Chapter Sixteen: The Spell-Bound
The descent into the Scar was like stepping between heartbeats.
Eryndis led the way, her flute carving notes into the air that bent stone and light. The melody didn't just echo—it shapedthe path, pulling vines into bridges, coiling roots into stairs. The Scar responded to her voice like an old friend.
Thalindra followed, Rowan and Kaelen close behind. With every step down the glowing cliffs, the song beneath their feet grew louder.
Not music.
Magic.
But uncontained. Frenzied. As if someone—something—was still casting.
After hours of descent, they reached the basin.
The air was thick, heavy with arcane pressure. The ground was cracked and glittering, riddled with glowing runes that crawled like living ink. Trees grew sideways. Crystals spiraled upward like lightning frozen in motion.
And in the center of the basin, held within a circle of floating stones…
Floated a figure.
He hovered mid-air, limbs limp but locked in place, arms spread in the shape of a spellcaster's final ward. His hair drifted as if underwater. His robes were scorched and torn, but his mark—etched across his chest—burned like a brand.
A symbol of the Arcane Circle.
Rowan narrowed his eyes. "That's a mage."
Eryndis nodded solemnly. "He was once part of our extended Circle. The one who helped shape the spells that guarded the Verdant Gate."
Kaelen's hand hovered near her blade. "So… what's wrong with him?"
Thalindra stepped forward, voice hushed. "He never stopped casting."
The stones pulsed.
The runes on the ground surged in response.
And the figure opened his eyes.
They blazed silver-blue, overflowing with raw magic.
His voice cracked the silence.
"Leafweaver. You came too late."
The magic flared.
The basin screamed.
A barrier shot up between them—pure arcane energy crackling with instability.
Kaelen cursed. "Trap!"
"No," Thalindra said, shielding her eyes. "It's a containment loop. He's not holding us back—he's holding himself in."
Eryndis reached out. "He's been sustaining it for years. If it collapses… he won't just die. He'll unravel."
Rowan snarled, "Then what do we do?"
Thalindra stepped closer to the barrier.
The figure behind it trembled, his limbs shaking, blood seeping from his fingers. Runes lashed around his form like chains. His voice—once booming—was now barely audible.
"I'm… Veyren… I sealed myself after the Harmonyfall. There was no other way. I—"
He winced.
"I couldn't let what we summoned escape."
Thalindra froze.
"…You summoned something?"
Veyren nodded weakly.
"Not on purpose. We were trying to seal the fracture. Instead… we cracked it wider. There's something beneaththe Scar. It whispers. It's still whispering."
Eryndis paled. "The land never stopped singing because something is still listening."
The ground shook.
A low sound rumbled from beneath the crystalline floor—so deep it felt like it came from below the world.
Kaelen shouted, "We need to get him out of that loop. Now."
Rowan glanced at Thalindra. "Your call, Leafweaver."
Thalindra's hand burned with green and gold light.
She placed it against the barrier.
"I'll reach him," she said. "And I'll seal what he couldn't—together."
The runes flared.
The Scar screamed.
And somewhere, beneath the singing stone…
something opened its eyes.