The River's Lament: A Fatal Miscalculation

Send us a text

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Episode 7.
Realm of the Kings the River'sLament.
The River Amunet was more thanjust a body of water.
It was a conduit of magic, alifeblood that pulsed through
the heart of Aetherian, bindingthe upper and lower realms in
ways that even the most ancientscholars struggled to understand

(00:24):
.
But now, as Felipe knelt at itsbanks, the river was nothing
but a dying reflection of whatit had once been.
The once crystal-clear waterswere now clouded with darkness,
a sickly black taint coilingthrough its depths.
The corruption spread like inkin water, twisting the river's

(00:46):
essence into something unnatural.
And it was spreading.
Felipe clenched his jaw staringat his own faint reflection in
the darkened waters.
We have to fix this, hemuttered.
This isn't just a river, hemuttered.

(01:09):
This isn't just a river, it'sthe balance of the land.
If it dies, the region dieswith it.
Zuli stood behind him, armscrossed, his wariness clear.
And what do you propose?
We do?
Felipe's grip tightened aroundthe prism fragment in his hand.
We cleanse it?
Elira and Zarion exchanged aglance, both feeling the danger

(01:30):
in those words.
Sirenia, the stormcaller,stepped forward her voice.
Even the prism is unstable.
Its light is already fractured.
If you use it here, there's notelling what will happen.
Felipe exhaled sharply, thefrustration clear in his golden
eyes.

(01:50):
So we just leave it, let it rot, let the corruption take
everything.
Ronan, leaning casually againsta fallen tree, let out a
humorless chuckle.
We've had bad ideas before, butthis one's making the top of
the list.
But Felipe wasn't listening.
His mind was set.

(02:11):
He was Archelonian.
The river had once flowedthrough his ancestors' lands.
Its magic was a part of hisvery bloodline, and now it was
dying bloodline.
And now it was dying Because ofthem, because of this war,
because of the firstborn'swhispers tainting the balance of

(02:31):
the world.
If he had a chance to restoreit, how could he not try?
He turned to Zuli.
This was once a river ofhealing, was it not?
If the prism was forged withthe same magic that bound
Aetherian, then it should beable to cleanse it.
Zuli's stare hardened.
We don't know that.
Felipe raised the fragment,feeling its light pulse in

(02:55):
response to his touch.
Then let's find out.
The champion stood back watchingas Felipe positioned himself at
the edge of the river, theprism fragment held firmly in
his grasp.
The wind stilled, the corruptedwaters twisted violently,
reacting to the energy that nowhummed in the air.

(03:17):
Zaryon whispered a warningFelipe, but it was too late,
warning Felipe.
But it was too late.
The moment Felipe channeled theprism's fractured light.
The reaction was instant.
The river screamed.
A deafening shockwave of magicerupted from the waters, sending
Felipe hurtling backward as thelight clashed violently with

(03:40):
the corruption.
The champion shielded their eyesas the river itself convulsed,
its waters, writhing as thoughcaught in an unseen struggle.
And then it shattered.
The river did not heal, itcollapsed.
The water, the magic, thebalance, all of it destabilized

(04:04):
the land beneath them crackedopen fissures of uncontrolled
energy tearing through the earthas if the very foundation of
the region was being unmade.
The once-dying river now becamesomething far worse A wound.
Felipe gasped as Ronan hauledhim back onto solid ground, his

(04:27):
mind reeling from the sheerforce of what had just happened.
He turned his heart, stoppingat the sight before him.
The river Amunet was gone.
The land where it had onceflowed was now a gaping rift,
magic swirling violently in theair, a vortex of chaos and ruin.
Felipe had tried to heal it.

(04:49):
Instead, he had broken itfurther.
He looked up to see Zuli's face,cold and unreadable.
Elira's expression was tightwith anger.
Sirenia's hands trembled anger.
Sirenia's hands trembled,staring at the damage with
unspoken horror.

