The air hung thick and heavy with the scent of minerals and ancient magic. Brahan, his skin the color of weathered granite, watched dust motes dance in the ethereal glow emanating from the Luxia stones, white crystals of brilliance embedded in the cavern walls. His eyes, the pale yellow of wheat growing on shaded rocks, were fixed on the woman before him.

  Elara, her own gray skin mirroring his own, turned from the shimmering cityscape carved into the cavern floor. Buildings of crystal and obsidian spiraled towards the unseen roof, connected by bridges of woven light. This was Atheria, a city swallowed by the earth, the last bastion of the Wra-th-unn people.

  " Is he settling in, Brahan? " Elara's voice was a low, resonant hum that echoed through the chamber. Brahan nodded, his belly swaying.

  " He is. But doubts claw at his mind. The trial cave is a brutal place, and he carries its scars. " He paused, his gaze drifting back to the city below. " But the magic resonates with him. He feels it, even if he doesn't understand it. "

  " And his willingness? " Elara pressed. " Is it there? The obedience? "

  Brahan's face, a landscape of wrinkles etched by centuries, tightened.

  " It is… nascent. He craves connection, a sense of belonging. The Wra-th-unn were always a people bound by loyalty, by the unwavering devotion to a shared purpose. If we can nurture that in him and show him the glory that once was, the glory that can be again…"

  Ateria had been a jewel, a beacon of arcane knowledge and unparalleled craftsmanship. But pride had led to their downfall. They had delved too deep, tapped into powers they couldn't control, and unleashed a cataclysm that shattered their kingdom and forced them into hiding. Now, only a handful remained, their numbers dwindling with each passing year.

  This child and childe, was their last hope. Found abandoned, in the form of a Wra-th-unns birthling, an egg that nurtured a childe in its host, at the edge of the crystal woods, a place smelling more of the remnants of their lost magic as days passed, he possessed a rare sensitivity, a natural affinity for the energies that flowed through Gaia once more.

  " We cannot afford another failure, Brahan, " Elara said, her voice hardening. " The last attempt… it broke us. The ritual… the sacrifice… for naught. "

  Brahan closed his eyes, a flicker of pain crossing his features. He remembered the screaming, the twisting of flesh and soul, the utter futility of their desperation. They had tried to force the connection, to bind a vessel to their childe's will, to merge a singular being, not letting it occur naturally with the turning of Gaia's flesh, into Unity. They had only created a monstrosity, a creature of shadow and rage that nearly tore Atheria apart.

  " This time will be different, " Brahan insisted, opening his eyes. " We will not force him, as no contracts shall be forced upon them before they return whole. I've set him on the right path. The childe will show him the wonders of our lost civilization, the beauty of our magic. He will instill in him a love for the Wra-th-unn, a desire to help us rebuild. "

  The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

  He gestured to the city below.

  " Look, Elara. See the lights, the vibrant energy that still pulses through Atheria. Songs whisper on the wind, aching to be reborn. We have the knowledge, the power. All we need is a willing vessel, a bridge to connect this past with a new future. Someone that can meld together and form Unity with their other half of their own free will. "

  Elara approached him, her gaze following his to the luminous city.

  " And if he refuses? If his surface world sensibilities prove too strong? If the smell of his pre-magic world makes him choose the wrong path and devour his other half? "

  Brahan's hand tightened on the cane he carried.

  " Then, " he said, his voice barely a whisper, " we have failed. And the light of the Wra-th-unn will flicker and die forever in the darkness. "

  He knew the risks, the temptation to manipulate, to coerce. But he also knew the horrors that awaited them if they repeated the mistakes of the past.

  " In the darkness of our realms, " Brahan forced the conversation. " The two made one should be protected, not let them be extinguished like a candle in the wind. "

  This was why he was here, to prevent another incident like the trials cave from appearing once the ' white one' returned to them.

  The revitalization of the Wra-th-unn race rested on the slender shoulders of a child and childe, who was the key to their salvation or ultimate demise. He could only hope that his guidance, that the magic of Gaia, would be enough to lead him down the path they desperately needed him to tread. To return to them united, filled with new magics, and a strong seed to repopulate their dwindling numbers. The fate of their people, and their wondrous, buried city, hung in the balance.

  " I will deal with the elder of Ash. We cannot kill her. Our numbers are already so few, but she will be dealt with Brahan. I promise you this, " Elara said with grave finality.

  " Thank you, my queen. " Brahans voice sounded as he bowed in gratitude.

  " How does he progress on seier and Gaia? " The queen asked with regal authority.

  " He has finished his training in the arts but has not yet comprehended the Song. But the childe speaks to him already. "

  " Leave it be, some of the best of us are late bloomers, yourself included, Brahan, the seer of paths, 100-year listener of winds before Song has touched your mind. It is good that he has met the childe already. "

  Brahan blushed at the memory but couldn't deny the queens rare relaxation.

  " My queen, I'd like your guidance on how to proceed. "

  " Just send him off, he has learned what he must, and he is far ahead regarding his childe. His companion will guide him along the path of sciath; it is a personal matter, to begin with. "

  " As you wish, my queen. " Brahan nodded fiercely, his belly shaking about.

  With short bursts, winds howled, and a divine Song emerged. The sound traveled far and, with it, carried a promise of hope. Something deep and buried stirred within each tune that traveled by.

  On and on, they traveled until the Song reached a cave illuminated by a few torches, a stream bubbling into a pond, and a light gray-skinned youth seated in meditation upon a bed of sharp peebles.

  With a light touch, the child was lifted into the air, which brought him back to where it all began. The Steele he had touched in the beginning marked his becoming a Wra-th-unn.

  He left melancholy behind as Brahan, as a mighty beast, emerged from the shadows and changed back into the elder David knew. Gone were the jovial remarks and whimsical metaphors he had spun for the apprentice Sciath; in its wake, only sourness remained.

  Brahan had discovered him through the guidance of Song, and as tradition dictated, unclaimed eggs became Filius. This honor fell on Brahan. While the practice was a primarily ancient sterile thing without emotions, Brahan had always been the outlier. He truly felt for the child and the childe that was budding within. His only wish was their civilization's resurrection, but he secretly hoped David would achieve true Unity and join their ranks.