A golden morning dawned over Elderglen as the four guardians stood atop the Living Seed's terrace, watching the valley awaken in celebration. Banners of crimson, sapphire, teal, and emerald fluttered in gentle breezes. From every corner of Aetherion, citizens had journeyed to witness the first Festival of Harmony—a day to honor unity, remember the past, and look toward the future.
In the Grand Plaza, four pavilions rose in a great ring around the Living Seed's blossom-laden sapling.
Lior oversaw the Ember Pavilion, where forges glowed day and night, smiths gifting dozens of Flame Charms—tiny ember-forged talismans meant to protect the wearer's heart from despair.
Sylas orchestrated the Zephyr Canopy, a tangle of silken drapes where sky-dancers leapt on suspended ropes, weaving aerial ballets to honour the wind's freedom. His own new melody—"Song of Four Winds"—drifted on every breeze.
Corwin guided preparations in the Tide Enclave, where fishermen and shipwrights unveiled the first Seafarer's Promise: a vow carved on coral plaques and traded among port cities to ensure safe passage and shared harvests.
Bram tended the Stone Circle, where masons shaped living root-and-stone seats for every traveler to rest and share stories around flickering lanterns, their carvings inscribed with the Elements' shared runes.
Between the pavilions, the Hall of Unity's lanterns glowed like stars come to earth, and the Living Seed's petals drifted on the air as silent blessings.
Riven stood at the heart of the plaza, lantern in hand. He rang a bronze bell once—its clear note silencing the crowd. "Today," he proclaimed, "we celebrate not only what we have rebuilt, but what we carry forward in our hearts. Peace is not born in a single day, but in every act of kindness, every shared memory, and every bond we renew."
The four guardians joined him in a circle:
"By flame's warm spark,
By wind's free arc,
By tide's steadfast flow,
By stone's strength below,
One people stand—forever as one."
As their voices rose, the Living Seed shivered with light. Fireworks of ember-sparks, cloud-motes, water-drops, and root-seeds burst overhead, weaving a tapestry of color and sound that drew gasps of wonder from the assembled crowds.
Children chased drifting petals; elders clasped hands in gratitude; strangers greeted one another as friends. In that moment, Aetherion felt truly united.
Yet amid the jubilation, Sylas—ever attentive to the wind—paused at the edge of the Zephyr Canopy. He felt a tremor in the breeze, a distant echo of thunder unlike any storm that season. A curl of dust rose on the eastern horizon—far beyond the Emberwood ridge.
He signaled to the other guardians. Lior's flame flickered uncertainly; Corwin's conch hummed with an undercurrent of unease; Bram's staff quivered in his hand. Riven's lantern glow dimmed for a heartbeat, as if the Wellspring itself held its breath.
Riven spoke, voice low yet calm: "The peace we've forged is precious… and every dawn brings both hope and challenge. That dust—beyond the Eastern Wastes—speaks of stirrings we cannot ignore."
Lior nodded, embers blazing in resolve. "Let the Festival of Harmony mark our pledge: to stand vigilant, to answer every whisper of danger with our unity."
Sylas drew a deep breath of wind. "And to carry this festival's spirit into whatever trials lie ahead."
As evening fell and lanterns sparked to life beneath the Living Seed's blossoms, the four guardians renewed their vow quietly among themselves:
"In celebration and in trial,
In joy and in shadow,
Our hearts remain one."
Behind them, the Festival of Harmony swelled into the night—music, laughter, and shared stories echoing through the four courts. But above the merriment, a single star—pale and distant—shone with uncanny brightness in the east, reminding all that Aetherion's story was vast, its chapters unending, and its unity the greatest magic of all.