It was easy to mistake for a star. A silvery thread drifting among the countless dots of light.

  A deckhand aboard the Seabird elbowed his companion. He pointed lazily up to the sky. “Look there. A falling star,” he said with a grin. “Best make a wish for calm seas and fair winds.”

  The second sailor squinted as the twinkling streak fizzled out. “Aye, gone in a blink. But look there.” he jabbed a finger higher. “That one ain’t falling. And it ain’t fading, neither.”

  Gods... What is that?

  The light grew brighter as it neared. It swelled until a faint crackling sound could be heard, like embers in a fire. Vibrations ran through the very air.

  The first sailor lowered his finger. His smile was gone. “What’s that sound?”

  The other man didn’t seem to hear him; the light reflected in his wide eyes. “It’s... swelling,” he breathed. “Getting... bigger... ”

  The radiant line cut an arc across the night sky.

  The illumination washed over the deck, bathing ropes, sails, and the sailors’ weathered faces with an unnatural, white glare. The crackling intensified. With it came a deep hum that began to vibrate through the ship. A resonant groan that could be felt in the bones.

  Neither man moved. A chill ran through them. Then one of them cried out, pointing a trembling finger, “By the gods, it’s splitting apart!”

  Shards splintered from the star, scattering like sparks across the sky, each trailing bursts of light. The clouds above shimmered. Their edges were lined in an otherworldly glow, as though the night itself had been set ablaze.

  The glowing fragments quickly vanished over the horizon. The unsettling buzzing faded with them, leaving nothing but the sounds of the sea.

  Then, far across the water, the horizon violently flashed.

  Bright yet utterly silent.

  More flashes followed. They blinked and faded, one by one, leaving only a lingering, ghostly glow in their wake.

  * * *

  The air was frigid. Cold that bit at cheeks and turned each breath to mist. Elira’s steps were almost silent on the dew-laden path. No more than a soft crunch. She shifted the bow in her grip. Her sights were set on the nearby mountains.

  She thought of her two sleeping siblings at home. Another good kill, and the food stores will be full. Ewan and Erya deserve more than thin broth this winter.

  A soft hissing cut through the stillness, halting her thoughts. Her long, pointed ears twitched. She stopped and sank into a low crouch. Her eyes scanned the shadowed treeline. A monster? No. This sound... It’s different.

  The forest erupted.

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  The thousands of birds darted from the canopy. The faint hiss was swallowed by a roar of frantic wings.

  The commotion startled Elira. She stumbled back, falling onto the damp path. Her head whipped around. He eyes scanning the surroundings, looking for the source. What is happening?

  An unnatural glare flooded her vision. The radiance swept over the forest. Shadows writhed and danced. Through the clamor, the hissing returned. A sharp note drilled into her ears and vibrated her entire body.

  Her focus was pulled upward.

  In the early twilight, a cluster of falling lights unlike any she had ever seen. One large central object burned with a silver-white light so bright it strained her squinting eyes. A scattering of smaller shards trailed in its wake. Each a glittering streak that tore through the skies.

  Her keen eyes flitted to one of the smaller streaks. Her mind went blank, her body stiffening as she realized its trajectory. No...

  Elira was locked in place. The comet’s path carved a line right for her village. Terror replaced her shock. Her hunter’s instincts vanished. Desperate panic took over as she scrambled back toward her home.

  “Ewan! Erya!”

  She ran, heart hammering, gaze locked on her village.

  Then, a flash. Just beyond the village, a brilliant explosion.

  Elira raised a hand to shield her eyes, but the radiance burned straight through her palms. Her vision turned painful white.

  The glare faded. Dazed, she opened her eyes.

  In the distance, a wall of dust and debris tore through the valley. Trees shredded. The earth itself ripped apart. The destruction was headed straight for her village.

  I’m too far. She understood what would happen next. My village is next. My home. My family...

  The wave flattened the village, turning hearths and homes into debris and ruin.

  Seconds later, the shockwave struck her. The air tossed her aside with an ear-splitting crack. Everything turned into a dizzying blur of chaos. Her ears rang, her vision fractured. One final, hopeless thought surfaced.

  Please... be safe.

  * * *

  The morning chill clung to Knight Captain Faris as he strode along the castle walls. Below, the training grounds were quiet. To the East, dawn was breaking, a faint blush on a pale grey sky. He gave it a routine glance and turned west.

  In the direction of the Grayfang mountains.

  The peaks were sharp against the waning twilight. The air was clear. A good day for the archers and mages.

  It was during his habitual scan that a flicker of unnatural light caught his eye. A searing white against the western skyline. At the same moment, he heard a faint buzzing in the air. He squinted, mind racing.

  Attack? Magic? No... the scale is too large. How could anyone conjure something like this?

  What had begun as a single bright streak had fragmented into a blazing shower. Faris’s eyes tracked one of the shards as it fell, striking the Grayfang mountains. A flash of intense white erupted between the jagged peaks.

  “Sound the alarm! Raise the barrier now!” he bellowed. His voice was a howl meant to carry across the stone battlements to the nearest soldiers on the morning watch.

  On the nearby watchtower, a guard responded. “Yes, Sir!” the man shouted back, turning to activate the magical relay.

  Seconds later, a powerful hum resonated within the capital’s heart. The grand monolith in the city center flared with an intense light that shot skyward. It erupted overhead as a translucent dome cascaded downwards, shielding the capital.

  In time. It will hold. He forced himself to believe it. The barrier had stood for centuries.

  But then... impact.

  The comet slammed into the plains beyond the walls. White fire swallowed his sight, only to clear and reveal a swell of earth and flame racing toward the capital.

  The impact slammed into the shimmering dome. The barrier offered little resistance, disintegrating into millions of splinters.

  The last thing Captain Faris saw was an unstoppable wave of ruin.

  not the norm for the rest of the story. It’s just for this intro chapter!

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