The Watcher’s Oath
The ruins of Elarien whispered in the wind.
By morning, Zahra and Kael had packed their things, but something about the site held them still. A path had appeared overnight, faint and narrow, winding behind the moss-covered stones toward the inner sanctum of the ruins—an area untouched by time, cloaked in mist.
“This wasn’t here before,” Kael murmured.
Zahra nodded. “Or maybe we just weren’t meant to see it… until now.”
They followed the path in silence, the hush around them deepening. With every step, Zahra felt the pulse of old magic humming beneath her skin. Her fingers tingled. The amulet around her neck grew warm, as if sensing the place where it was first bound.
At the path’s end stood a circular stone dais, engraved with symbols older than any Zahra had studi
