The mountains were silent except for the crackling of a small campfire.
The young warriors from the Eagle Kingdom had stopped for the night after the ambush in the mountain pass. Most of them had already fallen asleep, their armor and weapons lying beside them.
Prince Kael remained awake.
He sat near the fire, staring into the flames.
The fight from earlier kept replaying in his mind.
The clash of steel.
The moment his sword struck.
The man falling.
Kael clenched his hands slightly.
Across from him, someone dropped beside the fire with a quiet thud.
"You're still thinking about it."
Kael looked up.
Ronan stretched his legs toward the flames, tossing a twig into the fire.
"You've been staring at that fire like it insulted you," Ronan added.
Kael looked back at the flames.
"It was different."
"Of course it was," Ronan replied.
For a moment neither of them spoke.
The wind whispered through the trees around their camp.
Kael finally asked quietly,
"Did it bother you the first time?"
Ronan leaned back on his hands and looked at the sky.
"My father used to say something when I was younger."
Kael waited.
"That the mountains never ask if you're ready."
Ronan turned his head slightly toward him.
"They test you anyway."
Kael stared at the fire again.
Ronan nudged a stone into the flames.
"But you didn't freeze."
Kael frowned slightly.
"You kept moving," Ronan continued.
"That's what matters."
Kael let out a slow breath.
The tight weight inside his chest eased a little.
---
Far away in the forest, another fire burned quietly beneath the night sky.
Naisha sat beside it, wrapping cloth around a cut on her arm.
Across the fire, Ishan sharpened a blade slowly.
The sound of stone sliding across metal echoed softly.
Nearby, Arin slept peacefully.
After a moment, Meira walked over and sat beside Naisha.
"You fought well today," she said softly.
Naisha shook her head.
"I almost died."
Meira poked the fire gently.
"Everyone almost dies the first time."
Naisha gave her a skeptical look.
"You weren't scared."
Meira smiled faintly.
"I was."
Naisha looked surprised.
"You didn't show it."
Meira shrugged.
"My father says fear should walk beside you."
Naisha frowned slightly.
"Why?"
"Because fear sees things anger cannot."
Naisha was quiet for a moment.
Then she looked toward the dark forest.
"My village had something," she said slowly.
"Something only our people knew."
Meira glanced at her curiously.
"What kind of thing?"
Naisha hesitated.
Then she lifted her sleeve slightly.
On her forearm was a faint pattern—thin silver lines curving like scales.
Meira leaned closer.
"A mark?"
Naisha shook her head.
"It's called the Whispering Vein."
Meira looked confused.
Naisha explained quietly,
"Among serpent bloodlines… some children are born with it."
She tapped the faint pattern on her arm.
"It allows us to feel vibrations through the ground."
Meira's eyes widened slightly.
"Like sensing movement?"
Naisha nodded.
"Our elders taught us to listen through our feet and hands."
She placed her palm on the ground beside the fire.
"For example…"
Naisha closed her eyes briefly.
A few seconds passed.
Then she opened them.
"There's something moving."
Meira turned quickly.
"What?"
Naisha pointed toward the dark trees.
"Small animal."
A moment later, a rabbit darted through the bushes.
Meira blinked in surprise.
"You sensed that?"
Naisha nodded.
"Not all serpents can do it."
She lowered her sleeve again.
"It's a secret our clans protected."
Across the fire, Ishan had stopped sharpening his blade.
He had heard everything.
But he said nothing.
---
High in the mountains, the ruined Temple of Vishraka stood beneath the cold stars.
Inside the ancient hall, Priest Devyash knelt beside the cracked stone altar.
He brushed dust away from the fading prophecy carved into the floor.
Most of the words had already vanished.
But a few lines remained.
The priest studied them quietly.
Then—
Footsteps echoed from the temple entrance.
A tall figure stepped inside.
Dark armor.
A symbol carved into the metal—something that looked like a twisted flame wrapped around a claw.
The priest looked up slowly.
"You should not be here."
The man walked calmly across the temple floor.
"Old places hide valuable secrets."
His eyes moved across the ancient carvings.
"You understand these symbols."
Devyash remained silent.
The stranger smiled faintly.
"The world is beginning to move again."
He turned toward the entrance.
Before leaving, he spoke quietly.
"When the serpent awakens…"
"…many kingdoms will burn."
The wind rushed through the broken temple walls as he disappeared into the night.
Priest Devyash looked back down at the prophecy.
The candlelight flickered across the ancient words.
And the old priest knew one thing.
The story written in that stone had already begun.