Shadowhunters

As dawn broke over the Red Breeze Valley, the wind carried a soft warmth, mingling with the sounds of birds returning after a long period of silence. Eren and Leylin stood near the edge of the valley, watching the thin smoke rising from the liberated villages, evidence of the cooking fires of life, not the fires of destruction.

In a small stone hall in the middle of the valley, a group of men and women gathered, their eyes filled with determination. Some were survivors, others were Southern Wind Tribes fighters determined not to allow the Shadows to creep in again.

Eren stood before them, his voice firm:

Today... we will not only protect ourselves, but we will hunt down the Shadows before they grow. We will not wait for them to attack, but we will be the storm that uproots them.

Leylin raised her hand, blazing with the Fire Breeze, and said:

The power of the Fire Breeze is not just for war, but to cleanse the land and protect those who cannot protect themselves.

Training began immediately. Eren taught the Gifted how to control the wind to locate the remnants of Shadows, which sometimes hid inside caves or dark corners of liberated cities. Leylin taught them how to use their fire in harmony with the wind, transforming it into a "breeze flame" that cleansed without scorching the earth.

During the first days, the team included a young man named Kieran, who could summon a delicate breeze capable of revealing Shadows from afar, and a young woman named Myra, whose fire could illuminate even the densest shadows.

In their first field test, the team arrived at a small town on the edge of the plains, where residents reported strange whispering sounds at night and shadows moving in the alleys. Eren stood in the center of the square and blew a gust of wind that carried the dust of the earth into the sky, revealing black smoke trailing from broken windows.

"Here… Shadows lurk," Kieran said, raising his hand.

Leylin and Myra stepped forward and lit the Breeze Fire together, forming thin red flames that swirled with the air currents. They silently entered the houses, letting out black screams, fading under the firelight and wind.

Children hid behind doorways, watching, and the town elder wept as he watched black smoke rise from the alleys and fade into the clear air.

After clearing the town, the team stood near the water well, where residents gathered to thank the Shadow Hunters, as they were first called. Some of the young men swore they would join the team on their next missions.

That night, the team sat around the fire. Eren drew a map in the dirt of the liberated cities awaiting their turn to be cleared, while Leylin assigned roles to the new allies.

She said calmly, "This is just the beginning... When we are certain that the Shadows have completely disappeared from everywhere, this world will be able to begin again without fear."

Eren replied, looking at the fire flickering in the breeze:

And we will be the winds that protect, the fires that illuminate.

The Shadowhunters were born that night, and the liberated cities began to hear their news and await their arrival. Wherever the remnants of the Shadows appeared, people knew that a warm breeze would come, not to burn them, but to give them hope.

The land beyond the ashes was beginning to write a new dawn, and with every step Eren, Leylin, and their team took, the red breeze accompanied them, announcing to the world that hope had returned, and that the Shadows would find no place to dwell.