The temperature in the chamber shifted.
Not from wind, nor flame, but from something deeper. Ancient. Heavy. The kind of pressure that made the hairs on the back of one's neck rise and instincts stir in silent warning.
A low hum vibrated through the stone walls.
Then, as if answering a call only she could hear, the great double doors at the end of the council hall flung open with a sudden crack of force.
A swirling gust of wind followed, though the skies outside were still.
And there she was.
Draped in shadow-colored robes embroidered with silver moons, Ninzu stepped inside. Her presence was unnerving not because she was monstrous, infact she was beautiful, but because she was otherworldly. Ageless. Her long dark hair fell in waves, and her eyes glowed violet, as if she could see everything.
Even your soul.
Ambassador Thane muttered a prayer under his breath.
Queen Maravelle's face tightened, clearly displeased by the unannounced entrance. "You were summoned, not crowned."
Ninzu turned to her. "And yet I arrived before your fear did."
The queen frowned.
"Ninzu," Thornak greeted, remaining standing. "Thank you for coming."
"I arrive late, but never too late." She said smoothly. her voice like smoke rolling across water. Her gaze falling on the smoldering cloth upon the table. "Blood called. I answered."
Her fingers hovered over it, never touching, her expression sharpening.
A low hum filled the room, faint but unmistakable. The cloth pulsed beneath her hand, reacting to her presence as if recognizing her power. The glow of the burned symbols deepened-blood-red turning almost violet at the edges.
Ninzu's voice was barely above a whisper, yet everyone heard it. "This is part of a ritual, it's not meant to harm directly," she continued, her voice resonant with ancient knowledge. "It's meant to locate. To pull power toward a beacon."
Lord Edrion frowned. "A beacon for what?"
"To find someone," she said. "Someone with a bloodline tied to a power sealed long ago. Someone who is hidden by magic."
The council shifted uneasily.
She closed her eyes, drawing in a breath as though tasting the air around the relic. Her lips parted slightly, and a second later, her eyes snapped open, now glowing faintly with threads of silver.
"It was bound using a name," she said slowly. "A true name. That's how it was anchored here. This wasn't done by a simple rogue spellcaster. This was orchestrated by a very powerful sorcerer."
"What do you mean by a true name." Lord Edrion asked.
"Whoever performed it knew exactly who or what they were targeting. This wasn't random blood magic; it was tailored."
Thornak's jaw clenched. "Whose name?"
"That," Ninzu said, standing upright again, her fingers curling into a loose fist, "is the question."
"To what end." Thornak asked.
Ninzu turned sharply to him, her eyes suddenly turned white as though she was in a different place.
"He intends to bind rogue wolves and bend them to his will. He doesn't just give them orders. He binds their instincts. kills their fear, suppresses pain, fuels rage. I can tell you this, whoever did this has not finished, for he intends to do the opening ritual."
"Opening to what?" asked Lady Merel, voice tight.
Ninzu's gaze met hers, sharp as a dagger. "A door. One that should never be opened."
"What is behind this door?" Thornak asked.
"The door is a vault both sanctuary and prison, created to house relics too powerful for mortal hands. It was bound by the will of the Moon Goddess and keyed only to the bloodline she had chosen. Only a rightful heir, awakened and guided by a guardian, could unlock its full potential. Any other attempt would risk catastrophe."
"What is in this vault." Thornak asked.
"In the sealed vault lies the divine essence of the Moon Goddess herself, passed down through the royal bloodline. The Moonfire Core. A celestial crystal that holds the purest form of lunar magic. It was used by the Guardians to bless their warriors, shape the moonlit defenses of their kingdom, and keep the balance of power across the supernatural realms."
She walked forward towards the king.
"If the sorcerer gains access, they can corrupt this power into something twisted: chaotic, eternal night, and full control over lesser wolves and night-born creatures."
Thornak leaned forward. "Has this door been opened before?"
"Yes," she replied darkly. "And the last time it was opened, an entire kingdom fell."
Gasps rippled through the chamber.
"What kingdom?" Kael asked.
Ninzu's eyes did not move from the smoldering cloth, her fingers still hovering just above it. "One that no longer exists on any map," she said quietly. "Its name, like its people, was erased from memory. Only ruins remain, buried beneath ash and silence. Moonguard."
Gasps rippled.
"We all know what happened to the Moonguard," Queen Maravelle said coolly, fingers tapping the arm of her chair. "They ruled over werewolves and Lycans alike, until they were corrupted. Some turned to rogues and tore their own kingdom down."
Ninzu did not blink.
"What you do not know," she said, her voice low and deliberate, "is that Moonguard wolves, those born of moonlight were bound to divine fire to rule. Their power did not come from ambition, but from balance. A sacred harmony with the Vault, where the Moonfire Core once burned with the fury and purity of the Goddess herself."
She turned her gaze to the queen, whose irritation rippled beneath a mask of control.
"But not all hearts are content with balance," Ninzu continued, her voice sharpening.
Her eyes narrowed.
