The forest grew darker with every step Elara took. The red-barked trees towered above her, their branches twisted like claws, blocking out the moonlight. The air was thick with heat and smoke, though no fire was in sight yet. She could feel the magic pulsing beneath her feet—old, wild, untamed.
The Trial of Ash.
It was said to be a ritual born from the ancient pact between the Moon Goddess and the Bloodborn—meant to strip a wolf of fear, illusion, and weakness.
Elara reached a wide clearing where glowing embers floated in the air like fireflies. In the center stood a circle of black stone, scorched and cracked. A voice echoed around her, disembodied and ancient:
"Step into the flame and face what you fear most."
Without hesitation, Elara stepped into the circle. Fire burst to life around her, not consuming, but enclosing. Heat pressed against her skin, but she didn't flinch.
Then the flames changed—morphing into visions.
She saw her mother, cloaked in white, running through the forest. Her face bloodied, her voice screaming a name—Elara—before a shadow overtook her.
Then Kael, lying broken and still in the snow, his golden eyes dimming.
"No!" Elara shouted, trying to run to him—but her legs wouldn't move.
The fire rose higher.
Then Vael appeared—smiling. "You'll never be strong enough. Even with the Moonblade, you're just a girl playing goddess."
"I'm not afraid of you," Elara growled.
He laughed. "Then why are you shaking?"
She clenched her fists. The mark on her collarbone burned hotter, and the Moonblade glowed through the scabbard. She drew it, holding it high, the flames reflecting off the silver edge.
"You're not real," she said to the illusions. "You're my fear. My guilt. But they don't control me."
She stabbed the blade into the stone at her feet.
The flames exploded upward—then vanished.
Silence fell. The circle dimmed. And a new figure stepped into view: the auburn-haired Bloodborn warrior.
"You faced the Trial," she said. "And you didn't run."
"I never will," Elara replied, still holding the blade.
The woman nodded slowly. "Then by fire and ash, the Bloodborn recognize your right to lead. You have our loyalty, Moonborn."
And for the first time in generations, the pact was reborn.