Chapter One: The Stranger at the Moongate
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[Setting: A misty forest trail at twilight. An ancient stone gate stands ahead, cracked and overgrown. Moonlight glows eerily through it.]
ELIRA (whispering):
"Stop. Do you hear that?"
KAVEN (cautious):
"The wind?"
ELIRA:
"No… something else. A hum… like chanting."
KAVEN:
"We shouldn't be here. The Moongate's cursed. You remember the tale—"
ELIRA (firmly):
"Tales are for children. The truth is buried in silence. Look."
[A shadowed figure stands within the arch of the Moongate. Pale robes. Face unseen. The air around them pulses.]
STRANGER:
"You are late, Elira of the Bloodmark."
KAVEN (drawing sword):
"Who are you? How do you know her name?"
STRANGER:
"I knew her before she was born. She carries what was stolen."
ELIRA (tense):
"You lie. I've stolen nothing."
STRANGER:
"No. But your mother did."
KAVEN (shocked):
"Her mother died in childbirth—"
STRANGER:
"Because she bore the Wyrmheart. And now, it wakes."
ELIRA (eyes wide):
"What is the Wyrmheart?"
STRANGER (softly):
"A heart once torn from a dying dragon god. It beats in you. And they will come for it."
[The wind grows cold. The Stranger vanishes in a whirl of silver dust. Silence.]
KAVEN:
"Elira… what does he mean?"
ELIRA (voice trembling):
"I don't know. But I felt it. In my chest. Like a second heartbeat."