A huge dome of crystal and Mythriel, the Council Hall of Yal Elunore rose above the hazy city like a shimmering mountain, its surface glistening with pearly light that rippled like a living thing. Each curve flowed like frozen waves of silver, as if it had been breathed into existence rather than constructed.
The great chamber moved with solemn grace within. Around the center of the dome were ten floating stands, each holding a seat on the Council. Beams of silver-blue light shattered across the vaulted walls as a huge Ether Crystal chandelier hovered above them.
The High Guards stood guard below, motionless and silent. They had a regal yet intimidating appearance, resembling warriors formed from storm and sky, due to their deep red and blue armor plates engraved with feathered details in polished Mythriel. Their two-bladed staffs shone with cold fire; one was sharp and lethal, while the other was curved like a wing and had feathered lines.
Their presence created a constant pressure and energy that hummed like a taut string throughout the Hall; it was unavoidable but not loud. The Dome itself appeared to wait, breathing in time with them.
The Council was already in session.
Beneath the dome, the soft hum of Ether mingled with a sea of whispering voices. Stout and deep-voiced, one of the elder councilors spoke with unmasked contempt while folding his jeweled fingers in front of him.
He growled, "Is there any opposition to finalizing the decree against the Kinitu?"
Lips curling in cruel amusement, another scoffed.
"Those rodents were evicted about time. Even when they're hiding, I can still smell them in the streets.
Some of the floating stands echoed with low, cruel, indulgent laughter. Others kept their mouths shut, their faces unreadable, their silence as complicit as their words.
Like a hundred shifting eyes, the great Ether Crystal above pulsed softly, scattering broken beams of light across the council.
The Grand Elder, who was in charge, held up a hand to signal silence. He had a centuries-old expression as his long silver hair floated in the glistening air.
With a smooth yet iron-edged voice, he turned to Caelarion.
"Caelarion. Do you have anything to add?"
From a different seat, a sneer:
"What more could he say? He presented the issue to us.
With his jaw clenched so tightly that a vein pulsed at his temple, Caelarion sat rigidly. He kept thinking about Ellowyn's tearful eyes, which were blazing with intense conviction.
He paused. He pressed words to his lips. His heart thumped.
Then.
With a loud crack, the great doors flew open.
The chamber shook with shockwaves. The floating stands gave a start.
Weapons crossing in a gleaming wall, the High Guards jerked to action. Behind them, ethereal wings flared, releasing icy bursts of light.
A councilor yelled, "Insolence!" "Who dares disturb this gathering?"
Just enough of the guards moved aside.
And a lone figure entered the hall.
Ellowyn.
Her hair was a wild halo around her pale face, her cloak was torn, and dust was sticking to her boots. She stood by herself, shaky but uncompromising.
With a look of shock and amazement on his face, Caelarion staggered half a step to his feet.
He yelled, "Wait!" "That's my daughter!"
Like lightning on still water, gasps ripped through the council. Voices hissing behind veiled hands, some stood up, others leaned forward.
One elder spat, his face contorted in contempt:
"Caelarion, Has your seed rotted so quickly?"
With their weapons ready, the High Guards approached.
The Grand Elder, however, held up his hand.
Suddenly there was a heavy, enveloping silence.
Slowly, his stand lowered itself until it hovered just above Ellowyn. His eyes were as deep as Sylvanmyr's oldest roots as he studied her intently.
"Child," he said. "You wouldn't just show up here in such matter without a cause. Speak."
Ellowyn felt pain in her throat. She shuddered. However, she sensed something solid behind her, as if Rikuin's recollection had placed a hand on her back.
She raised her chin.
She stated, "I apologize for the intrusion. However, I can no longer live in silence. I'd rather die if I remain silent for even a second longer. You have to hear some things..."
"I have committed treason!"
Like a blade, Caelarion's voice ripped through the room.
Once more, the floating stands shook. Above, the crystal chandelier trembled.
Everybody looked at him.
The Grand Elder's eyes narrowed.
"Caelarion, what are you saying?"
His voice was rough with guilt as he stood with his shoulders slumping.
"I have violated our laws. I had the audacity to discuss forbidden histories with my daughter. She stopped me before I could tell her anything, even though I wanted to show her the truths we have buried."
