Chapter11:Beneath the Shattered Moon

Part 1: The Escape from Elarion

Sylvaen's breath came fast as she sprinted through the crystalline corridors of Elarion, her heart hammering in her chest. They were coming.

Behind her, the heavy footsteps of Skyborne guards echoed, their voices shouting commands. The Elders would never let her leave. Not after what she had learned. Not after she had chosen to defy them.

Kaelen ran beside her, his storm-gray eyes flickering with something unreadable. Conflict. Worry. Determination. He had made his choice too—to stand with her.

The city of Elarion was built into the cliffs of the Skyreach, its towers reaching high into the mist-covered heavens. It had always been a place of light, of order. But now, to Sylvaen, it felt like a cage.

A place that had never truly been home.

They reached the outer bridge, the wind whipping around them as the sky stretched endlessly beyond the cliff's edge. Below lay the vast expanse of the Hollowlands, the ruins of the old world swallowed by mist and time.

No one who left Elarion ever returned.

A voice rang out behind them. "Sylvaen! Stop!"

She turned—just in time to see Seren, her former mentor, standing at the archway, flanked by guards. Her white robes shimmered in the pale moonlight, her golden eyes filled with something close to betrayal.

Sylvaen's throat tightened.

Seren had trained her. Had taught her to wield the Skyshard's power. Had believed in her—until now.

"You don't have to do this," Seren said.

Sylvaen lifted her chin. "Yes, I do."

Seren's gaze flickered to Kaelen. "And you?"

Kaelen hesitated—but only for a moment. Then he set his jaw. "I'm with her."

A flicker of pain crossed Seren's face. Then it hardened. "You leave now, and you can never return."

Sylvaen's grip tightened around the Skyshard at her chest.

Return?

She had no intention of coming back.

Without another word, she turned and leapt off the edge of the bridge—

And into the unknown.

Part 2: The Descent into Shadow

The wind roared in her ears as she fell, the ground rushing up far too fast. For a brief, heart-stopping moment, Sylvaen thought she had made a mistake.

Then—

The Skyshard reacted.

A pulse of energy surged through her body, slowing her descent just as the mist below swallowed her whole.

Kaelen landed beside her, rolling into a crouch, his breath coming fast. "Next time," he muttered, "warn me before you jump off a cliff."

Sylvaen almost laughed. Almost.

But there was nothing funny about what lay ahead.

The Hollowlands stretched around them, a graveyard of the past. Broken cities, forgotten temples, ruins of an age before the war. The land was cursed—twisted by ancient magic, by the war between the Skyborne and the Hollow Chorus.

No one knew what truly lurked here.

But Sylvaen intended to find out.

She turned to Kaelen. "We need to move. Before they come after us."

He nodded. "Where do we go?"

She hesitated. Then, quietly—

"To the Hollow Chorus."

Kaelen tensed. "You're sure?"

She met his gaze. "Talon is out there. And I need answers."

For a long moment, Kaelen said nothing.

Then, finally, he sighed. "Lead the way."

And together, they stepped into the shadows.

Part 3: The City of Echoes

Days passed in a blur of endless ruins and whispering winds.

Sylvaen and Kaelen traveled across the Hollowlands, avoiding Skyborne patrols, moving through the remains of cities long forgotten. The deeper they ventured, the more the world seemed to change.

The air grew heavier. The very sky darker, the stars distant and cold. And the land…

The land was alive.

Whispers echoed in the wind. Shadows moved where there should be none. And at night, when Sylvaen closed her eyes, she dreamed of Talon's voice calling to her from beyond the veil.

Then, at last, they saw it.

The ruined city of Veydris.

Once, it had been a jewel of the Skyborne Empire—before the war, before the Hollow Chorus took it for their own. Now, it stood in eerie silence, a monument to the past.

Kaelen exhaled. "So this is it."

Sylvaen nodded.

This was where she would find her brother.

Or the truth of what he had become.

Taking a deep breath, she stepped forward.

And the shadows welcomed her home.

To Be Continued…