Chapter 5 - The Gathering Storm
The true storm arrived three nights later, tearing across the northern mountains with unnatural, terrifying speed.
Low, bruised clouds swallowed the stars above the Shenandoah valleys, turning the night sky the color of a fresh bruise. High-altitude gales tore thick branches from the ancient oaks surrounding Moonvale, and torrential rain hammered the slate roofs with the force of thrown gravel.
Elowen sat beside her dying hearth, clutching a woolen blanket around her shoulders, when the first earth-shaking roar rolled across the valley.
The sound was immense—a deep, resonant vibration that made the dust fall in thick flakes from her cottage rafters. She stood up instantly, her heart hammering against her ribs.
Another roar echoed through the valley, louder and closer this time.
The dragon.
Without hesitating, Elowen grabbed her heavy cloak, threw open her wooden door, and ran out into the blinding storm. Water rushed down the old estate road in knee-deep torrents. Lights flickered in windows across the village as startled residents peered through rain-streaked glass.
“Elowen!” someone shouted from an upper-story window. “Where are you going in this madness?”
She did not stop. She couldn't.
As she crested the ridge leading to the silver grove, the landscape lit up in a blinding flash of violet light. It was not lightning. The illumination was coming from within the grove itself, burning brighter than any earthly fire.
Elowen slowed her pace, shielding her eyes against the gale. The entire grove was shaking as if caught in an earthquake.
The dragon stood fully upright for the first time, its massive wings unfurling to span the width of several large trees. But it was not free. Intricate, glowing symbols burned furiously across every inch of its metallic scales, and thick bands of dark, pulsing light wrapped tightly around its neck, wings, legs, and chest.
They looked like heavy chains forged from pure shadow and ancient magic.
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With a deafening crack that sounded like a breaking glacier, one of the shadow chains snapped. Elowen staggered backward, covering her ears as shockwaves rippled through the damp earth. Another chain shattered, spraying sparks of gold and black fire into the stormy air.
The dragon reared its head back, letting out a roar that shattered every glass window in the abandoned hunting lodge at the edge of the estate.
