Welcome to Ravenshire
1273 Words
Tyler woke with a sharp intake of breath, his lungs burning as if he had been underwater for too long. His body ached from head to toe. Cold, uneven ground pressed against his palms and back, sending a chill through him.
For a moment, he didn’t move.
The air felt different—lighter, yet heavier at the same time, as if the world itself was holding its breath. Strange scents filled his nose, earthy and sharp, mixed with something faintly metallic.
“Amelia…” he whispered.
He turned his head and saw her lying beside him, her brow creased in sleep, her fingers twitching slightly. Relief washed over him. She was alive. Real.
A few steps away, Kaelos was already standing.
The warrior’s posture was tense, shoulders squared, eyes sweeping the unfamiliar land as though expecting danger to leap from the shadows at any second. His glowing form flickered faintly, dimmer than before.
Tyler pushed himself upright, groaning as dizziness hit him. “Kaelos,” he said, steadying himself. “Where are we?”
Kaelos didn’t answer right away. He crouched and pressed a hand to the ground, murmuring under his breath. The symbols along his armor pulsed weakly, then faded.
Finally, he stood.
“I don’t know,” Kaelos said quietly. There was disappointment in his voice—something close to fear. “I asked to be taken to Tenebrous. This place… it is not one I recognize.”
Tyler felt his chest tighten. “So how do we find our way there now?”
Kaelos hesitated.
That hesitation said everything.
“I don’t know,” he admitted. “Without the staff, I cannot trace our path between realms. It was our only guide.”
Tyler let out a short, shaky laugh. “So you’re saying we’re lost.”
“Yes.”
“In a place you don’t even recognize.”
“Yes.”
“And the staff—which is gone—was our only hope of getting where we’re supposed to go?”
Kaelos bowed his head. “Yes, my lord.”
Tyler snapped.
“Stop calling me that!” he shouted, his voice echoing across the open land. “I didn’t ask for any of this. I didn’t ask to be a prince, or hunted, or dragged into some war I don’t understand!”
He ran a hand through his hair, pacing. “We’re stranded, Kaelos. Completely stranded. And you’re standing there acting like this is just another problem to solve.”
Kaelos remained silent, his expression heavy.
Tyler turned away, breathing hard. The anger wasn’t really aimed at Kaelos—it was fear, raw and sharp, clawing its way out of him.
Behind them, Amelia stirred.
She sat up slowly, blinking as she took in her surroundings. “Okay…” she murmured. “Either this is the weirdest dream I’ve ever had… or we’re definitely not home.”
Tyler forced himself to calm down and walked over to her. “You alright?”
She nodded. “Yeah. Just confused.”
She stood and took a few cautious steps away from them, drawn by a faint sound in the distance. Tyler was still too wrapped up in his own thoughts to notice at first.
Then she stopped.
“Tyler,” she said softly. “You need to see this.”
He and Kaelos joined her.
Beyond a rise in the land, lights shimmered in the distance—warm, golden lights dancing against the darkening sky. Music drifted through the air, along with laughter and voices layered together in celebration.
People.
“Someone’s celebrating,” Amelia said, disbelief creeping into her voice.
Tyler swallowed. “That means civilization. Which means we might not be completely lost.”
Kaelos frowned. “Or it means danger.”
Tyler hesitated, then squared his shoulders. “We won’t know unless we get closer.”
They moved cautiously, keeping to the shadows. As they drew nearer, the celebration came into focus. Men and women gathered in open courtyards, children running between them, sparks of magic flickering freely from their hands.
Tyler’s breath caught.
Magic wasn’t hidden here. It wasn’t feared. It was normal.
Ahead of them stood a massive gate—towering, golden, and engraved with symbols that glowed faintly as if alive. It dwarfed everything around it, ancient and powerful.
“This place…” Amelia whispered. “It’s beautiful.”
Tyler stepped forward and pressed his hand against the gate. It didn’t move.
Kaelos raised his staffless hand and began murmuring spells, symbols forming briefly in the air before dissolving.
Nothing happened.
A sudden presence made Tyler tense.
A guard appeared before them, armored head to toe, eyes sharp beneath his helm.
“We’re lost,” Tyler said quickly, lifting his hands. “We don’t mean any harm. We just need a place to stay.”
Amelia leaned closer and whispered, “Are you sure this isn’t how people end up captured and sold or something?”
Tyler ignored her, hoping she wasn’t right.
The guard’s gaze shifted to Kaelos. He studied him carefully, his expression unreadable.
“Where are you from?” the guard asked.
“I am from Tenebrous,” Kaelos replied evenly.
The guard stiffened.
He spoke rapidly in a strange language, his voice echoing against the gate. The symbols along the gold flared brighter.
With a deep, thunderous sound, the gates slowly began to open.
Tyler exhaled a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding.
They were escorted inside.
The city beyond the gate was unlike anything Tyler had ever seen. Towers rose high into the sky, their peaks glowing softly. People passed them freely, casting spells to light lanterns, mend broken walls, or create illusions for laughing children.
“This is insane,” Tyler muttered. “Magic’s just… everywhere.”
Kaelos nodded. “You are in a free city. Magic is not hidden here.”
They walked until Dragon’s Peak Castle loomed before them, carved into the mountain itself. Its presence was overwhelming.
Inside, they were brought into a vast hall.
A man rose from a throne the moment he saw Kaelos.
His eyes widened.
Then he ran forward and pulled Kaelos into a fierce embrace.
“Kaelos,” the man said, his voice thick with emotion. “It has been far too long.”
“Arcturus?” Kaelos whispered. “You’re alive? I thought Malakar killed you.”
“That is what the world was meant to believe,” Arcturus replied. “But I survived.”
“How?”
“When Malakar tried to exile me, a guardian appeared,” Arcturus said. “A being of pure light. It saved me and brought me here.”
“Did you see who it was?” Kaelos asked.
Arcturus shook his head. “No. The light was too strong. Like staring at the full moon.”
Kaelos exhaled. “I truly believed you were dead.”
“No,” Arcturus said with a faint smile. “I endured.”
Then his gaze fell on Tyler.
“And who is this?”
Kaelos placed a firm hand on Tyler’s shoulder.
“This,” he said, “is the Prince of Tenebrous.”
Silence filled the hall.
Arcturus stared at Tyler, his expression shifting from confusion to awe. Slowly, he stepped forward and knelt.
“My lord,” he said solemnly. “Welcome back.”
Tyler’s heart pounded.
He didn’t feel like a prince.
He felt like a boy standing on the edge of something far bigger than himself.
“Welcome,” Arcturus continued, “to Ravenshire.”
And in that moment, Tyler understood one thing clearly:
There was no turning back.
- Writer