(05:09):
Zarian's voice was low.
You have no idea what you'vejust done.
Felipe's breath came shallowand uneven.
I Zuli's voice cut through theair like a blade.
You didn't listen a blade.
You didn't listen.
Felipe felt the weight of hisfailure press against his chest.
The rift was now a scar uponthe land, an unraveling of the

(05:35):
very balance they were meant toprotect, and the group was
splintering.
Tension snapped like a drawnbowstring.
Elira turned on Felipe, hersilver eyes flashing with fury.
Do you realize what you've done?
The river's magic was alreadyfragile and you just made it
worse.
Felipe pushed himself to hisfeet, his hands curling into

(05:58):
fists.
I was trying to help.
I was trying to save somethinginstead of watching it die.
Zarian's voice remainedmeasured but heavy.
You acted on impulse, andimpulse has cost us more than we

(06:18):
can afford.
Felipe's anger flared.
Then what, zarian?
We sit back and do nothing.
We let the world decay anddebate whether or not we should
act.
The prism is supposed to be aforce of balance.
I thought it would.
It is broken.
Sirenia's voice rose likethunder, silencing the argument.
In an instant, felipe's breathcaught as Sirenia stepped

(06:41):
forward, her usually composedexpression now burning with
frustration.
The prism is broken.
She repeated her voice, quieterbut no less powerful.
The light it carries is notwhole, it is not pure.
You don't know what it will do.
Felipe looked away, but Zuliwasn't finished.

(07:02):
This isn't just about the river, zuli said, his tone
dangerously calm.
It's about trust.
Felipe turned back his chest,tightening.
Zuli's gaze was hard as steel.
How can we trust you, hecontinued, when you act without
thinking, when you riskeverything because you refuse to

(07:25):
accept that some things cannotbe fixed?
The words hit deeper than anyblade ever could.
Felipe wanted to argue, wantedto tell them they were wrong,
but the rift before them saidotherwise.
The group stood divided, thefractures in their unity now as
deep as the wound Felipe hadleft upon the land.

(07:48):
And somewhere in the shadows,beyond the horizon, something
felt the shift and it waswaiting.
This creates a rift, not justin the land but among the heroes
themselves.
But among the heroes themselves, trust is shaken, loyalties

(08:09):
waver and as the balancecrumbles further, unseen forces
take notice.
The reflection of the moon hungover the ruined river, its
fractured magic still pulsing inunnatural waves.
The rift Felipe had created wasstill raw.
The rift Felipe had created wasstill raw, still bleeding magic
into the land, a beacon thatsomething dark had already taken
notice of.

(08:35):
And then the ambush began.
Zuli was the first to react,his instincts sharper than
thought.
The air shifted, the treeswhispered, and then silence, too
much silence.
He reached for the Luminarch,the golden blade thrumming.
In response, ronan, alreadycrouched low, drew his bow, his

(08:55):
sharp gaze darting between theshifting treetops.
They're here, jarian, murmured.
Felipe, still bitter from theirlast confrontation, clenched
his jaw but drew his weapon.
Elira's celestial magic hummedat her fingertips, crackling
with faint silver energy.
And then they struck.

(09:18):
From the shadows of the trees,warriors clad in tattered black
armor burst forth the remnantsof the obsidian strain.
Their movements were inhumanlyswift, their eyes glowing with
corrupted void magic, and theirweapons warped, twisted things
gleamed in the faint light.

(09:38):
But it was not just theirpresence that sent a chill
through the champions, it waswhat they carried At the center
of their formation.
A warrior unlike the othersstrode forward, his presence
commanding his blade pulsingwith something darker than night
itself, a weapon forged of thevoid.

(09:59):
The air grew colder as thewarrior raised the blade.
It was jagged, unnatural, itssurface seemingly consuming the
very light around it.
Tendrils of dark energy pulsedalong its edges, twisting and
warping like something alive.
The weapon sang, not in steelbut in whispers, an echo of

(10:23):
something locked away.
Zarian's breath hitched theobsidian blade.
He murmured his usually calmvoice, betraying something near
panic.
Ronan stole a glance at him.
That's not a name I want tohear right now.
Zarian tightened his grip onhis rune blade.
That weapon isn't just anartifact, it's a key.

(10:48):
Elira's magic flared brighter,her pulse quickening.
A key to what Zarian didn'tanswer immediately.
He was staring at the weapon,at the way the darkness coiled
around it, like a living thing,yearning to be unchained.
When he spoke, his words weremeasured, deliberate.

(11:10):
The forbidden door, felipe,still shaken from his failed
attempt to heal the river,stiffened.
Zuli's stomach dropped, lee'sstomach dropped.
The Firstborn's prison, hewhispered.
Zarian nodded If they unlock it, no-transcript.

(11:36):
And that was all they needed tohear.
The Void Warrior struck first.
His obsidian blade cleavedthrough the air, sending a wave
of corrupted energy streakingtoward them.
Zuli barely managed to raisethe Luminarch, deflecting the
attack with a clash of radiantgold against consuming darkness.

