The Oathbearer's Legacy

ough the treetops, casting soft g

mnants of a restless night cli

too preoccupied with the memory of its snarls, the gleam of its sickl

up their camp. His movements were methodical, almost mechanical

ose brush with death, Eamon seemed more focused on the j

aid without looking up.

hed. He dug through his pack and pulled out a piece of

elic. He pulled it out of his pouch, h

oft glow of the rising sun, but now it l

Whatever this relic was,

reaking the silence. "The rel

s flicked to the relic in Kaelin's hand, a shadow of hesita

his voice quiet but deliberate. "But I know e

n this world. And it's t

furrowed. "The

It's a symbol," he explained, gesturing to the reli

ter. The relic-" he hesitated, choosing his words caref

at only a See

, turning it over in his h

eath, feeling the weight of responsibility settlin

hat's the thing about destiny," he said quietly. "It doesn't

n his entire life-content with his quiet, simple existence

And yet, he couldn't deny the pull of it, the feeling that s

thoughts. "I was sent to find you for a reason. The Seek

it shape the fut

s voice barely above a whi

"You're not no one,

anted to protest, to tell Eamon that he wasn't ready for any of this

n't have a choice. The relic had c

Kaelin asked, slipping the

re's a place-an ancient fortress

nyone can help us understand what the rel

ins?" Kaelin raised an eyebrow.

erous territory, especially with the Ashen Sovereign's

spine. The name was whispered in every corner of the land dark

nly that his reign of terror was growing, his

imself caught in the middle of whateve

ready feeling the ache in his leg

y," Eamon replied.

f we'r

eared. "If we're not

his kind of journey filled with danger at every turn, one w

n to the life he knew, he couldn't shake the fe

his decision made. "I

on unreadable. "Then let's

leaving no trace behind as they set

wly rising higher in the sky, casting

e forest began to return, as though the dange

ake the feeling that t

t of the corner of his eye, a rustling in the bu

t his side, but he kept walking,

f the previous night's events hanging heavy between them. Ka

sounds of the river rushing by, and the smell of freshly chopped w

t. Not now. Not with e

trees began to thin, revealing a wide,

peaks of the mountains rising into the sky, t

d," Eamon said, pointing

ing peaks, a sense of awe

standing tall against the sky. But they were also

e it?" Kaelin asked, his

his gaze steady. "We

st and onto the open plain, the wind whipping through

h uncertain and filled with danger, b

no turning

en plain, the world around th

ere drawing closer with each step, their jagged s

g at Kaelin's cloak, carrying with it the scent o

's mind turned inward, sifting thr

and the next, he was holding a relic of ancient power in his han

f it all, and for the first time in his

g the horizon. Kaelin couldn't help but wonder how much the man knew

ore information, Eamon's answers were vagu

too hard would yield nothing. Eamon would reveal wh

him. He wanted answers. He needed to unders

e needed to unders

ed like a distant memory, and in its

him, even if he couldn

ast night," Kaelin said

a flicker of something in his eyes-hesita

?" Eamon asked

stopped it," Kaelin said. "I

sn't luck. The relic has power. It responds to you, to

owned. "A

bound to the Seeker's mark. It's a conduit for your power-but you ha

unter with the creature had been a blur- he hadn'

trol? Would there come a time when Kaelin could wield the

art of me now," Kaeli

fact. "The relic chose you because of the mark. It'

round the strap of his pack. "I didn't ask for

a hard look in his eyes. "No one asks for destiny,

hat means you have a responsibil

idn't want this, that he had never asked to be part of something s

everything. Running wa

responsibility?" Kaelin asked,

s faded. "I'm not saying it's fair. But the world doesn't wait fo

hat moment, standing beneath the vast sky, wit

ingdoms. He was just a man man who had lived quietly, who had

man was

aid, his voice softer now. "Toge

easure of comfort. He wasn't alone completely. Eamon h

heavy this time. The path ahead was still long, and K

re moving forward, a

hung directly overhead. The heat beat down on them, and Kaelin f

the elements, and the distant mountains see

e reach the mountains?" K

replied. "We'll find shelter near the foothill

hed from the relentless march. The though

red once again, his thoughts drifting

e from last night had been the only threat or if

possible now. He was too far gone, and the danger th

had known. His mother's smile, the way his father had taught him to

t lifetime, and part of him longed

was no g

ing long shadows across the plain, Eamon sudden

ly on high alert. "What is it?" h

wed as he scanned the distance. Then, slowly, he

on had spotted. At first, he saw nothin

k figures moving along the ridge, barely vis

n said quietly, his voice tense.

's eyes and ears were known for their ability to blend into th

n, it meant they were no longer j

" Kaelin asked,

his sword. "But stay sharp. They won't engage unless they thin

the relic in his pouch. The weight of it felt heavier th

thickening with each step. The shadows on the ridge moved like wraiths,

tch, to wait. But Kaelin knew it was o

longer just uncertai

st how deep he had already plunged into a