1 2: The Pendant Awakens The Hollowed Vale was eerily silent when Mia awoke. After weeks of wearing it mindlessly, the pendant around her neck now glowed dimly with unintelligible symbols. She touched it, and the world around her fell apart, bringing her to a burning forest vision. However, the fire wasn't chaotic; rather, it was purifying itself. Silver sap gushed from split trees, and roots shrieked as they twisted away from black veins that pulsed with a foul stench. A woman with a ripped cloak and eyes that glowed like molten moonlight stood in the middle of the vision. "She must not carry this," she whispered to the wind while holding a newborn in her arms, wrapped in ashcloth. Not yet. Allow her to forget about me. The woman said, "Child, you were never meant to be bound," turning to face Mia. You were supposed to recall. "."
Mia gasped as she was yanked back to reality. Her hands were shaking, and the pendant burned hot against her skin before cooling down. Kaian knelt beside her, concerned, and Mia told him about the vision of her mother. She explained that her mother had given her away to protect her from something inside the Hollow.
The Message Beneath the Pendant
Syracuse examined the pendant and discovered that it had soul-binding script, a Memorykeeper code that said, "She is not to awaken the second name. Not until the crown is chosen." Lexen asked what the second name was, and Mia realized that it was hers. She looked down at her hand, where the mark from the Hollow still glowed faintly.
Later that night, Mia sat alone on a cliff overlooking the blackened treetops of the Vale. She whispered, "What did you name me, Mother? The name you gave me before Mia?" There was no answer, but deep within the Hollowed Vale, an old tree split at the base, and something opened an eye made not of light, but memory.
The Story of Elira A silver-eyed woman named Elira had the ability to recall everything long before Mia. As a Memorykeeper, she was tasked from birth with remembering the lives of her predecessors. Elira had different ideas than the Hollow, who wanted to silence her. Standing in front of the vault of names, a room located far below the Vale, she touched a partially engraved name. "She has not yet been born," she muttered. To escape the cycle and shield her unborn child from the burden of war and memory, Elira made the decision to leave. "That decision was never yours to make," an elder countered. Elira responded firmly, "That's why I'm making it anyhow. Carrying stolen root scrolls and a pendant that pulsed with the secret name Maiven, she ran into the wildwoods that night. In pursuit of the Hollow, the Escape and the BindingElira dashed through rivers slick with ash and through flaming trees. She carved and placed the pendant on her daughter's chest after giving birth beneath the silver tree.
Mia woke up with the pendant in her hand, and the sigil glowed with a new light - silver edged with black. She whispered the forgotten syllables of her blood: "Maiven." The Hollow whispered back, "Daughter of memory. Daughter of silence. The past is not done with you yet."
Mia stood before an ancient altar, her hand hovering above the runes etched into stone. These symbols were older than the pack itself, and her mother had whispered about them in bedtime stories without admitting they were real. As her blood touched the stone, the glyphs shimmered, and heat surged through her veins. A name, not her own but deeply hers, unfurled in her mind: Tala'Ra.
The spirit of the First Daughter emerged, her eyes glowing like embers. "You have spoken the Second Name, child of two bloods," she said. "Now you must carry its weight." Meanwhile, in the pack lands, the council fire crackled as the Elders discussed Mia's actions. Elder Thessan leaned on his staff with disdain, saying, "She is gone, chasing myths. And in her absence, the wildlings breach our borders."
Not all agreed. Elder Lira frowned, saying, "She follows a calling older than this council. We silence her now, and we doom ourselves." But Thessan's influence spread like smoke, unseen but choking. Someone loyal to Mia listened in the shadows beyond the council.
Back in the chamber, Mia dropped to her knees as visions assaulted her: flames, wolves, the moon turning red. A voice echoed in her chest, saying, "When they turn against you, do not bend. The blood remembers." She opened her eyes and found herself no longer alone.
Mia's Journey to the Ancient Chamber Mia felt a burden behind her ribs as she stood at the chamber's entrance. Her breath caught in the chilly, old air, and she felt as though the stone walls' shadows were watching her. She felt as though the past was grabbing hold of her with every step. It had been decades, if not centuries, since anyone had walked the rutted path beneath her boots. Her blood, however, throbbed with familiarity, resonating in her bones like footsteps. "You carry more than our name, Mia," her mother's hushed warning voice from long ago came back to her. Don't run when the elderly ones call. Respond. Alternatively, they will attack you in your dreams. As she got closer to the altar, which was covered in a black pelt and hung with a rusted blade that was still humming with strength, Mia took a deep breath. The old tongue phrase, "To speak the Second Name is to awaken the First Blood," was carved into the base of the altar. The torches abruptly went out as she extended her hand to touch the stone, leaving her in complete darkness.
The Chamber of Flame
Mia stood before the altar, the taste of ash and iron thick on her tongue. The Second Name hovered just behind her breath, ancient syllables her throat remembered though she'd never spoken them aloud. The First Daughter stepped back, watching with sorrow. "Say it," she whispered. "And become what they fear." Mia's voice came low and certain: "Tala'Ra." The flames obeyed, surging up her arms and revealing her true nature. Her skin shimmered, glowing like coals beneath skin. Her shadow twisted, no longer entirely human, nor fully wolf.
Meanwhile, in the Forest Kaian's mount stumbled, catching scent of something wrong. The trees were too quiet, the wind too still. Then, dozens of yellow eyes appeared, belonging to rogues. Kaian gritted his teeth and reached for the signal torch, knowing he had to get to Mia. As the wolves circled, he raised the torch and struck flint, sending a flare into the sky.
Back at the Council Hollow, Elder Thessan raised his hand, calling for a vote to strip Mia of her claim to the bloodline. But just as the vote began, the sky lit red with Kaian's signal flare. Lira shot to her feet, saying, "The southern border's under attack." Thessan sneered, "Let it burn. She's the cause of this." But Lira snapped, "She may be the only one who can stop it." The council fractured, unity gone like smoke.
Mia collapsed to her knees, heart thundering. The chamber began to breathe, walls pulsing with life and symbols glowing brighter. Voices rose all around her, every bearer of the bloodline before her singing the name she'd claimed: Tala'Ra. The First Daughter knelt beside her, resting a spectral hand on her shoulder. "You have awakened it. Now you must bear its consequences."
The Forest Edge
The flare's light dimmed, and Kaian drew his blade. But suddenly, the rogues froze, sensing a presence behind them. Ancient. Heavy. Wolf-shaped and glowing faint red. They whimpered and fled, vanishing into the night. Kaian stood alone, and from the trees, Mia stepped out. Hair wild, eyes glowing. Power trailed from her fingers like smoke. Kaian stared, asking, "What... what are you now?" Mia met his gaze, voice calm and steady: "Whatever they're afraid of."