Ash wave

It was barely dawn when the wind began to carry the scent of distant ash. The air was thick, and the sky was covered with dark gray clouds, as if night refused to leave. At that moment, Eren realized that the Great Wave of Shadows had arrived.

On the walls of the Wind Fortress, Eren and Leylin, along with Kieran, Maera, and Rhaen, stood watching the horizon as the black line slowly advanced, twisting like a sea of smoke and shadows, swallowing the starlight in its path.

"There are so many of them," Kieran said, raising his hand so the wind could sense the movement of the shadows. "I've never seen such a large gathering before."

Eren clenched his fist and said in a quiet but sharp voice, "This is why we built this fortress… and we will not allow them to pass."

Rows of Shadowhunters spread out on the walls, each in his own place. The red flame of the Fire Breeze hung above the towers, connected to tubes of carved stone, waiting for the signal to ignite and create a fiery barrier.

As the shadows drew near, sounds began to emerge from them: whispers, shouts, and cries intertwined, but they no longer frightened Leylin. She closed her eyes for a moment, feeling the heat of her fire blend with the wind, preparing for battle.

The first black waves rose: shadows in strange shapes, some like wolves, others like faceless humans, rushing toward the walls, leaping and climbing, filling the air with their screams.

Eren shouted, "Now!"

His hand reached up to the sky, and the winds whistled loudly across the square in front of the walls, slowing the shadows and scattering them. Leylin ignited the Breeze Flame with her first hand, sending them swiftly into the stone channels.

The walls of the fortress blazed with a red line of fire, twisting with the wind to form a dancing barrier. It touched the shadows, burning them to ashes, leaving behind black vapor that was quickly blown away by the wind.

The shadows tried to push forward, crashing into the fire barrier, screaming before turning to ash. Wherever they tried to breach the line, Kieran directed a concentrated breeze, revealing the infiltration, while Myra sent a fine flame to cleanse the shadows before they regrouped.

Inside the fortress, the inhabitants watched silently, some raising their hands in prayer, others carrying water for the fighters, watching the wind and fire transform from myth into a literal shield.

Amid the attack, Eren felt a strange energy, as if the wind was speaking to him, alerting him to a spot on the southern line where the shadows had gathered most densely.

He quickly said, "Leylin, with me!"

The two of them ran toward the southern line, where a huge black mass was forming, trying to breach the barrier. Leylin raised her hand and lit a large torch, while Eren pushed the wind to fan the flames, piercing the Shadows and burning them from within.

The screams were loud, but they soon faded, and with them the Shadows' front line broke, slowly retreating, hesitating between staying or fleeing.

In the first rays of dawn, the ground in front of the fortress was covered in ash. But it wasn't the ash of the Shadows that corrupts the earth, but rather the light ash that the wind blew without a trace.

Eren and Leylin stood atop the walls, watching the sunrise break through the gray clouds, while the wind caressed the fires that still burned softly above the towers.

Leylin said in a low voice, "We have succeeded... This time there is no fear."

Eren looked up at the sky, replying, "This is not the end... But it is the beginning of our victory."

On the distant horizon, the remnants of the Shadow Wave receded, but they didn't disappear completely, as if gathering elsewhere. Eren and Leylin knew the great battle was yet to come, but they were ready... and with the Wind Fortress and the Shadowhunters in tow, they were ready to face any coming wave.