Ash Between Brothers
Mira found Alaric before dawn, standing on the battlements of the northern watchtower, arms folded tight, cloak flickering in the wind. Below, the keep stirred with faint signs of waking—blacksmiths preparing forge fires, sentries changing shift. But above, the air was quiet, heavy with storm-thick silence.
She didn't speak at first.
Neither did he.
They had always been able to stand beside one another in silence without pressure. But today, she held something too large to bury in silence. Something that burned in her bones like a fever left unchecked.
He knew.
Even before she opened her mouth.
"You saw something," he said without turning.
"I dreamwalked."
A pause. Then his hands flexed on the cold stone. "Where?"
Her voice was hoarse. "The Hollow Cliffs."
That made him turn.
The ice in his eyes wasn't rage.
It was fear.
"You're sure?"
"I saw the runes. The ones no map shows. And he was there."
Alaric stared at her.
"You saw Caelen."
She nodded once.
He looked away. "Did he speak?"
"Yes."
"And?"
Mira swallowed hard. "He's not who he was."
"I know that."
"No, Alaric. I mean—he isn't Caelen anymore. Not as you remember him. He's become something... other."
Alaric's jaw clenched. "The darkness twisted him. I saw it in his trail. The abandoned rites. The blood-sick followers."
"He doesn't see it as twisted," Mira said, stepping closer. "He thinks he was unshackled. Freed. He blames the Council. The elders. And you."
He turned fully to her, something raw breaking through his composure. "He's alive, Mira. You don't know what it does to me to even hear that. But if he's truly fallen… then I don't have the luxury of grief anymore."
She shook her head. "That's just it. I don't think he's fallen. I think he's risen into something else. Something ancient. Something the First Moonless touched."
Silence.
Wind pulled at their cloaks.
"He's connected to the void," Mira whispered. "The runes were alive. The cliffs breathed. It's not just darkness. It's memory. Rebellion. Truth that was buried."
Alaric's voice was low. "And what does that truth want?"
"I don't know. But he asked me to choose. Between you and him."
Alaric looked pained. "And?"
"I said I wouldn't choose either."
He closed his eyes.
Mira stepped beside him. "You need to hear me now, not as your seer, not as your sister, but as someone who's seen beyond the veil. This isn't just war. It's not about thrones or bloodlines or vengeance anymore. It's ideological. Caelen has become a banner for the forgotten. And that makes him more dangerous than any beast."
Alaric opened his eyes.
"There's a war coming," he said. "But it won't be fought on one front. Not just on fields, but in hearts. In old memories. In dreams."
Mira placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Then we need more than soldiers. We need truth. And we need to be sure of ours."
He turned toward her fully, letting the wind lash his face, as if trying to cool the fury rising behind his eyes.
"Then speak the truth, Mira. All of it. Even if it breaks me."
She hesitated.
Then said, "The First Moonless knows you both. But she won't protect either of you. She'll test you."
He nodded once.
"Then let her test me."
Mira let her hand fall from his shoulder, already turning away. "Just be careful, brother. Because Caelen's not the only one changing."