The River’s Heir
Author: Cindy Chen
last update2025-06-30 14:35:43

Moon‑washed mist curled above the reborn Sacred River, turning its surface into a living ribbon of shifting silver. At the water’s edge, Queen Elara moved through a sequence of flowing martial forms—low stances, sweeping kicks, palms that sliced the air like twin blades. Every motion pulled a thread of river‑light from the current; each filament clung to her limbs for a heartbeat before melting back into the water.

Her strength—lost only the night before—had returned ten‑fold. Where blood had once soaked her gown, nothing remained but the shimmer of dew and the scent of river‑mint on her skin.

A single pace behind her, Seraphina watched with arms folded and a knot of worry lodged in her throat. “Slow down,” she called, voice soft yet firm. “You’re barely recovered.”

Elara pivoted, heel digging into wet sand with a soft hiss. The river‑light flickered, then settled around her shoulders like a translucent cloak. She breathed hard but smiled, cheeks warmed by exertion. “Recovered?” she r
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  • Whispers in The Blood

    The sky burned red over Rivermoore.Aerondale's catapults screamed from the ridges, hurling flame and smoke across the southern walls. Siege engines groaned with the rhythm of war. Steel clashed against enchanted stone, and every breath in the city tasted of fire, iron, and fear.Calen Storm fought near the broken eastern gate, his cloak torn, his stormlight flaring from both hands. Every motion summoned lightning to his fists, but his focus frayed.Not because of the battle.Because of what he saw.Tharstan. In the vision. No longer chained beneath the obsidian lake, but standing—awake—his eyes pits of infinite shadow. The chains broken. The seals undone.It can’t be real. It can’t be now.And yet it felt close. Too close. A pressure in the air, as though the world itself held its breath.He barely turned in time to deflect a blow from Evan Drake’s vanguard captain. Sparks flew as their blades met, but Calen’s reaction came half a second too slow.Pain flared along his ribs. He stumb

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  • Chains Cannot Hold the Storm

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  • A Chain Between Wars

    The sky had just begun to settle from the blinding white light—the unnatural silence after phoenix blight fire was unraveled midair—when Calen Storm’s voice rang out, raw and powerful.“I seek diplomacy!” he shouted from the balcony of the eastern tower, his voice echoing across Rivermoore and into the valley beyond. “I demand parley with King Theron Ashford!”His cry carried on the wind like thunder. Soldiers on both sides froze. Even those in the forward Aerondale positions, who moments earlier had prepared for death or victory, now turned toward the tower with disbelief.Queen Elara, standing near the southern gates with soot on her cloak and hands trembling from holding back waves of terrified refugees, stared upward. “Calen…” she whispered.At her side, Seraphina’s brow furrowed. “He’s insane.”Liora and Carmen had just returned from the last rescue push through the market quarter. Carmen dropped her satchel with a clatter. “He wants to negotiate now?”“He’ll be killed,” Seraphin

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