Ashes of the Hourglass
The wind whispered through the crumbled towers of Velmir, a once-majestic city now drowned in silence and shadows. Faded banners of ancient monarchs clung to broken walls, fluttering like ghosts in mourning. The sun never fully rose here—only a pale twilight lingered, as if time itself hesitated to move forward.
Beneath the ashen sky, a lone figure walked the shattered stone path. His cloak, dark as eclipsed midnight, billowed with every step. He moved with quiet purpose, not aimless but burdened. His eyes—iridescent silver, like fractured mirrors of starlight—reflected both youth and something far older.
Caelen. Seventeen winters, though the years had carved deeper into his soul than his skin. Tall and lean, with tousled black hair often shadowing his eyes, he bore an unsettling calmness. On his left wrist was a faint, glowing sigil—the Mark of Chronos, thrumming like a dying heartbeat. He had been chosen… or perhaps cursed.
> "The past is a blade," he murmured to himself. "And I'm the one holding the hilt."
He stopped atop a jagged overlook, gazing down at what remained of his birthplace. The city of Elaris, the Heart of Time, now devoured by decay. He could still see the alley where he once played tag with his sister. The old market square where his mother used to buy hourfruits, laughing with the merchants. Now, just rubble and forgotten echoes.
Caelen's gloved fingers curled around the Hourblade, a relic formed from crystallized time itself. It pulsed faintly, synchronizing with the fragmented soul that stirred inside him.
> "You shouldn't have returned."
The voice was quiet, female—serene, yet haunting.
"Some things are meant to be buried, Caelen."
He closed his eyes briefly. Aetheria Vire, the former Monarch of Time, spoke to him more often now. Her soul, once sovereign and divine, now resided within him—bound after the Collapse.
> "They started this war, Aetheria. I'm just making sure it ends."
---
Across the wastes, word spread like wildfire.
The Monarch of Time—long thought perished—had returned.
And with his return, so too did the ticking begin again…
A clock counting down to either redemption—
—or annihilation.
---
Character Introduction:
Caelen – Current Monarch of Time. Age: 17. Hair: Jet black, unkempt. Eyes: Iridescent silver. Affinity: Time. Personality: Quiet, sharp, contemplative—burdened but resolute.
Queen Aetheria Vire – Previous Monarch of Time. Soul now fragmented within Caelen. Regal, mysterious, a guiding voice with her own secrets and regrets.
[Other characters will be introduced as the chapter progresses.]