C14 The Forgotten One
The Shadowborn smiled.
“Hello, Kael.”
The mountains fell silent.
Even the wind seemed to stop.
Kael stared at the creature standing before him.
The face was wrong.
Not entirely human.
Not entirely Shadowborn.
Yet there was something disturbingly familiar about it.
Something he couldn’t explain.
Something that made his stomach twist.
The creature tilted its head.
“I expected you to recognize me.”
Kael tightened his grip on his sword.
“I don’t.”
The Shadowborn’s smile widened.
“Not yet.”
⸻
Around them, dozens of Shadowborn emerged from the darkness.
Glowing eyes watched from among the trees.
Patient.
Silent.
Waiting.
Veyrath stepped protectively in front of Kael.
The black dragon’s scales bristled.
Stay behind me.
The Veilbreakers formed a defensive circle.
Steel flashed in the moonlight.
Seraphine moved beside Kael.
“Please tell me you know who that is.”
“I wish I did.”
The Shadowborn laughed softly.
“You know me.”
His gaze never left Kael.
“You simply forgot.”
A cold shiver crawled down Kael’s spine.
Forgot.
The word carried weight.
The same weight as the memories.
The Echo.
The fragments of the First Dragon Speaker.
“What do you want?”
The creature’s expression became serious.
For the first time, the smile faded.
“You.”
⸻
The answer echoed through the pass.
No one moved.
No one breathed.
The Shadowborn took a step forward.
The others immediately tensed.
Yet he made no move to attack.
“I’ve crossed a thousand years to find you.”
His voice remained calm.
Almost sorrowful.
“We need to talk.”
Veyrath growled.
We are not interested.
The Shadowborn glanced at the dragon.
A flicker of sadness crossed his face.
“I remember when you were smaller.”
Veyrath froze.
The reaction was instant.
Visible.
Real.
The dragon’s golden eyes widened.
Impossible.
The Shadowborn looked back toward Kael.
“There.”
His voice softened.
“At least one of you remembers.”
⸻
Fear settled over the group.
Because Veyrath clearly recognized him.
Or thought he did.
The dragon lowered his head slightly.
As though staring at a ghost.
You died.
The Shadowborn closed his eyes.
For a moment he looked tired.
Anciently tired.
“Yes.”
Silence followed.
Then:
“And no.”
Kael’s pulse quickened.
“What does that mean?”
The creature looked toward him.
Directly at him.
“I was your brother.”
The world seemed to stop.
Kael stared.
Seraphine stared.
Even the Veilbreakers looked stunned.
“My what?”
The Shadowborn nodded.
“Long before kingdoms existed.”
“No.”
The answer escaped immediately.
Impossible.
Ridiculous.
Yet part of him felt uneasy.
The mark on his palm burned faintly.
Reacting.
Recognizing.
The Shadowborn noticed.
“You feel it.”
Kael took a step backward.
“No.”
“You do.”
Pain entered the creature’s voice.
Real pain.
“Because it’s true.”
⸻
Before anyone could speak again, another memory struck.
Without warning.
Without mercy.
The world dissolved.
⸻
Kael stood inside a sunlit city.
White towers rose toward a crystal-blue sky.
Dragons flew overhead.
Children laughed in the streets.
Peace.
A forgotten age.
Then he saw them.
Two young men standing atop a balcony.
One was the First Dragon Speaker.
The face he now knew so well.
The other stood beside him.
Laughing.
Arguing.
Smiling.
His brother.
The same face.
The same eyes.
The same man now standing among the Shadowborn.
The memory felt warm.
Happy.
The two were inseparable.
Family.
Friends.
Brothers.
Then the vision shifted.
Darkness spread across the city.
The Veil cracked.
Shadow poured into the world.
Screams filled the streets.
The brothers stood together.
Fighting.
Protecting.
Bleeding.
Then came betrayal.
A terrible choice.
The younger brother fell.
Consumed by darkness.
The First Dragon Speaker screamed his name.
A name Kael could almost hear.
Almost remember.
But the memory shattered before it fully formed.
⸻
Reality returned.
Kael stumbled.
Breathing hard.
The Shadowborn was watching him.
Not with triumph.
With grief.
“You saw it.”
Kael couldn’t answer.
Because he had.
Not everything.
But enough.
Enough to know the creature wasn’t lying.
At least not entirely.
“You were there.”
The Shadowborn nodded.
“Yes.”
“What happened to you?”
The answer came quietly.
“The same thing that happened to you.”
Kael frowned.
“I became something else.”
⸻
The night grew darker.
Clouds covered the moon.
The Shadowborn looked toward the north.
Toward Skyrend.
Then back toward Kael.
“They’re lying to you.”
Veyrath snarled.
Careful.
The creature ignored him.
“The Dragon Queen doesn’t know everything.”
His gaze hardened.
“The First Dragon Speaker didn’t become the seal willingly.”
Kael’s heart skipped a beat.
“What?”
The Shadowborn stepped closer.
“No more lies.”
The mark on Kael’s hand pulsed.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
The creature pointed toward the distant mountains.
Toward Skyrend.
“The truth is buried there.”
His voice became deadly serious.
“The truth about the Veil.”
“The truth about the Echo.”
“The truth about your sacrifice.”
Kael stared.
“My sacrifice?”
The Shadowborn nodded.
Slowly.
Sadly.
“Because the hero of the story isn’t who everyone thinks.”
The wind howled through the pass.
The creature’s eyes glowed brighter.
“And when you remember everything…”
His voice dropped to a whisper.
“You may discover that the real villain was never the Shadowborn.”
Silence followed.
Heavy.
Dangerous.
Then the Shadowborn stepped backward into the darkness.
The other creatures followed.
One by one.
Vanishing among the trees.
Until only shadows remained.
And a single question echoed through Kael’s mind.
What if everything he had learned was only half the truth?
Far to the north, beyond the mountains, lightning flashed above the hidden lands of Skyrend.
And for the first time, Kael began to fear what he might find there.
