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Opening Scene — The Roar That Shouldn't Exist
The train screeched, not from brakes but from something tearing against it. The air inside vibrated, lights flickering red. Kael's instincts screamed — the kind of primal fear that said run, though there was nowhere to go.
Through the distorted glass, shadows shifted. For a moment, Kael saw the shape — six legs, a jaw too wide for its skull, and eyes like molten gold. Then the carriage roof dented inward with a thunderous CLANG.
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The First Test
Liora already had her crossbow out. She wasn't aiming to kill — her first bolts were meant to test. When they hit, the creature howled in a sound like breaking stone.
"Railspawn," she muttered. "Shouldn't be this close to the border."
Draven gripped the steel frame of the door, muttering calculations under his breath. "It's not trying to stop the train… it's trying to pull us off the path."
Kael didn't wait. The moment the beast's claw ripped open a section of the wall, he dove forward, grabbing a dropped spear from the emergency rack. The weapon was old, runes barely glowing — but something in the pendant around his neck pulsed in response.
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Selene's Warning
Selene didn't move, just stood in the center aisle, eyes blank.
"It knows you," she said quietly.
Kael froze mid-step. "What?"
"It's not hunting us. It's hunting you."
Her words weren't whispered — they carried over the chaos, striking like cold iron. Kael didn't understand, but the beast's molten eyes locked onto him the instant it tore through the hole.
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The Fight
The carriage tilted as the Railspawn climbed halfway inside.
Liora's bolt struck its neck — black steam hissed from the wound.
Draven hurled a compact grenade that unfolded into spinning metal teeth, shredding part of its forearm.
Kael leapt onto the back of a seat, driving the spear into the beast's jaw. For a heartbeat, the runes lit so bright they blinded him.
The Railspawn screeched and wrenched itself free — but not before the pendant on Kael's chest flared, sending a ripple through the air like a bell struck underwater.
The train shook again, but this time not from the beast — it was changing tracks mid-dimension, sliding into a different band of light. The creature vanished as if erased from existence.
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Aftermath in the Carriage
Everyone was breathing hard, the metallic tang of blood and ozone filling the air.
"That was no random encounter," Liora said. "Something knew you were here, kid."
Draven checked his gear. "This train… it isn't just carrying us to Tyser. It's testing us."
Selene looked straight at Kael, her silver eyes unsettlingly calm.
"You woke something up."
A voice came over the unseen speakers for the first time. Deep, ancient, neither male nor female:
"Passenger Kael Veyren. Proceed to the front carriage. Your trial begins."
The doors at the end of the carriage slid open by themselves — and beyond them was not another train car… but a stone hallway lit by torches, leading into darkness.
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To be continued....