Awakening
The dormant power awakens, a titan of old, shaking the very foundations of life. The world trembles in his wake, ready to reshape reality itself.
heavens, searching the constellations for signs woven in the celestial sky. He prays in silence, seeking purpose.
The slow, icy dawn arrives, painting pastel shades of awakening light. The gentle orange hue of the rising sun interrupts Danan’s contemplation. He turns and walks toward the cavern’s gaping mouth and sits cross-legged, staring into the ominous cavern jaws.
Pale sunlight kisses his sleepless face, and his hands wander curiously to the Athanas Stone nestled in his robes. His mind drifts back to Lord Varesh’s parting words, and curiosity overtakes him as he plucks the bundle with eager fingers. Upon touching the stone’s surface, it ripples with golden symbols, revealing his own reflection. In the sun’s glow, the Athanas Stone shines like a red-hot ember, bearing a single glyph of ancient Elimish etched in gold.
Lord Varesh's voice whispers in Danan's mind, “Ilest, ‘awaken.”
The Athanas Stone beams like the sun, enveloping him in mystical light. Danan raises his head and looks up to the heavens as the surrounding light intensifies, engulfing him in a loving embrace.
Energy washes over him, tingling his entire body, and time seems to hold its breath as he marvels at the newfound clarity of his mind. His thoughts wander back to High Priest Anon, Jain, Nubina, and Lord Varesh. His focus lingers on his father’s image as the mage’s voice whispers his regrets in his mind. In a blast of ethereal light, Danan’s body levitates, rising as power and understanding surge through him.
A violent gust of wind carries every thought and deed as his vision spirals in a whirlwind of colors. Warmth fills his core, growing into a raging volcano of pure, untamed power. Danan understands everything in that moment—the once lonely life of servitude bound and confined. Anger builds as he reconciles the thoughts and deeds of his absent existence.
The river waters behind Danan rage, forming vortexes of untamed power, with hundreds of waterspouts rising from the boiling tide.
Mountains tremble, rock and stone crack, and river boulders explode, launching shards of debris high into the sky.
Danan opens his eyes while floating in the air, gazing down upon the world far beneath his feet. It appears small and fragile to him, filled with insignificant purpose. Anger swells within him as his tears flow.
Danan gazes up to the heavens, releasing a resounding roar that echoes through the deepest parts of the celestial abyss. He then turns towards Mount Gorochen and extends the palm of his hand, gripping the mountain's solid rock spire. The mountain crumbles as he pulls it from its shattering stone roots. Danan then expels all his pent-up anger in a shockwave of rippling blue energy, causing Mount Gorochen to explode.
Danan, last of the Elim, descends back to earth; his feet touch the ground, and the earth cracks beneath him upon landing. He looks upon the world around him with new eyes, where everything shimmers in spectrums of light. He stares into the collapsing mouth of the cave without fear, for fear no longer exists within him.
Jain stumbles out of the cavern mouth, holding Nubina in his arms; his eyes are red with tears, and his skin is covered in rock shards and dust. He cradles Nubina as she sobs uncontrollably, running his hands through her matted black hair.
Danan’s anger dissipates as he watches his friends grieve. “My father?” His voice is as hard as stone and as cold as ice.
Jain shakes his head. “Danan, I’m sorry,” he says, handing Danan the Elda Staff. “Danan, Lord Varesh, your father, he wanted you to know that —.”
“I know." His tone carries a hardness unintended.
Jain stares at Danan as if he were a rare creature. “Danan, your eyes.”
Danan spins the Athanas Stone in his fingers, its polished surface reflecting his own image.
He sees a man unknown to his own gaze—a man with one blue eye, dazzling as an ocean.
His other eye is as inky black as the darkest night.