Lyena woke to silence.
Not the quiet of night, but the kind that pressed against her ears, heavy and unreal.
She lay still, eyes open.
The ceiling above her was unfamiliar. White marble traced with gold. Light drifted softly through tall windows, curtains pale as morning clouds. The bed beneath her was too soft. Too warm.
This was not her home.
She sat up slowly.
The room was vast. Elegant. A place meant for royalty, not for a child from a village at the edge of nowhere. A small stuffed bear rested near the pillows, as if placed there on purpose.
Her chest tightened.
"Mira…?" she whispered.
Lyena slid off the bed and moved quietly toward the door. She opened it just a little, enough to see through the gap.
An old man stood outside.
He leaned on a staff of polished wood and silver, his back slightly bent, his white hair long and unbound. His eyes, however, were sharp, far too sharp for someone who looked so fragile.
Before Lyena opened the door any further, the light behind him shifted.
A shadow detached itself from the wall.
Lyena gasped.
A second figure stepped forward, tall and thin, his presence bending the air around him. His cloak seemed woven from darkness itself.
"Elder Solarin," the shadowed man said.
The old man turned sharply.
"Erevos," he replied.
Lyena's eyes moved between them.
"Elder… Solarin?" she repeated quietly.
Erevos tilted his head, clearly displeased.
"You know I dislike that form," he said. "Could you use one of the others?"
Elder Solarin sighed.
"Very well."
He stepped fully into the light.
The illusion fell away.
The frail old man straightened. His back no longer bent. His hair darkened, streaked with silver rather than white. His presence changed, not louder, not aggressive, but vast. Ancient.
He looked like the man Lyena had only seen in stories.
Elder Solarin walked forward, his staff tapping softly against the marble.
His eyes were calm.
Older than time.
"Better?" he asked.
Erevos nodded once.
"A war is coming," Erevos said.
Lyena froze.
Elder Solarin's expression did not change.
"What makes you say that?" he asked.
Erevos did not answer.
Instead, the shadows behind him moved.
They twisted.
Then something was thrown out of them.
Instead, the shadows behind him moved.
They twisted.
Then something was thrown out of them.
A body hit the marble floor with a dull sound.
Lyena's breath caught in her throat.
It was the man.
The one from the forest.
The one whose power crushed the earth itself.
His chest was still. His eyes empty.
Erevos nudged the body with his foot and pulled the fabric aside.
On the man's chest was a mark.
Two griffins colliding in violent opposition, claws and wings locked in endless conflict.
"I found this in Mira's house," Erevos said.
He reached into his cloak and pulled out a glimmering locket.
"This also protected the people."
He opened it.
Inside was another symbol.
Two phoenixes rising toward each other, one red, one blue, meeting in the center.
Elder Solarin's fingers tightened slightly around his staff.
"And Mira?" he asked.
Erevos shook his head.
"I searched everywhere," he said. "But I did not find her."
Lyena's hands trembled.
Elder Solarin closed his eyes for a brief moment.
Then he nodded.
"Okay," he said quietly. "Thank you."
Erevos straightened.
"If there is nothing more," he replied, his voice already fading, "then I will go."
The shadows at his feet rose.
They wrapped around him and around the body on the floor.
The man vanished.
So did the locket.
The shadows folded back into the walls.
Erevos was gone.
Only silence remained.
Lyena stood frozen in the doorway, her heart pounding.
Elder Solarin noticed her.
He walked over gently and guided her back inside the room.
"Go back to bed," he said softly.
Lyena climbed back onto the bed.
Elder Solarin's voice softened.
"Rest," he said. "You are safe, for now."
Lyena opened her mouth.
But the question she wanted to ask never came out.
Because deep down, she already knew.
Nothing would ever be the same again.
End of Chapter 13 – The Room with No Name