[Scene: Mountainside – Ashwater Cliffs – Dusk]
FX: Rushing wind over jagged rocks 🌫️🌬️
FX: Raven's call echoing through a dead forest
[Visual: Elara and Kaelith climb a narrow path carved into obsidian cliffs. Below them: a sea of clouds. Above: a storm of violet lightning.]
Elara (thinking):
"The Oracle lives at the edge of the world… the last place fate still whispers truth."
[Kaelith] (gritting his teeth):
"You sure this is where we'll find her?"
[Elara] (softly):
"She called to me… in a dream."
[Flashback Scene – Elara's Dream – Chapter 7 Ending]
FX: Ethereal whispers. Stars drift across an infinite black void.
[Mysterious Female Voice] (echoing):
"Child of blade and sorrow… find me where time forgets the sky…"
Elara (thinking):
"Even in dreams… I can't escape my power. Or the truth buried inside me."
[Scene: Ashwater Temple – A ruin hidden within the cliffside]
[Visual: Ancient stone pillars wrapped in vines, half-sunken into the mountain. A pool of glowing water lies at the center. No roof. No sky. Just a quiet hum of magic.]
FX: Wind stops. The air holds its breath.
[Kaelith] (hand on sword):
"I don't like this."
[Elara] (stepping into the light):
"She's here."
[Scene: From the glowing pool, a woman rises — skin made of smoke and gold threads, eyes like moons.]
[Oracle of Ashwater]:
"Elara."
[Kaelith] (startled):
"She knows your name."
[Oracle] (smiling gently):
"I knew her before she was born."
Elara (thinking):
"She doesn't feel human… or divine… but something older than both."
[Scene: Oracle gestures — the temple shifts. Stars bloom across the walls like mirrors to the sky.]
[Oracle]:
"You seek to understand what you are."
[Elara]:
"Yes. I'm not just a girl… not just a blade. I can feel it changing me. And I don't know if I'll survive what's coming."
[Scene: Visions appear in the air — moments from Elara's past. Her sealing. Her awakening. Her defiance.
[Oracle]:
"You were not created to serve. You were forged to choose. You are not the blade…"
FX: WHOOM! The stars in the pool pulse white.
[Oracle]:
"…You are the forge."
[Kaelith]:
"What does that mean?"
[Oracle] (turning to him):
"It means… she is no longer just a weapon. She is becoming the force that creates them. That shapes destiny."
[Scene: Elara's body begins to glow faintly — runes on her arms shift like flowing ink]
[Elara] (shaken):
"Why me?"
[Oracle]:
"Because you were made to obey… and you chose not to. That defiance created a spark. The Crown sees it as danger… but in truth…"
[Oracle]:
"…you are the first of a new order. The Age of Command ends with you."
[Scene: Kaelith walks to Elara's side. She wavers slightly.]
[Kaelith]:
"Then what do we do now?"
[Oracle] (calmly):
"You must leave this place before the moon bleeds. The Crown's next move is already in play. The Oracle Tower in Whitefall… has fallen."
FX: Boom. — The stars above flicker violently.
[Scene: Oracle reaches toward Elara's heart — a soft glowing mark appears: a sigil resembling a flame inside a circle.]
[Oracle]:
"This is your birthmark. Your final lock. When the last seal breaks… the full truth will awaken."
Elara (thinking):
"A final lock… but what lies behind it?"
[Final Words from the Oracle]
[Oracle] (fading):
"Beware the Crown Prince. He no longer seeks to control you. He seeks to replace you."
[Kaelith] (coldly):
"He'll have to go through me first."
[Oracle]:
"He will try."
[Scene: Temple fades into mist. Elara and Kaelith are back at the cliff's edge — now nighttime.]
[Elara]:
"She said I'm not the blade… I'm the forge."
[Kaelith] (looking at her):
"Then I guess it's time you start shaping the world."
FX: Thunder rolls in the distance. The wind howls again. The war is coming.