A Symphony of Blades and Broken Stars

The sun rose through the fog, but its light was dim. The sky looked tired and gray, as if it had seen too much.

Elion walked at the front, silent and deep in thought. He was not worn out, just lost in memories he could not reach. Each step made his chest feel heavier.

Lys stayed close beside him. She said nothing, but her eyes never stopped watching.

Kaela followed behind, always alert.

They were heading to the Vale of Echoes, a place Kaela had warned them about. It was where people who broke sacred promises were buried.

The trees in the vale had no leaves. Their twisted branches bent toward the ground. The earth was dry and cracked, but it had not burned. It looked like a place that had cried itself empty.

"This place feels wrong," Elion said quietly.

"It is wrong," Kaela replied. "This is where the vowkeepers fell."

Lys looked around. "And where their broken words still remain."

As they walked deeper, they began to see bones among the roots. Not buried. Just lying there, arranged carefully. Each skeleton held something in its hands. A charm. A blade. A letter.

Elion stopped in front of one.

A curved sword rested in its hand. One word was carved into the metal.

Hope.

"I know this sword," he said.

Kaela stepped beside him and placed her hand on his shoulder. "You brought them here. They followed you. They fought for you. They died for you."

Elion backed away. "Why can I not remember?"

Lys knelt next to another skeleton. It had a feather shaped brooch. "Because you chose to forget."

A strange wind passed through the trees. It carried no sound. Just presence. Like something old and waiting.

Then came the whispers.

No words. Just feelings.

Sorrow. Blame. Pain.

Kaela drew her sword.

"They sense you," she said.

Elion turned.

The bones began to rise. One by one, the skeletons stood. Not alive, but not dead either. Each one turned its head to face him.

One stepped forward.

"You said we would not be forgotten," it spoke, voice dry like dust.

Elion clenched his fists. "I failed you."

The skeleton tilted its head.

"Then remember us now. Or we will haunt you."

Lys summoned fire to her hands, ready to defend. But Elion raised his hand.

"No. I will not fight them."

The skeletons did not move.

He dropped to one knee and touched the dry earth.

"I remember your faces. Your names. Your hope. I carry you with me now. I will not run again."

The whispers faded.

The skeletons fell still, their bones resting once more.

And silence returned.