ECHOES

CHAPTER ONE:THE SHARD.

Kael wiped the sweat from his brow as he worked at the anvil, the rhythmic clang of hammer against metal filling the quiet forge. The day had been long, and his hands were sore, but it was the steady pace of his craft that kept his mind at ease. That was until he noticed something strange—an odd glimmer from the corner of the room.

Curious, he set down his tools and walked over to the pile of old materials he had been sorting through earlier. Beneath a tattered cloth, something caught his eye. A shard of crystal, jagged and glowing faintly, rested among the discarded scraps. It was unlike anything he had ever seen—its surface shimmered with an ethereal light, and a strange warmth radiated from it.

Kael reached out, his fingers brushing against the shard. The moment he touched it, a jolt of energy shot through him, sending a shockwave of heat and cold spiraling through his veins. His vision blurred, and the forge around him seemed to distort, as if reality itself was warping. He gasped, pulling his hand back, but the shard seemed to hum with an insistent power.

A voice whispered, soft but clear, in his mind. "The Veil is breaking. You must find the others."

Kael’s heart pounded in his chest. What was this shard? And why did it call to him?

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