Ryder awoke from his slumber, fully alert and ready to face the day. The night had been much needed after everything they had endured at sea. Once they had arrived in Felrose, the group quickly found the local inn; a grand stone structure that reminded Ryder of a small castle. There they enjoyed a hearty, comforting dinner. Each of them had been given their own room, and for Ryder, it was the first bit of privacy he’d had since arriving in Aetherealm. As he lay in bed the night before, for once undisturbed, his mind was free to wander. It was a welcome reprieve from the chaos of the last few days.

Now, as he pulled himself together and looked out the window of his room, he was met with the vibrant streets of Felrose. It reminded him somewhat of Stonehaven, but everything here seemed more fortified and more refined. The city walls stood taller, the buildings were made almost entirely of smooth, pale stone, and immaculate shrubs of red and white roses lined the walkways. Towering trees shaded the roads, their leaves rustling softly in the morning breeze. Even the scent of roses seemed to fill every crack and corner of the city.

A small smile tugged at Ryder’s lips. For the first time, he felt a sense of belonging here. Felrose was beautiful, and the Aethereans he’d encountered so far had been kind and welcoming. The innkeeper, an elderly woman with warm eyes, had treated them to dinner and kindly offered individual rooms, something Ryder hadn’t realized how much he needed until he had it.

Before retiring the night before, the group had agreed to meet in the pub area downstairs for breakfast before continuing their journey toward Luminara and the Aetherspire, where the Grand Luminary was said to reside.

Ryder gathered the few items he had taken out, vanished them into his vault, and stepped out of his room. He descended into the large foyer and made his way down the stairs to the first floor only to find Eon speaking rather tensely to a tall figure clad in striking armor. Ryder couldn’t make out what was being said, but the moment Eon noticed him, his tone shifted. His expression brightened instantly, and he waved Ryder over with a wide smile.

As the armored figure turned, Ryder’s heart skipped a beat.

No… it can’t be.

“Ryder!” the figure called out, breaking into a run, the metallic clank of armor echoing with each step.

“Alice!?” Ryder gasped, eyes wide, tears welling as a tremble ran through him.

Before he could say more, she embraced him tightly. Her armor was cold and rigid against his skin, but he didn’t care. He threw his arms around her, burying his face against her chest plate. The tears fell freely now. Alice—she was here. She was safe.

“I’m so glad you’re okay,” Alice murmured, resting her head atop Ryder’s hat. “As soon as I heard newcomers had arrived in the city, I had to come see for myself.”

Ryder pulled back slightly, still shaking. “How… how are you here? What happened—”

Before he could finish, Eon gently interjected. “Let’s sit and talk.”

Alice nodded and led Ryder to a quiet table in the corner of the room. The commotion had drawn a few stares from nearby patrons, but they slowly returned to their own conversations as the group settled.

Alice leaned across the table and took Ryder’s hands in hers. “To answer your question,” she began, “I woke up just outside Felrose a few days ago. The guards found me and brought me in. I’ve been helping them handle the umbramancer threat near the city… and sharpening my swordplay while I’m at it. They even gave me this armor.” She glanced down at her breastplate with a faint smile. “It reminds me a bit of the armor of light Cesc made me back when we defeated Erryd. Though this set is much heavier.”

Ryder let out a shaky laugh. “It looks incredible; like it was made just for you, and you’re right, it looks a lot like the armor Cesc gave you… eerily so.”

“Doesn’t it?” she grinned, admiring the detailing for a moment. Then her expression turned somber. “I’ve been searching for you ever since I arrived. I didn’t stop looking. This morning, when I heard strangers had come through the gates, I hoped… and here you are.”

Ryder was still catching his breath. “I don’t even know how we got here. This is Aetherealm—my Aetherealm. Or at least… I thought it was.”

Alice shook her head gently. “I’m still piecing it together myself. But Eon told me you’re on your way to the Grand Luminary?”

Ryder nodded. “That’s right. We’re hoping he can help us get home—or at least explain what’s going on. There’s more to it though. We’re also helping Erys and her brother, Castor. It’s… complicated.” He paused, then lit up. “Oh! And Bastian—he’s here too. I saw him in Stonehaven. He’s been helping hold the city against the Forgotten.”

Alice’s face lit up with relief. “Thank the gods. I’m glad he’s safe. Still… he was right to stay behind. But I won’t. I’m not leaving you, Ryder.”

Ryder blinked. “You really mean that?”

She smiled. “Of course I do. I am your shield, remember? We’ve faced worse together. We’ll find our way back.”

Ryder’s heart swelled. “I’m so glad you’re here.”

“Speaking of ‘here’…” Ryder glanced around. “Is Erys still asleep?”

Almost on cue, a voice called out. “Nope! Right here and ready to go!” Erys approached the table, her usual enthusiasm bubbling over. “Didn’t Eon say ‘bright and early’?”

