Elara
The ground split open beneath the arena.
It began as a low hum beneath my feet, almost like a growl buried deep in the belly of the earth. The stone floor vibrated gently at first, then violently, cracking with sharp pops that echoed through the silent crowd. The tremors rolled outward like ripples in a lake, tossing loose dust and pebbles into the air.
Screams rose as the dust lifted into the moonlit air. A glowing rift tore through the center of the arena like a wound. It glowed a deep silver-blue, pulsing in time with the beat of the moonlight overhead. The glow was strange and otherworldly, its energy humming in my bones.
I stumbled backward, my heart thudding like a drum inside my ribs. My breath caught as the heat of the rift washed over me, strangely cold and warm at once.
