Echoes of Moonfire

~Eira The wind tore through the Hills of Trepidation, lifting the edges of my cloak, whispering warnings I no longer cared to heed. The horse beneath me shifted restlessly, her hooves crunching over brittle, frostbitten ground, but I didn’t stop riding. Not for the cold. Not for the ache in my bones. Not even for the sob locked in the back of my throat like a secret I refused to voice. Beyond the borders of Obsidian, the world looked like it had been scorched by time itself. The sky hung dry and brittle above me, the color of bleached stone. No clouds, no breeze, no softness. The earth was cracked and hostile beneath my boots, and each step of my horse’s hooves sent up small puffs of ash-gray dust. I passed the remains of trees that looked more like claws than branches. Scattered bones littered the edges of hills—some the size of rabbits, others the size of men. The deeper I rode, the more the silence thickened around me, like the world had forgotten how to speak. “I hope yo

~Eira “We can’t stay here for long,” Caelum said, tightening the cloth around his shoulder pack. His voice was steady but low, like the cave walls might eavesdrop. “We’ll need food. Water. If you’re feeling up to it, we can walk around a bit and see what we can find.” I rolled my eyes and shifted on the rock. “I told you I was fine.” He arched a brow then carried his cloak and used it to cover my crescent birthmark which was no longer glowing as brightly as it was before. “Where’s Eve?” I asked. “Who’s that?” “My horse,” I said dryly. “The only friend I have left in this godforsaken world.” “Oh. Your horse.” He scratched the back of his neck. “She’s just outside.” “That’s nice.” I stood and stretched, grimacing as my shoulder tugged under the bandage. “Let me go and check on the only person in this world that actually cares about me.” I gave him a cold glare before walking out into the light. He sighed—deep and exasperated—but didn’t say a word. The mornin

~Eira The sky was bleeding. I stood at the edge of a crumbling cliff, wind whipping through my silver hair, the ground beneath my feet fractured and charred. What had once been a valley of lush forests and crystalline rivers was now a blackened wasteland—skeletal trees twisted like broken fingers, soil cracked open like a wound. And the screaming. Gods, the screaming. Below me, the earth split and groaned, coughing fire into the air like it had a soul to purge. Shadows moved within the flames—giant, hulking shapes with limbs like serpents and skin made of molten bone. Their eyes glowed blue—no pupils, no mercy—just that dead, ancient blue, like frozen galaxies. Revenants was what they called themselves. They spoke in a language that was foreign but for some reason I understood them perfectly. They were telling me that since I refused to cleanse the world, they’ll do it themselves. They tore through what was left of the land, their massive forms crushing buildings and

~Omniscient POVThe steady rhythm of hooves beat against the earth like a slow, pulsing drum. Dust curled into the wind with every step, stirred by two horses making their way through a winding path between the hollow hills. One horse led the way—an obsidian mare with strength in her gait, a second horse trailing behind, quiet and loyal.Eira stirred.Her body swayed slightly with every bump on the road, her head resting lightly against something warm—firm, steady.She groaned, blinking slowly as light stabbed through her eyelids. Her muscles ached. Her wrists throbbed with fading burns. She felt movement. Wind. Open air.And then she realized—she wasn’t walking. She was riding.Her eyes opened fully.She was slumped against Caelum’s chest, his arms loosely around her, one hand holding the reins, the other gripping the saddle. She was seated in front of him, her legs draped over the saddle horn. The second horse, hers, trotted faithfully beside them.Eira slowly sat up and yawned, bru

~AeronI woke to regret.It clung to my skin, heavier than the night before, thicker than the sweat cooling on my back. Lyric was beside me—naked, asleep, her dark hair tangled over my pillow like a snare I’d walked into willingly.What the hell have I done?My jaw clenched. I moved slowly, carefully, making sure not to wake her. Her leg twitched at the loss of heat as I slipped from beneath the sheets. I stood by the window for a moment, staring into the grey morning beyond the castle walls. Ashen clouds choked the sky. Even the light here had no comfort in it.I didn’t belong in this room.I put on my robes—dark obsidian wool with the silver emblem of the Lupinar Throne stitched over my chest—and slipped out.The hallways were cold, vast veins of ancient stone veined with moss and memory. Tapestries whispered with each gust of wind. A servant passed me, bowed low, said something polite. I didn’t hear it. My mind was drowning in silence that sounded like her.Eira.I could still feel