Her eyes widened as they landed on Alice. “Wait—are you…?”

“Alice,” she said, extending her hand with a smile. “It’s a pleasure.”

Erys shook it with awe in her expression, face flushing. “I’m…Erys. It’s an honor.”

“The honor’s mine,” Alice replied warmly. “Eon told me how much you’ve helped—facing umbramancers and everything else. That’s no small feat.”

Eon cleared his throat. “We should get moving. Here’s the plan: Luminara isn’t far. We’ll head out of the city, pass the Mother Tree, and then continue north through the mountain path. It’s going to be a hike, so we’ll need to be ready.”

Ryder nodded. “I can’t believe we’re almost there. How long do you think it’ll take?”

Eon tapped his chin in thought. “We should reach it by evening if we keep a good pace. It’s well-protected, up in the peaks, overlooking all of Aetherealm.”

Ryder sat quietly for a moment, absorbing that. The idea of home felt close now; so close he could almost touch it. If the Grand Luminary had answers, maybe this surreal journey was nearly at its end. Maybe he’d be back in his room by tomorrow. Back to normal life.

What more could possibly go wrong?

“Well then,” Erys said, clapping her hands together, “what are we waiting for? Let’s go!”

The group rose, heading toward the door. Alice lingered for a moment, speaking briefly with the innkeeper before hurrying to catch up.

“Alright,” Eon said as they stepped onto the street, “first step: leave the city.”

The roads ahead shimmered with morning dew, the stone beneath their feet warm from the golden light. Buildings rose like carved stone from the earth, adorned with blooming planters of roses and aeiablooms in full display. As they walked, Alice caught Ryder up on her days in Felrose, while Erys listened intently to the tale. Eon led the way in silence, eyes on the horizon toward the mountains, toward whatever awaited them at Luminara.

As they followed the winding forest path toward Aeiaris, a sharp shriek rang out from just beyond the trees. Ryder froze, eyes scanning the brush; then he saw it.

A green-scaled Dovaa about the size of a panther with wings that looked like large leaves, was nuzzling a young sapling nestled among the roots just a few yards from the path. As it brushed against the slender trunk, Ryder watched in awe as aether flowed from its body into the tree. In an instant, the sapling stretched skyward, unfurling into a full-grown tree before their eyes. Around it, tiny seedlings began to sprout from the earth, glowing softly as they pushed through the forest floor.

“Wow…” Ryder breathed, coming to a full stop.

Eon stepped up beside him. “Ah, an Ysali Dovaa.”

The creature looked up, its deep brown eyes locking with Ryder’s for a moment before it suddenly darted deeper into the forest. As it disappeared into the underbrush, a soft green glow lingered in its wake. Flowers bloomed where its paws touched the earth, and a trail of aether shimmered behind it. Something bright and glowing dropped from it as it leapt away, landing among the roots and flowers at the base of the newly grown tree.

“The Ysali are the embodiment of floramancy,” Eon explained, watching the Dovaa vanish between the trees. “They channel aether directly into plant life, keeping the forests vibrant and alive. They’re the smallest of all Dovaa, but don’t let that fool you—they’re among the fastest on land, especially in dense forest. It’s said they don’t run so much as glide just above the earth.”

Drawn by curiosity, Ryder stepped off the path and into the thicket where the Dovaa had been. The others followed. The tree left behind was radiant; its bark still glowing faintly with residual aether. The seedlings that had sprouted around it shimmered gently, as if responding to the Dovaa’s lingering magic. And there, nestled between a pair of golden flowers, lay a luminous green, tear-shaped gem.

Ryder knelt and picked it up, carefully turning it over in his hands. It was only a few inches tall, but its magical presence pulsed with quiet intensity.

Eon’s eyes widened. “It left a tear…” he said softly, stepping forward with care. “That’s rare. Incredibly rare, in fact. Some believe a Dovaa’s tear is a token of gratitude… others say it’s a warning.”

Ryder stood slowly, the gemstone still cradled in his hand. But just as he turned to speak, his gaze caught on something strange.

All around them, in the shadows between the trees, faint blue bands of light had begun to drift through the air. Ribbons of soft, glowing energy that twisted and pulsed like ethereal fireflies. Some floated in pairs, others on their own, each moving at a different rhythm. The thick canopy above blotted out the sunlight, leaving the forest floor bathed only in their glow.

Ryder’s breath caught in his throat.

“What… are those?” he whispered, eyes following the flickering bands as they danced through the darkness.

Aether rippled toward the blue bands, streaming from every direction. Ryder’s stomach dropped.

“Umbramancers!” he shouted just as bolts of raw aether shot from the dark. He threw up a ward in time to absorb the first blast, then sprinted for the path’s meager light.

More bolts of darkness rained down. Alice deflected the strikes with her shield; Eon swallowed others with hastily raised wards. They burst onto the trail—only to find more shadow-cloaked figures blocking both ends. Five umbramancers in every direction closed the ring.