"A prince, royal-blooded and Moonguard-born, turned against his kin. Envious. Ambitious. He was seduced by a sorcerer who promised more. They believed the Vault held power unshaped, unimaginable. And so they broke the sacred law. They performed the forbidden rites, spilling blood, stealing a true name… and the Vault answered."
She let the silence settle like dust before continuing.
"But only the true heir can wield the Moonfire Core. When they forced it open, it flared once, brilliant, blinding, as if the stars themselves screamed. And then… the flame died."
Her voice dropped to a hush.
"The Moonfire Core, the very breath of the Moonguard, went dark. Their strength vanished. The Guardians lost their tether to divinity. They were no longer gods among wolves. Just wolves. Waiting to fall. the Lycans, their protectors abandoned them."
Queen Maravelle's reply came sharp and cold. "You speak of fairy tales."
Ninzu's gaze did not flicker. "Fairy tales do not leave behind scorched kingdoms and sealed vaults echoing with divine silence."
She stepped forward, her voice silk wrapped around thunder.
"Fairy tales do not twist the winds or stir the bones of the land. What you call legend," she said, eyes glowing faintly with silver light, "I call history. History written in ash and blood. And history...."
She paused.
"....does not like to be ignored."
She let the silence stretch, heavy with meaning, then added in a voice barely above a whisper, "The last time your kind dismissed the warnings, a whole kingdom fell. If we repeat their arrogance, we may not survive what wakes next."
Queen Maravelle's lips pressed into a thin line. For a moment, her expression was unreadable, then she rose slowly, each movement deliberate, regal.
"You mistake caution for arrogance, Seer," she said coldly, though her voice remained composed. "And prophecy for command. This is my court, and my kingdom. I do not bow to ghosts or riddles spun in shadow."
She stepped down from the dais, facing Ninzu fully now. "I see a world that bends too easily to fear... and to whispers."
Her eyes narrowed just slightly.
"Speak your truths, Ninzu, but tread carefully. For if you mean to stir panic with tales of lost empires, then you, too, may become part of the story… left in the ash."
Ninzu did not flinch. She simply tilted her head, violet eyes gleaming with something colder than contempt, pity.
"I do not stir panic, Your highness," she said softly, yet every word struck like a blade. "I stir remembrance."
She took a single step forward, and though she did not challenge the queen's position, the chamber seemed to lean toward her, as though listening.
"You speak of ghosts… but ghosts do not burn through forest borders. Ghosts do not bind wolves with blood. And ghosts do not leave the scent of forgotten gods on scorched earth."
Her voice dipped lower, dark and serene.
"Fear is not your enemy, Queen. Complacency is." She added.
Then, her gaze flicked to the burned cloth once more.
"And when the flames come again, they will not ask whether you believed in fairy tales."
A silence followed, tense and taut.
For a moment, no one moved. The weight of Ninzu's words lingered in the air like smoke.
Kael's voice was tight. "How come this is not in the history books."
Ninzu turned slowly. "Lycans altered the truth. But I see it. Now someone is trying to open it again. But they don't have the key. Not yet."
"Then we stop them," said Thornak.
"You can't," Ninzu said quietly, with finality. "Not yet."
Thornak's eyes narrowed. "Why?"
"Because the one behind this, the sorcerer, has grown too powerful. His strength isn't his own. He draws from something ancient, buried deep beneath the world's skin. A well of corrupted magic sealed during the old wars. The same source he offered to the traitor prince."
She stepped closer to the flame in the center of the chamber, its light dancing over her.
"Only the Moonguard can be able to resist that power. Only their bond with the Vault, the Moonfire Core, could counter it. Without them, he cannot be stopped. Not truly. Not for long."
A hush fell over the council, the weight of her words settling like dust over a forgotten tomb.
"If they find the heir before you find her," she warned, her voice barely more than breath, Her gaze lingering on Queen Maravelle, "they'll use her to finish what was started. And this time, nothing will remain."
Gasps rippled.
Alpha Harkan rubbed a hand over his jaw. "We've all heard the old stories. Maybe we didn't believe them before. But they're not just tales anymore."
Lord Edrion stood slowly. "If this is blood magic tied to the Moonguard… then it means someone has crossed a line we thought sealed forever."
A few council members exchanged wary glances. Others looked to Queen Maravelle, waiting for her reaction.
She remained still, chin high, though her fingers curled slightly around the edge of her armrest.
Kael spoke next, quieter than the others but no less firm. "If even half of what she says is true… we can't afford to ignore it."
Ambassador Thane, finally crossed his arms and grunted, "Then we find the heir. And we find them now."
"I need fifteen days," Ninzu said finally. "To perform the ritual needed to trace the royal bloodline. It's buried deep masked by divine magic. If I fail… the sorcerer will find her first."
Thornak's voice was calm but commanding. "You have your fifteen days. Full access. No interference."
No one dared argue.
"And if we find this descendant?" asked Alpha Harkan. "Then what?"
"We protect them." Ninzu replied. "For if this person is the key... they may be the only one who can stop what's coming."
The council sat in uneasy silence, the air thick with questions none dared yet ask aloud.