(11:57):
The impact sent shockwavesthrough the clearing, uprooting
trees and scattering debris.
Ronan let loose a volley ofenchanted arrows, but the void
warriors moved unnaturally fast,dodging and weaving between the
deadly projectiles.
Felipe charged into the frayhis flaming sword, clashing

(12:19):
against the twisted weapons ofthe strain.
Sparks exploded upon impact and, despite his earlier doubts,
his strikes were relentless.
Elira unleashed a burst ofcelestial energy, striking down
three warriors at once, but thecorruption within them fought
back, tendrils of dark magicreaching toward her like

(12:43):
grasping hands.
Zarian engaged the leader.
The battle was chaos.
Blades of light and shadowclashed, sending ripples of
magic tearing through the earth.
The very ground trembledbeneath the intensity of their
struggle and through it all, theobsidian blade pulsed, its

(13:05):
whispers growing louder.
The Firstborn was watching.
Zooli pushed forward theLuminarch's radiant glow,
fighting against the consumingdarkness of the voidid Warrior's
strikes.
The obsidian blade wasrelentless, but Zuli was
unyielding.
And then he saw it A flaw, abrief opening in the warrior's

(13:30):
form, where the corruption hadbegun to consume itself.
Zuli didn't hesitate, he drovehis blade forward, piercing the
void warrior's chest.
A howl of agony erupted fromthe creature, its body
fracturing, dark magic eruptingoutward like a broken seal.
The champions barely had timeto retreat as the darkness

(14:00):
exploded, consuming the warriorbefore collapsing in on itself.
The other obsidian-strainwarriors hesitated and then they
fled.
The champions stood amidst theruins, their breath heavy, their
bodies bruised but stillstanding.
But the blade remained lyingupon the broken earth, its
whisper still echoing throughthe air.

(14:22):
Zarian approached the obsidianblade.
His expression, grim Sirenia,wiped blood from her lips.
We destroy it?
Zarian's gaze darkened.
We can't.
Felipe tensed, why not?
Zarian exhaled, lifting theblade carefully, despite its

(14:44):
corruption.
He did not recoil Because hesaid slowly, it's already a part
of the firstborn.
Elira's heart sank, zuli's griptightened and Ronan, always the
skeptic, rubbed a hand over hisface.
Great, he muttered.

(15:05):
So what do we do with it?
Zarian turned the obsidianblade over in his hands, the
blackened steel pulsing faintly.
He met Zuli's gaze.
We take it with us.
Zuli's jaw clenched.
And if it corrupts us, zaryon'sexpression was unreadable, then

(15:27):
it will be our undoing.
Silence fell over the group andas the wind howled through the
ruined battlefield, the whispersof the Firstborn did not fade,
they only grew louder.
Though the champions defeatedthe Void Warrior, the blade
could not be destroyed.
Now they must carry the veryweapon that could doom them all.

(15:51):
The Firstborn is watching andthe whispers are getting
stronger.
The winds above the ShardridForest howling, carrying the
distant sound of warhorns fromthe celestial fleet, golden
airships, their hulls gleamingwith divine energy, hovered like
storm clouds on the horizon,their banners unfurled.

(16:15):
The fleet was massive, rowsupon rows of celestial warships
suspended in the sky, theirforms bristling with enchanted
cannons.
This was not a warning, thiswas a siege, and Erendor would
not be denied From the grandestairship the Starborn Vow.

(16:38):
King Erendor stood upon thecommand deck, his golden cloak
billowing in the high-altitudewinds.
He had given his decree and nowit would be executed.
Zuli and the champions haddefied Celestia.
They had chosen heresy overorder, stolen the prism and

(17:00):
allowed the prophecy to unfold.
He would end it.
Beside him, high CommanderKaelor, his most ruthless
general, watched the forestbelow with cold calculation.
They are running out of groundto flee, kaelor, murmured.
Ground to flee.

(17:22):
Kaelor murmured your orders.
My king Erendor's gaze did notwaver.
Burn the forest if you must,but bring me the prism.
Deep within the heart of theShardred Forest, in the Emerald
Sanctuary, queen Solara stoodbeneath the branches of the
Everbloom, her handsoutstretched over an ancient
altar.
The forest had seen many wars,but never this.

(17:46):
The Celestians had broughttheir divine fleets, their
cannons, their magic, but theyhad made one fatal mistake they
had challenged the will of theforest.
Silara's emerald eyes burned asshe chanted in the old tongue,
her voice weaving into the veryroots of the land, from the

(18:08):
trees, the rivers, the skyitself.
The magic of the first realmawakened.
The forest groaned alive andangry, and the blockade was
about to become a graveyard.
The champions prepare.
Beneath the canopy, thechampions gathered.