“We’re surrounded!” Erys called, the four of them cornered and standing back to back, each looking in a different direction.

A slow clap suddenly cut through the chaos and everyone quieted. The ranks to the East parted, revealing a tall man draped in dusk-colored layers: hair black as midnight covered by an oversized wizard’s hat, eyes fathomless void, a rune-like tattoo curling over his left cheek. He wore the same glowing ring the umbramancers were wearing. Blood-red trim edged his storm-blue coat; a long onyx cloak billowed behind him, its hem shimmering into translucent wings of bright blue light, deep red tassels attached by crescents at either side. Upon his chest gleamed the pin with the same symbol Ryder had seen multiple times during his journey across Aetherealm.

Aether coalesced to form an orb which floated above his hand, quickly growing and shaping itself into a dark crescent-bladed staff, shards of glyntstone orbiting it like floating glass.

However, to Ryder’s sight, the newcomer was different. Nothing but a silhouette drenched in aether.

“It’s lovely to finally make your acquaintance,” he said, voice low and guttural. “I am Nox, the Void, leader of the Forgotten. I’ve heard much about you and your strength, foreign one. Let’s see if the tales are true.”

He raised a hand. A bolt of aether magic faster than thought shot toward them. Alice yanked Ryder aside, shield braced; the impact hurled them all to the ground.

The man laughed a cold, delighted sound, and fired five bolts instantly at once. Eon threw up a ward and held them off, but the effort left him white-knuckled.

“So much for a strong mage… Finish them,” Nox ordered, turning away with a dismissive wave and a quick twirl of his staff.

The circle erupted. “Yes sir!” They called readying their own magic.

Eon layered wards over Erys while Alice charged, sword flashing. Erys flicked open her tessens, fanning sheets of fire into the ranks. Ryder drew his staff; aether howled as he cleaved a path, wind at his back flinging foes into the trees.

But his eyes stayed on Nox, striding down the road.

Ryder hurled a fireball. Nox, as if knowing, raised a warped honey-comb shield of pure darkness; the flame vanished into its depths, quenched in its undulating magic. With a snap of his fingers, he returned the spell as a condensed lance of crimson fire shot from the floating center crystal of his staff. It tore through Ryder’s shoulder before he could react.

Pain and shock crashed over him as he fell to the ground, clutching at his shoulder.

“Ryder!” Alice roared, smashing an umbramancer aside with her shield and sprinting toward Nox, brandishing her sword with a renewed fire.

Eon knelt beside Ryder, uncorking a vial of swirling rainbow tonic that he had just summoned from his vault. “This will sting.” He said calmly, pouring its contents over Ryder’s wound.

Ryder let out a yelp of pain, but it soon turned into a cooling sensation as the wound knitted itself before his very eyes.

Erys swept the path with a jet of fire. Nox countered, weaving darkness into spears that gouged black furrows in the ground, then turned the tendrils toward Ryder and Eon. 

Eon threw up his wards just in time, but they began to buckle. Ryder shoved his own forward, bracing them both until the onslaught faded.

Together they surged to their feet and rushed after Alice. She slashed at Nox’s staff, unable to land a true blow. Ryder pulled together some of the water from the dew all around them, splitting it into two small balls of water which he quickly sent barreling towards Nox. The first jet vanished against Nox’s quickly timed ward, but the second, timed with Alice’s strike, splashed across his jaw like an uppercut. Alice, finally having an opening, rammed him with her shield, sending him skidding back.

Nox straightened, laughing maniacally. “Better,” he conceded and flung out his hand. Hundreds of dark violet tendrils erupted from it, exploding outward like dark bolts of lightning before whipping back toward the group. As he loosed a final barrage, he stepped into the shadows of the forest.

“We’ll meet again,” he called, melting into the thick forest.

Ryder cast a dome of large hexagonal wards all around them, the tendrils shattering against it. Beyond, Erys and Eon had dispatched the remaining Forgotten. When the last fell, Ryder dropped his wards and sprinted after Nox, crashing through undergrowth; but the Void was gone.

On a nearby trunk, fresh-cut lines formed the sigil he had seen on the pin. 

Soon, the rest of the group caught up to him.

Erys’s eyes widened. “That mark… I’ve seen it on the docks back home.”

“It must be the Forgotten’s symbol,” Eon murmured, adjusting his glasses. “Their reach is wider than we thought.”

”I’ve seen it multiple times since my arrival,” Ryder added, running his hands over the mark.

Alice nodded grimly. “I’ve seen that marking just outside of Felrose, too. They’re leaving breadcrumbs.”

“Another question for the Grand Luminary,” Eon said. “Come, we should move before more arrive.”

Ryder led them back to the path, every sense angling for danger. Wounded, weary, but unbroken, the four pressed on toward Aeiaris, the Mother Tree, ever vigilant beneath the whispering boughs.