Runes of the Forsaken

Eryndor Valis had known only exile for as long as she could remember. At 21 years old, she had wandered the lands of Veldoria. its villages, its forests, its treacherous ruins but never had she found a place to call home. She was an outcast, marked by the rune branded into the palm of her hand at birth, a mark that had made her both a pariah and a weapon of power. The cold wind bit at her skin as she trudged through the dense forest, the sky above dark and brooding, as if the heavens themselves were mourning her existence. The leaves crunched beneath her boots, but it was the eerie silence of the land that made her uneasy. The deeper she went into the woods, the more the trees seemed to close in around her, their twisted branches like skeletal fingers reaching toward her. Her auburn hair, streaked with silver from the runes’ magic, was tucked into a hood to keep the wind from whipping it into her face. Yet even hidden beneath the folds of her cloak, her striking violet eyes—flecked with gold—seemed to glow in the dim light of the forest. A constant reminder of the curse she carried, the one that marked her as both a savior and a destroyer. The scar on her palm throbbed faintly. It was a familiar ache, the one that had haunted her since childhood. Whenever the runes stirred within her, whenever her emotions flared, she could feel the rune burning beneath her skin, as if it were alive. That same power that had shattered her village years ago. “Keep moving,” she muttered to herself, her voice hoarse from days of traveling alone. She had learned long ago that if she stopped, if she let herself rest for even a moment, the weight of her past might catch up with her. The stories of the cursed rune bearer were whispered across the land. In villages, she was spoken of in hushed tones—fears of her power that had caused death and destruction. Her own people had cast her out, unwilling to see what the rune could truly do. Yet despite all the fear and hatred she faced, Eryndor had learned to survive. She stumbled upon a small clearing in the woods, the trees parting to reveal an ancient stone archway, worn by centuries of weather but still standing. A relic of a long-forgotten time. It was here, among these ruins, that her journey would change forever. There was something familiar about the archway—something that called to her, deep within her soul. The air around her grew heavy as if the land itself had recognized her presence. The rune on her palm began to burn more intensely, the glow of it brighter now. She clenched her fist, trying to push it down, but the power surged against her control. A voice echoed in her mind, soft but unmistakable. Come closer… Eryndor’s heart raced as the voice, not of flesh and blood but of something ancient, whispered through her very being. It was the same voice that had haunted her dreams since childhood, the voice that had promised her a destiny she never asked for. The voice that had led her to this moment. With a deep breath, she stepped forward, her footsteps careful but determined. She could feel the energy in the air, the electric hum of something long forgotten, waiting to be discovered. She reached out, her hand trembling, and touched the stone of the archway. The moment her fingers brushed against it, the ground trembled beneath her. The stone seemed to pulse with life, the runes on it glowing in sync with the one branded on her hand. A deep, resonating sound filled the air, like the voice of the earth itself speaking to her. And then, the air shifted. A rush of power surged through her, and the world around her began to blur. The trees, the sky, the very fabric of the world twisted and bent as though the veil between realms was being torn open. Eryndor staggered back, her breath coming in ragged gasps as she struggled to stay on her feet. Her heart raced, and for the first time in her life, she felt both terrified and exhilarated. This was no accident. The runes had led her here, to this moment. She didn’t know what it meant. She didn’t know what she was supposed to do next. But one thing was clear. The fate she had been running from her entire life had found her.