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Chapter 4: New Lands

  Kael’s pulse raced as he reached the ornate towering gate. The light from the runes practically danced across its surface, glowing with a rhythm that pulsed through his bones. He could feel the magic in the air—a fierce, ancient power that almost seemed to be watching them.

  “We don’t have time to think this through,” Kael muttered, glancing over his shoulder. The thralls were closing in, their dark wings slicing through the mist.

  “Thinking isn’t my strength” Gethru said with a grin. He reached out and pressed his large hand against one of the glowing symbols.

  A low hum resonated through the air. For a moment, the gate trembled. The runes flared a violent red before suddenly fading back to gold.

  “That’s not good,” Kael said.

  ”Gethru pulled his hand back, flexing his fingers intently as if they’d been burned. “force won't work.”

  Kael felt his mind spinning. He’d heard of runes from around the wise woman at his village. Most of the time, they were predictable—simple marks of power. But these symbols… they weren’t just ancient. They were alive and morphing in front of his eyes.

  “Look closer,” Kael said, tracing his fingers lightly just above the surface of the gate. “It’s telling a story.”

  The runes shifted, rearranging themselves until an image appeared: a great dragon coiled around a mountain peak. Below it, a lone warrior knelt, holding a broken sword. Above them, a bright star blazed in the sky.

  “Sacrifice,” Kael whispered. “It’s asking for a choice.”

  An ominous shadow passed overhead. The thralls had reached the bridge, their eyes burning with a deep hunger. One landed just a few feet away, its claws scraping against the glowing surface. Gethru swung his axe in a wide arc, forcing it back.

  “Kael!” Gethru shouted.

  Kael’s mind raced. The dragon, the mountain, the star—each symbol pulsed with meaning. He felt the weight of destiny pressing down on him. Then, a memory surfaced. His father’s voice, quiet but firm: Courage isn’t the absence of fear. It’s the choice to act, no matter the cost.

  “I know what to do,” Kael said.

  He stepped forward and placed his hand on the rune depicting the broken sword.

  The gate shuddered. Light erupted from every rune, blinding and brilliant. The thralls screeched, retreating from its light and power. The stone began to crack, splitting down the middle. Kael and Gethru were thrown backward as the ancient doors swung open.

  Behind the gate lay a vast, glowing field of stars.

  Kael could feel the pull of the stars, calling him forward. Whatever lay beyond this gate, it was the beginning of something far greater than either of them had imagined.

  Together, they stepped into the light.

  Kael’s boots hit solid ground, though the stars still spun around him. The air was thick with magic, each breath tingling with the power of the ancient gate. Gethru landed beside him with a heavy thud, shaking frost from his cloak.

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  They stood in a vast cavern. The walls shimmered with veins of crystal that pulsed like slow heartbeats. Above them, stalactites hung like jagged fangs. At the far end of the cavern, a stone altar stood on a raised dais, draped in shadow. Runes—different from those on the gate—glowed faintly across the dais’s surface.

  Kael took a step forward, his hand tightening around the hilt of his small sword. “This place feels… old. Older than anything I’ve seen.”

  “Older means dangerous,” Gethru grunted, his eyes scanning the cavern. “Keep your wits about you.”

  The ground beneath them trembled. A deep, guttural growl echoed from the shadows behind the altar. Kael froze as a pair of crimson eyes snapped open, cutting through the darkness. From the shadows emerged a monstrous guardian—a hulking, wolf-like beast with scales instead of fur and jagged spikes lining its spine. Its teeth, each as long as Kael’s forearm, gleamed in the dim light.

  “Friend of yours?” Gethru asked, his axe already in his hands.

  Kael swallowed hard. “I don’t think it’s here for a chat.”

  The beast lowered its head and charged. Its claws raked against the cavern floor, sending sparks flying. Kael barely had time to dive out of the way as the creature crashed into the spot where he’d stood.

  “Gethru!” Kael shouted.

  The barbarian didn’t hesitate. He met the beast head-on, swinging his axe in a wide arc. The blade bit into the creature’s shoulder, but the beast barely flinched. With a snarl, it swatted Gethru aside like a rag doll.

  Kael scrambled to his feet, panic gripping his chest. This isn’t like anything I’ve ever fought, he thought. Its scales were too thick, its strength too overwhelming.

  Think, Kael. Use what you know.

  His gaze flicked to the altar. The runes. They pulsed faster now, reacting to the beast’s presence. Kael remembered the stories—guardians tied to ancient magic, bound by rituals as old as the world itself.

  “Gethru! Keep it busy!” Kael yelled, racing toward the altar.

  The beast turned, its eyes narrowing at the sudden movement. Gethru roared and with a barbarian's strength, leaped between Kael and the creature. His axe caught the beast’s right flank, drawing a line of blood. “Come get me!”

  Kael reached the altar, his hands brushing over the runes. They were warm—alive, almost. He could feel the magic thrumming beneath his fingertips. But the symbols were unfamiliar. There had to be a way to activate them.

  He closed his eyes and listened. Beneath the growls and the clash of steel against claw, he heard it—a faint, rhythmic pulse. A heartbeat.

  Kael pressed his hand to the rune at the altar’s center. “Ancient guardian, we are not your enemy. We seek the path of truth and light.”

  For a moment, nothing happened. Then the cavern trembled again—this time with a different kind of power. The runes flared, blindingly bright. The beast froze mid-attack, its eyes wide with shock.A brilliant light engulfed the cavern. When it faded, the beast was gone. The altar now glowed with new symbols, their meanings clear to Kael’s mind. The next path had been revealed.

  Gethru staggered over, rubbing his bruised shoulder. “Full of surprises, little one.”

  Kael smiled weakly. “I’m learning as I go.”

  Gethru clapped a heavy hand on Kael’s shoulder.

  They turned toward the altar, the next step of their journey waiting in the light beyond. Kael stepped onto the altar, the stone shifting beneath his boots. As soon as his foot landed, the runes pulsed in a steady rhythm—thump-thump, like the beating of a colossal heart. The light intensified, flooding the cavern in a golden hue.

  “Hold on to something,” Kael warned Gethru.

  Before either of them could react, the altar surged with energy. A pillar of light shot upward, enveloping them both. Kael felt weightless, his senses overwhelmed with the hum of ancient power. He tried to breathe, but there was no air—only magic. When the light faded, they stood atop a cliff overlooking an expanse of blackened wasteland. Twisted trees, scorched earth, and shattered bones spread in every direction. Far beyond, a jagged mountain pierced the sky. Its peak was shrouded in dark storm clouds that crackled with violet lightning.

  The wind howled around them, carrying the stench of decay. Kael felt the weight of the journey ahead—a journey filled with danger, loss, and, perhaps, betrayal. But they had come too far to turn back now.

  Gethru glanced at Kael, the flicker of doubt in his eyes quickly replaced by resolve. “Lead on.”

  With the mountains looming in the distance, Kael took the first step.

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