The mountain did not tremble.
It inhaled.
Rovan felt it before the earth responded — a pressure folding inward from the sky, like gravity had chosen a new center.
Then the ridge behind Ravenspire ignited.
Not in flame.
In light.
A beam descended in absolute silence.
Not silver like moonlight.
Not gold like Aric’s starfire.
White.
Pure and depthless.
The pack scattered instinctively, forming a defensive ring.
Aric’s starfire flared in answer.
Kaerin stepped to Rovan’s side, blade drawn though steel would mean nothing against what was coming.
The beam narrowed.
Condensed.
And from its center—
A figure stepped forward.
It did not crash into the earth.
It settled onto it.
Tall. Luminous. Cloaked in a shifting mantle of starlight.
Not flesh.
Not entirely.
A living silhoue