The hall fell silent in shock.
Then there was a commotion.
"Traitor!"
"Take him!"
Wings snapping wide, the High Guards charged forward. Caelarion was forced to his knees as the twin Mythriel blades crossed at his throat.
Sorrow tightened the Grand Elder's face.
He looked over at Ellowyn and asked. "Is this true, child?"
Caelarion pushed out before she could say anything:
"Great Elder, I admit. I was going to show the Encloric Scroll to her. I am solely to blame."
There was another outcry.
The Grand Elder closed his eyes for a long time, each line etched with fatigue.
"Take him."
The guards did as they were told.
As they bound her father and turned to take him away, Ellowyn stood frozen in shock, fear bringing her to the ground.
Caelarion turned as he went by.
They looked at each other.
He smiled despite the fact that his face was pale and that he was still overcome with fear and shame.
A silent, shattered grin.
And he mouthed the following with the smallest movement of his lips:
"My child, follow your heart."
The world's boundaries were blurred by tears.
The Grand Elder's platform lowered until he could place a warm, lined, and heavy hand on Ellowyn's shoulder.
He said, barely audible, "Thank you for sticking by your people." "But keep in mind that true justice isn't always found inside these walls."
He pulled away whispering some final words:
"Ellowyn, go now. Go back to your house. You'll be needed by your mother."
At that He looked away, but Ellowyn's voice was caught.
"Grand Elder Valomar—!"
His silhouette gilded in refracted light, as he paused.
"Seek what must be sought, child... even if it takes you farther than you dare imagine," he said without turning.
Then he disappeared into the whirling light.
Leaving only the spinning Ether lights, the fading echoes of anger and sorrow,
And Ellowyn standing alone beneath a Dome that no longer felt like a shield,
but a cage.
-break-
Grief hung in the air like a burden no one could lift, and Ellowyn and Aeryn felt empty as they entered the house.
With her hands buried in her face and her shoulders shaking from silent sobs, their mother had fallen to the ground. With pale, tear-streaked faces, the younger kids clung to her skirts.
The sight struck Ellowyn like a blow to the chest, and she froze in the doorway. A sadness too profound for words seemed to reverberate through the hearth, the walls, and even the air.
She moved forward as she recalled her father's shaky hands securing his cloak at dawn. He gave her a look that was unbearably heavy but not cold. He was unable to say goodbye. A request she had not yet comprehended.
"I always do what is right for our family"
Her throat constricted.
It wasn't pride.
Not even fear had been involved.
Quiet, broken, and desperate, it had been love. The only way he could demonstrate it.
She knelt next to her mother and pulled her little siblings to her, tears burning in her eyes.
Her father had made his decision for them, not for pride. For her.
It was her turn now.
She refused to turn away this time.
She was not going to give up.
-break-
By the faint flicker of a single Ether lamp that night, Ellowyn packed up. It seemed as though the walls themselves were holding their breath because the room was too quiet and motionless.
Potions, scrolls, Sigils, dried fruits, Tough bread, Water flasks were carefully placed inside her satchel. Rikuin's scarf, which still had the slightest hint of the Blue Forest's wild scent, was tied snugly around her belt. She slung her shabby but steady staff across her back.
Behind her, the floor creaked as she tightened the final strap on her satchel.
In the doorway stood Aeryn. Although he had his usual confident look, his face betrayed him, his eyes were shadowed, his jaw was tight.
"So," he said, attempting to be humorous. "This is your next big rebellion?"
With a tremor at the corner of her lips, Ellowyn smiled faintly.
"I need answers," she declared. "Something that will make them see things more clearly."
He inquired, "And where do you plan to find that?" His voice was drained of the fight.
She walked across the room and stood up, stroking his cheek with her fingers. She had a cold hand. She had forgotten how warm his skin had been.
Aeryn stiffened as the realization set in.
He said softly, with a crack in his voice, "So you were going to leave without saying goodbye."
Ellowyn's throat tightened.
She attempted a tiny, shattered smile.
She muttered, "Goodbyes are for long farewells, but Skyland doesn't have that much time."
Aeryn grabbed her wrist as she turned to go.
