Lahat ng Kabanata ng Echoes of Moonfire: Kabanata 11 - Kabanata 20

~AeronI did what I always did whenever I wasn’t sure of the power of a threat. I shifted into my strongest form—my full wolf.The shift came with fire.My bones snapped, reshaped, screamed. My muscles stretched, thickened. My skin tore and mended again in a blink. Fur, dark as midnight rain, burst through my pores. The world blinked into a different kind of clarity—sharper, deeper. I could smell the wet iron buried in the soil. Hear the tremble of a beetle beneath a leaf.The forest was colder in this form, but my blood ran hotter.I hit the ground on four paws.And I ran.The scent was still faint in the air—my men. Reynold’s earthy musk, Lena’s lavender-oil, the gunmetal and blood that clung to Jareth like a second skin. I followed it, darting through the trees, dodging low branches, my claws cutting trenches into the damp forest floor.The woods of Ravenspire were not kind.The trees here grew thick and ancient, roots rising like the backs of sleeping giants, gnarled and tangled.

~OmniscientThe wind that rolled through the obsidian gates was sharp with mountain chill, slicing through the silence like a blade unsheathed. Three masked figures stood as still as statues in the courtyard, the moonlight catching the strange runes etched into their cloaks. Before them stood Aeron, Alpha of Obsidian, cloaked in shadow and suspicion.He narrowed his eyes. “Who are you?”The tallest of the trio stepped forward. His mask was bone-white, the sigils across its surface glowing faintly like embers beneath ice. His voice, when it came, was heavy with centuries.“We are the Horax. A sacred body of hunters gifted with the binding power of celestial magic. Guardians of the realm. Destroyers of corrupted gods.”Aeron’s posture stiffened, the name tugging at the farthest corners of memory. “Why are you here? Why now?”“Because if you are to understand what is coming,” the Horax leader said, “then we must first tell you what came before.”He lifted a gloved hand, and the runes on

~Eira“We were told about you,” I said, squinting into the shadows. “A troll said you could get us gigs—fights we could earn from. Said you ran things.”The Raven stood in the half-light of the glade, her silhouette more shadow than flesh. She didn’t speak immediately. Instead, she tilted her head, like a crow trying to see from another angle. Then she laughed.“Are you the ones wrestling?” she asked, voice silk-wrapped steel. “Or is there a troll galloping in behind you?”I bristled. “Do not let our looks deceive you. We’ve beaten capable trolls.”“Capable?” she purred. “That troll you beat should be executed for weakness. But… since you’re so eager to prove yourselves, I’ll give you a chance.” Her grin gleamed in the dark. “There’s a tournament happening beneath this very village. I’ll set you up with an opponent. You win—I’ll consider taking you under my wing. You lose—Let’s just say that you’re about to find out what will happen if you lose.”“Splendid,” I said. “So where is this

~EiraThe moment the gate clanged open, the air changed. Not just a shift in atmosphere—something deeper. Heavier. An invisible hand clutched my lungs.She emerged from the darkness, barefoot and lean, as if carved from stone and shadows. Her hair was tangled, dark with streaks of gray, her skin sickly pale and bruised. But her eyes—those eyes glowed the same blue as mine when I lost control. And the crescent mark burned bright on her neck, pulsing like a second heartbeat.She screamed.Then she ran.Faster than anything I’d seen. Not troll, not werewolf. Just raw fury and celestial fire.I jumped aside just in time, her fingers slicing through the space where my face had been.The trolls roared in delight.I spun to face her, already on guard. She growled like an animal, crouched low, her chest rising and falling. She didn’t blink. Didn’t speak. Just breathed violence.She lunged again, fists glowing with pale energy.I dodged left, rolled, then kicked off the arena wall, trying to s

~EiraI ran.My feet pounded against the stone corridors beneath the arena, every turn echoing with the whispers of my own frantic breaths. The trolls who had dragged her moved ahead, their heavy boots thudding with brutal rhythm. I stayed close enough to see them but far enough to remain hidden in the folds of shadow.They stopped in a wide, torch-lit chamber. Chains clinked. A heavy iron door groaned open. They shoved her in—the woman I had just fought—and slammed the cage shut.One troll laughed. “That’s where mad things belong.”Another spat on the ground. “Let her rot.”They walked off, leaving only the flickering torches, the cage, and her.I waited until their footsteps vanished, then stepped forward.“Hey,” I said softly.She stirred in the darkness, eyes flickering open. Even dimmed, they held the afterglow of something ancient. Something I shared.“You shouldn’t be here,” she rasped. “You should be running.”“Why? Make me understand. I want to know what’s going on.”She lean