He was broken, looking at his dead father. Anger was bubbling up inside him; his peaceful life was shattered, and she was now telling him that Rena would have to leave. He looked at Rena as she did the same.
The two looked at each other, their eyes filled with sadness.
Baren was the first one to speak as he stepped forward.
"Keeping aside all this chosen nonsense," he said, his voice hoarse from shouting during the battle.
"You said they are coming for us? More of those things?"
Morgana nodded, her expression grave.
"Many more. What you faced tonight was just the beginning. I believe they have come to take you. The real army is still gathering in the dark lands, and when they come, they will bring destruction beyond anything you can imagine."
Baren’s face went white.
He turned to look at Rena and Taeryn, seeing his own fear reflected in their eyes.
"Then take us out of here," he said quickly. It was what he thought. He had seen the village destroyed; people were killed, and it was far more terrifying than anything he had experienced.
And she was saying there were more.
"All of us. Too many people have died already—if we can draw them away from the village, if we can lead them somewhere else, it will be best for everyone."