Vorlath had begun his march.
The River Kael — Terra's emerald artery — lay only leagues away. Already, scouts reported black steam rising where underground flames met the river's roots. Flora wilted before the heat. Wildlife fled the region en masse, their bodies smoldering if they lingered too long.
In the sacred grove of Sylvaen Reach, the four champions met for the first time. Their elemental differences created tension from the start. Ronan's grounded calm clashed with Tahlia's burning impatience. Lysar's cool detachment provoked Kael's youthful arrogance.
But before they could finish their introductions, a pillar of smoke rose to the north — a warning from Terra's watch-fires.
Vorlath's corruption had surfaced near the river bend.
The champions were sent — not to fight Vorlath, but to delay him. To buy time for the druids to prepare the first of the ancient seals.
Yet what they found there was more than fire.
Ash-walkers — creatures of molten stone and burning hatred — were building something amid the ruined trees. A circle. A gateway. One that pulsed with heat and dread.
Vorlath wasn't just spreading destruction.
He was summoning something worse.