Part 1: The Forgotten Rune : The Stranger at the Gate
Rain hammered the mountain road.
Eamon Thorne pulled his cloak tighter.
Twenty-two years old.
Chestnut hair plastered to his forehead.
Emerald eyes scanning the torchlit walls.
The amulet burned against his chest.
He had walked for weeks.
Following whispers of the old fortress.
"This is where answers hide."
The gates groaned open.
Guards in black armor eyed him.
"State your business, traveler."
Eamon lifted the silver chain.
The blue rune glowed faintly.
"I seek Lord Valthor Blackwood."
Inside the Grand Hall.
Tapestries stirred in the draft.
Lord Valthor stood at the head table.
Fifty-five.
Salt-and-pepper hair.
Scar across his left cheek.
His broad shoulders filled the dark armor.
Lady Elara Voss watched from the shadows.
Half-elf advisor.
Silver hair braided with runes.
Amber eyes sharp as daggers.
She noticed the amulet first.
Valthor gestured him forward.
"Speak, boy. What brings you here?"
Eamon placed the amulet on the stone table.
Its crack pulsed with inner light.
"My family died under this mark."
"A curse. A shadow that took everything."
The hall fell quiet.
Valthor reached out slowly.
His hand stopped inches away.
For one second his face stayed stone.
Then his gray eyes widened.
A flicker of recognition.
Of fear.
"Where did you find this?"
Elara stepped closer.
Her robes whispered against the floor.
She studied Eamon's face.
Her fingers brushed her own hidden pendant.
Guards shifted uneasily.
Torches flickered as if wind entered.
But the doors were sealed.
Valthor straightened.
"Many seek power in old relics."
"This one... this one is dangerous."
Eamon felt the pull.
The rune whispered in his mind.
Images of falling towers.
Screams in the dark.
He gripped the table edge.
"Tell me the truth."
Valthor glanced at Elara.
A silent warning passed between them.
She smiled too sweetly.
"Perhaps we should speak privately, my lord."
Outside thunder rolled.
The amulet flared brighter.
A guard dropped his spear.
It clattered loud on stone.
Valthor turned pale.
His fingers trembled just once.
Eamon saw it.
The powerful man knew this rune.
He had seen it before.
Maybe he had used it.
Elara's eyes narrowed.
She was hiding something too.
The rain pounded harder.
Then the first scream echoed from the lower halls.
Not human.
Not quite.
Valthor barked orders.
"Secure the vaults!"
But his voice cracked.
Eamon clutched the amulet.
May you like
Its glow reflected in Valthor's fearful eyes.
What had he awakened by coming here?
