Author: Dylan Callens

Adam follows a strange talisman’s memory into the desert as the mystery surrounding the Phylax deepens in The Silent Guardian, Chapter 9, Part 1.

When sleep finally comes, it is unkind. It’s the same dream, but for the first time, there are differences.  I’m crouched in a wide clearing at dusk, leaning against a towering stone figure that looms above me. My fingers press into the rough surface, and I feel as though this carved giant is the only…

The desert scrub gradually gives way to drier, barren plains. Hills flatten into endless stretches of cracked earth. Here, the wind sweeps across the desolate land, whispering of dangers yet to come. Dust clings to my sweat-dampened skin, forming a gritty layer that stings with every movement. We are heading west, further from the Imperial…

Darkness presses in as Xia and I move cautiously through the narrow street. The night amplifies every sound—the rustling of fabric, the crunch of our footsteps on uneven ground, the distant murmur of voices. We hunch low, staying out of sight.   Torchlight casts distorted shapes along the alley’s edges, making it harder to judge how…

A soft rustle pulls me from the fog of sleep. Xia must be moving about the house. I blink, trying to clear the grit clinging to my vision as it adjusts to the pale shafts of morning light filtering through thin slats in the window. Each inhalation sends a sharp, fiery reminder through my side….

I dream of a clearing at dusk, the sky above bruised with deep purples. The air carries a restless hush, as if the world is holding back before a violent war. In the center of the clearing, a boy stands beside a towering stone figure, his small arms wrapped tightly around it, clinging to its…