He put a tiny object in her hand.
She glanced down at a smooth, gold pendant that resembled a folded triangle. There were faint ethereal lines that gleamed at the edges.
"Last night. Father gave it to me," Aeryn said in a rough voice. "Told me to give it to you when the time was right."
Feeling its weight sink into her bones, Ellowyn wrapped her fingers around it. She blinked the tears away, but her vision became blurry.
Her voice broke as she whispered, "Thank you."
Aeryn attempted a smirk, but it turned into something more subdued. He ruffled her hair in a way that was awkward but familiar, like when they were kids running through Yal Elunore's gardens.
He whispered, his throat constricted, "Be careful, lazy Nymble-tail." "Avoid dozing off outside. Or I'll come grab your ear and drag you back."
Ellowyn chuckled softly. Like sunlight through a cloud, the sound broke the stillness.
One last time, she breathed in the warmth of home as she gave him a fierce, silent hug.
After giving it one last glance, she slipped through the window into the mist that awaited her and the world she was unable to ignore.
-break-
Beneath the Dome's glimmer, the streets of Yal Elunore were silent, its light sweeping across rooftops like a dream's final breath.
Between the sleeping houses, Ellowyn moved like a shadow, slipping through secret passageways and tiny alleys where no lanterns were burning. Nobody noticed her. Nobody yelled. Already, the city she had once called home seemed far away, a memory fading behind her as she moved.
The great eastern gate, a solemn division between the known and the unknown, stood tall at the far edge of the district, where polished stone gave way to wild earth and tangled vines. Beyond it, beneath the stars, the Blue Forest stirred gently.
At the gate, she paused and touched the chilly iron. Then she moved forward.
As she entered the wilderness, mist clung to her ankles, and memories arose in the chilly air like breath:
Rikuin's laughter echoing through the trees — Harvesting ether with her friends — Promises made under a silver sky
With the Dome's faint gleam still visible above her, she gripped her staff more tightly.
A voice called out from behind, "Ellowyn?"
She whirled, tense, about to disappear into the foliage.
The young guard she knew, Maeron, was standing there, his cloak hurriedly thrown over his armor. His expression was shaded with concern, and his usual smirk had become softer.
After giving her a quick glance, he recognized the fire in her eyes, the worn packs, and the set of her shoulders.
He smiled crookedly and said, "So, you're running away without even saying goodbye?"
Her skin pricked with guilt. "I have to," she muttered. "I can't stay."
Other guards on their rounds could be heard walking in the distance. Ellowyn stiffened once more, but Maeron grabbed her hand.
He had a firm, warm touch.
With mischief flashing behind his eyes, he whispered, "Come." "You made a great plan, but you forgot one small detail."
Without waiting, he dragged her through the bushes and between the old trees until they came to the edge of the Dome, where the world outside glistened like a glass curtain.
His hand was still gently around hers as he turned.
"Unless someone opens the way," he said in a steady, low voice, "you can't leave."
Something unsaid lay in the void between them as their gazes locked. Then he drew his blade smoothly.
He made a tiny, precisely calibrated rip in the weave, just wide enough that the tip glowed with Ether.
The light in the Dome shook and rippled.
Maeron squeezed her hand one last time. His voice was raw as he said, "Be safe, Ellowyn."
She swallowed the lump in her throat and nodded. She put her other hand in his and squeezed, saying "thank you" rather than goodbye.
She turned to face the Dome's tear. Cold and strange, it glistened in the moonlight like water.
Her breath caught.
Then she sensed it.
Like a guide, that silent force—the same one from earlier—curled around her fingers.
Rikuin was on her mind. Of his scarf fastened to her belt. Behind gilded silence, Skyland withers.
Then she moved forward.
With a shimmer and a breath, the Dome closed behind her, folding into mist. The forest's untamed aroma enveloped her like a warm welcome.
Skyland, vast, broken, beautiful, and free, stretched out in front of her.
For a long moment, she stood motionless, allowing it to pass over her. Inside, a fierce, living thing unfolded.
Ellowyn reached for the golden pendant at her chest, alone now but no longer fearful.
The sun's first real light touched her skin as she turned her face toward it.
Skyland was calling.
And this time she would answer.