A weathered temple of stone and moss, nestled in the cliffs of the northern mountains. The winds howl above, but within, silence brims with sacred tension.
Granny Nessa stood at the center of the circle; her silver-streaked hair braided with threads of starlight. Behind her, highlanders in wool and leather bore banners embroidered with the Tear's Blossoming Rose the sacred emblem of the first faith.
Granny Nessa (firmly): "We have remembered. We have waited."
She lifted a wooden staff topped with a glowing crystal. As it touched the air, the ancient runes carved into the stone floor pulsed awake lines of light arcing between the stones, the sky, the earth, and the underworld.
Mira (quietly, awed): "What must we do?"
Granny Nessa: "We rekindle the Rite of Remembrance."
The villagers of Stonehollow stepped forward Mira, Branen, old Uncle Orin, and many more. The mountainside glowed with magic as they formed a circle around the runes.
As Granny Nessa began to chant, her voice low and melodic, ancient syllables filled the air spoken in the first tongue of the goddess Aurelith:
Granny Nessa (chanting):
Silvaran thalei… Silvaran thalei…Silver vale, Rosan verith… rosan verith…
Ulthar meviran! Ulthar meviran!Sul'na aulith! Sul'na aulith!
Kaer vestra! Kaer vestra!Thorin eluth! Thorin eluth!
Aelaran vestra! Aelaran vestra!!Aulith'na uth! Aulith'na uth!
Silvaran thalei! Silvaran thalei! Rosan verith! Rosan verith!
Aurelith! Aurelith! Aurelith! Rise!
The chant spread. Branen's voice joined next, then Mira's, then the rest of the villagers. The air thickened with power; each breath laced with magic. The glowing crystal in Granny Nessa's staff pulsed violently. Light stitched symbols into the stone.
Mira scattered enchanted rose petals across the floor; each petal sparked silver fire as it landed. Uncle Orin gritted his teeth, sweat on his brow, but his voice held strong.
Uncle Orin: "She hears us! Keep going!"
For a breath, there was only the sound of the drums.Then the circle moved.
Bare feet stamped into the dirt in perfect unison slow, deliberate, like the heartbeat of the Underworld itself. The Villagers of Stonehollow swayed in their dark cloaks, torches in hand, their shadows writhing on the stone walls as if alive.
The chant began again not in words, but in the low hum of many voices, a sound like bees in a hollow tree. The humming became a vibration in the bones, in the teeth, in the very air.
Hands lifted. Hips swayed. The circle began to turn. One step. Two. A pivot. A spin.
The Underworld stirred in answer. Somewhere deep beneath their feet, the black river shivered and the ground groaned, as though the earth's roots were pulling against their bonds.
At the circle's center, Granny Nessa stood motionless… until her body jerked as if struck. Her back arched. Her head snapped up.
Her eyes were white. Not milky, but blinding moonlight burning from within.
The torches flared, spitting green sparks into the air. Shadows twisted into long, reaching arms on the ground. The drums grew louder, faster, as if someone or something else had joined the beat.
Nessa's mouth opened. When she spoke, her voice came doubled her own, and another layered atop it: deeper, older, hungrier.
"She hears. She rises."
The villagers' dance grew wild, skirts and cloaks whipping the air. They slammed their feet into the ground, sending up dust that swirled in unnatural patterns spirals, eyes, sigils.
From far below, a light burst in the Underworld not golden, but sharp and white, cutting through the darkness like a blade. The black river boiled. Chains rattled, unseen yet deafening, as if the whole realm were being pulled apart.
The villagers screamed her name:
"Aurelith! Aurelith! Aurelith!"
The ground heaved. Stones cracked underfoot. The light in the Underworld surged upward in jagged pulses, casting the villagers' faces in ghost-pale flashes.
Nessa swayed, arms lifted like a marionette on strings. Her voice the goddess's voice roared: "Rise beyond the veil!"
The dancing quickened until it was no longer a dance, but a storm a cyclone of bodies, fire, and shadow. The very air felt thin, stretched, as if the Astral Veil itself were tearing.
And then, with a sound like shattering glass heard from the inside of a dream the last chain broke.
The light in the Underworld exploded.
The torches went out.The chanting stopped mid-breath.
And in the silence, every villager felt it the presence of Aurelith, standing among them, her unseen gaze cold and bright as a blade.
Above, the stars began to stir. The Council of Stars watched from their broken sanctum and they began to pray too. They had condemned her. Now they called her salvation.
From across realms, the heavens and the village sang together.
The Unmaker, battling Vaelith in the divine void, staggered for the first time. He turned, uneasy.
Unmaker (snarling): "No..."
Light exploded in the circle. Mist rippled as the rift split open. A figure emerged no longer just Aurelith.
Gasps echoed. Her mortal frame glowed, body arching as divine fire surged through her. Her hair turned white-hot, her skin radiant with silver glyphs. Her wings vast and flaming unfurled.
She staggered. Fingers clawed at the underworld as her soul tore through the veil.
Tears streamed down her face not of sorrow, but of remembering. Every life she'd blessed. Every wound she'd carried. Every betrayal she endured.
Aurelith (whispering): "I remember it all."
She raised her head. Power burst from her chest like sunrise. Then came her voice not a scream, but a cry, splitting sky and stone and soul:
Aurelith (shouting): "I AM AULITH! I HAVE RETURNED!"
Her voice echoed across realms.
From the shadows of the underworld, the Unmaker's form flickered. His power faltered. He hissed in pain.
The villagers strained. Their belief held the bridge open. The heavens watched. The dark recoiled."
Aurelith lifted her hand. Light pure, scorching poured from her palm, burning away the shadow. Her body shimmered with flame and starlight.
She stood fully divine: crowned in fire, wings spread, eyes burning sapphire and gold.
"She was no longer the fading goddess. She was the warrior of stars reborn."
The Unmaker's voice slithered across both realms:
Unmaker: "So be it. Let the true war begin."
The battlefield lay in ruins, celestial stones shattered, and the air thick with the remnants of divine energy. The Unmaker, a towering figure of darkness and malice, stood amidst the chaos, his form flickering as the power sustaining him waned.
Suddenly, a radiant light pierced the gloom. Aurelith descended, her wings ablaze with divine fire, eyes glowing with determination.
Aurelith: "Your reign ends here, Unmaker."
The Unmaker snarled, summoning a vortex of shadow to engulf her. But Aurelith raised her hand, and a shield of light deflected the darkness.
Unmaker: "You cannot stop the inevitable!"
Aurelith: "I am the light that dispels your darkness."
With a surge of power, Aurelith launched herself at the Unmaker, their clash sending shockwaves through the realm. Light and shadow battled, each strike illuminating the ruins.
As the battle raged, Vaelith, wounded and weary, watched from the sidelines. Bloodied and bruised, he struggled to stand, his armor scorched from previous confrontations.
Vaelith (whispering): "Come on, Aurelith... finish this."
With a final cry, Aurelith unleashed a beam of pure light, piercing the Unmaker's core. He screamed, his form disintegrating into particles of shadow, dissipating into the void.
Silence fell.
Aurelith turned, her eyes meeting Vaelith's. She rushed to his side, kneeling beside him.
Aurelith: "You're hurt."
Vaelith (smirking): "Just a scratch."
She placed her hand over his wound, divine energy flowing into him, mending flesh and bone.
Aurelith: "Rest now. The battle is over."
Vaelith: "With you by my side, I always find peace."
They embraced, the ruins around them beginning to heal, light returning to the realm.