The journey of the queen
The sanctuary groaned beneath the weight of what had been done. Shattered pillars lay in heaps of ancient stones, vines curling through broken arches as if nature itself mourned the divide.
Before the altar dimmed for the last time, Queen Cassian stood with her eyes closed, her silver hair whipped by an unseen gale. Her voice trembled as she whispered the rite:
"Vael'shara…ien aer'vhen thysae" (i walk the path between worlds)
The words shimmered in the air like starlight caught in wind. A burst of white-gold light engulfed her, tearing her from the ruins of the sanctum and hurling her through the ley-lines of the world.
Thalorine - Home of the Naeryn
Cassian landed softly upon dew-kissed grass, the air rich with mist and moonlight. Towering trees arched toward the sky, their leaves glistening with water from the ever-falling veil of the great waterfalls nearby. Rivers spiraled like ribbons across glowing stones, humming with magic. Here, time seemed slower reverent.
From the swirling fog emerged the Naeryn, water-born and luminous. Their eyes, silver and vast as the ocean, reflected a wisdom older than flame. They moved like drifting currents silent, graceful. High Seer Oryalis stepped forward, robes of woven tidefoam trailing behind him. He placed a hand over his heart and bowed.
"The wind carries you to us, Queen of the Sky"
Cassian, weary yet resolute, opened her palm. The Tideheart glowed with soft radiance a sigil shaped like a flowing spiral, pulsing like the tide.
"It has been sundered," she said, voice echoing beneath the canopy. "Take this…not to rule with, but to shield. Guard it as you would your very soul."
Oryalis knelt, and the other Naeryn followed. "The rivers have sung of sorrow. We accept your gift, and the vow that comes with it."
As he reached for the sigil, Cassian's hand lingered.
"If the sea turns cruel, if the tide is twisted.. promise me, seer that you will remember who YOU are."
"On my soul" Oralis whispered, "we will remain clear as crystal. Vireya selin, ien" (thankyou to you.)
Cassian nodded once, a flicker of relief in her stormed eyes.
Sylvarya - land of Sky and fairies
The wind howled her homeward.
She soared on currents only royal blood could command, emerging through clouds into the spired skyline of Sylvarya. Floating towers shimmered like stars frozen mid-fall. Bridges spun through air, connecting sanctuaries where monks meditated among feathers and glowing runes.
The Skyhall, heart of the realm, opened like a blooming iris as she descended.
Waiting at the threshold was Queen Menia, draped in robes of celestial white and twilight blue. Her face, so like her aunt Hadra's, was etched with sorrow.
"You return with your soul divided," Menia said, stepping forward with bare feet over cloud-stone.
Cassian handed her the Galecore, a swirling prism of ever-moving air, shaped like wings drawn in silver.
"I've divided more than my soul," Cassian replied. "I've undone what was never meant to be touched. This—" she placed it in Menia's hands "must be watched. Even from us."
Menia looked down at the sigil, and her fingers trembled.
"You defied Eiros."
"I did," Cassian said simply. "If he condemns me, let it be with truth."
The Sylvaryan Council bowed, silent and grave. Doves circled above as the wind carried her away once more.
Drevarra - Earth's Strength
Cassian descended through soil and stone, passing into caverns lit by molten veins of crystal. She emerged into the golden plains of Dreverra, where mountains loomed like sleeping beasts and the air carried the scent of earth after rain.
The Varryans stood waiting broad-shouldered, soil-stained, quiet as boulders. Their kingdom was carved into rock, a testament to endurance.
King Boruk, a man of few words, knelt beside a flat table of stone, his calloused hand resting on a hammer at his hip.
"We are not shaped by magic," he said, voice deep as rumbling ground. "But we will bury what must be buried."
Cassian drew forth the Stonebind, a heavy sigil that pulsed with the rhythm of the earth four interlocking rings, etched with ancient glyphs.
"This belongs to the bones of the world," she said. "Let no war or wrath wake it again."
Boruk took it, his hand dwarfing hers. He did not flinch at its weight.
"We are stone," he said. "And stone remembers... even when stars forget."
She touched his shoulder in silent gratitude before turning away, the dust of the plains lifting behind her like a fading trail.
Ignarion - Flame's Ambition
Her final descent came through fire.
Smoke choked the sky above Ignarion, where spires of obsidian pierced crimson clouds. The land was raw, burning a forge without rest. Fire-riders crossed lava rivers on armored beasts, and the scent of molten metal filled the air.
King Silas stood at the gates of the Flamehold, cloaked in red and black. His crown was a circlet of steel and ember. His smile was practiced, a flash of charm honed sharp.
"The wind dares to enter flame," he said. "Should I be honored or warned?"
Cassian didn't return his smirk. She opened her hand to reveal the Emberbrand, a sigil shaped like a burning flame, its core pulsing with dangerous heat.
"With trust," she said. "But not without fear."
He reached for it slowly, gaze never leaving hers.
"You fear me?"
"I fear what you could become," Cassian answered. "What fire becomes when no one dares quench it."
Silas's fingers closed around the sigil. His grip was firm. Too firm.
"Then may your fears burn long in the night," he said smoothly. "Until they teach you something useful."
Cassian didn't reply. But as she turned to leave, the shadows at the edges of the forge whispered a warning the fire had tried to hide.
Winds of Fate
At the edge of the world, where cloud met sky and memory faded into myth, Cassian stood alone once more. The wind curled around her, brushing against her skin like a farewell touch.
She looked back.
Four kingdoms. Four sigils. Four chances for peace.
She raised her eyes to the stars, feeling the weight of her betrayal of the vaelari's, of her purpose, of the law she had broken in the name of hope.
"I've done what must be done," she whispered. "Let Eiros strike me down if he must... but let the world have a chance."
Lightning cracked above. The wind howled her name.
And Cassian, Queen of Sky and Spirit, vanished into the clouds leaving behind the Four Sigils... not knowing when she will return.
... and a world forever changed.