(18:29):
Zuli stood at the edge of amoss-covered ruin, his hands
clenched into fists.
The prism pulsed faintly at hiship.
They're coming, ronan, muttered, his bow resting across his
back.
They're already here.
Elira corrected her silver eyesflicking toward the sky Above

(18:50):
them.
The celestial fleet had begunits descent, the first wave of
skybound knights alreadydeploying their radiant form,
streaking toward the trees below.
Zuli exhaled we hold the line.
Felipe, unsheathed his sword,its flame-touched blade casting

(19:11):
a dim glow against his armor.
Sirenia, the stormcaller,lifted her hands, the wind
curling around her fingertipslike a living thing.
Zarian, ever silent, grippedthe obsidian blade, the very
weapon that could doom them all.
And then the sky erupted infire.

(19:33):
The first explosion tore throughthe canopy, setting ancient
trees ablaze.
Celestial ballistae launchedgolden spears, each one
crackling with divine energy,splintering the earth with every
impact.
But then the forest fought backthe roots beneath.

(19:54):
The airships surged upward,wrapping around the hulls,
dragging them toward the ground.
The trees shifted theirbranches, turning into whipping
tendrils of living wood slashingthrough the skybound nights
before they could reach theground.
The air itself shook, filledwith the echo of Silara's magic

(20:20):
you will not desecrate this land.
And then the storm came.
Sirenia unleashed a tempest oflightning striking the
descending knights.
Mid-air, ronan loosed arrowafter arrow, each one finding
weak points in the Celestians'divine armor.
Felipe met the first wave ofground troops, his flaming sword

(20:43):
carving through their rankslike a scythe through wheat.
And Zuli.
Zuli did what he had alwaysdone he fought.
The Luminarch burned withgolden fire, meeting the
skybound blades in a clash ofdivine fury.
For every warrior that fell,another took their place.

(21:05):
The battle was unrelenting.
And then a voice cut through thechaos.
A column of light split thebattlefield as King Erendor
himself descended from theheavens, clad in golden armor,
his sword radiated celestialwrath, his expression

(21:26):
unforgiving.
He did not speak.
He did not falter.
Giving he did not speak, he didnot falter.
He moved and the forest burned.
With a single sweep of his hand, an entire section of the
battlefield was cleansed indivine fire.
Elira barely erected a shieldin time.
The sheer force of Erendor'spresence, nearly breaking her

(21:49):
magic.
Apart of Erendor's presence,nearly breaking her magic apart,
felipe was thrown back,crashing against the roots of an
ancient tree.
Ronan cursed that's bad.
Zarian's gaze darkened the kingis playing his final move.

(22:10):
Zuli wiped blood from his mouthand met Erendor's gaze.
No, he murmured, he's justbegun.
Queen Solara quickly retaliates, unleashing the raw power of
the First Realm, turning thevery forest into a weapon.
But as the battle reaches itspeak, erendor himself joins the
fray and the champions must nowface a king wielding divine fire

(22:33):
.
The war for Aetherion has begun.
Would you like any refinementsbefore the next chapter?
Chapter the Queen's Decree.
The battle for the ShardredForest raged on, but in its
heart, where the ever-bloomedtree stood untouched, queen
Salara had already decided hernext move.

(22:56):
She stood upon the great woodthrone, her emerald cloak
cascading down like living vines, her presence as much a part of
the forest as the roots beneathher feet.
The champions knelt before her,weary but unbroken, the echoes
of their battle still ringing intheir ears.

(23:18):
Zuli studied her expression,searching for the weight of the
war she now bore alone.
But Silara did not waver.
Instead, she spoke, her voiceresonating through the chamber,
commanding the very air.
The time for half-measures hasended.

(23:39):
Elira, still wounded from herbattle with Erendor's forces,
exchanged a glance with Zuli.
The war has already begun, shesaid, her silver eyes narrowing.
Erendor will not stop until theprism is his.
Silara met her gaze unshaken.
He believes the prism is thekey to Aetherian's survival.

(24:04):
Felipe exhaled sharply.
He's wrong.
Sarian, still gripping theobsidian blade, spoke at last,
not entirely.
All eyes turned to him.
The prism is only a fragment ofwhat was sealed, he murmured.
The prophecy speaks not just ofits power, but of something far

(24:25):
greater the three gates, theseven seals, the firstborn's
true prison.
He lifted the blade slightly,its dark whispers still clinging
to the air.
The forest king knows the truth, he said, and if we are to stop

(24:49):
what's coming, we must seek himout.
Silara's emerald eyes hardened,I intend to.
A ripple of magic pulsedthrough the chamber.
The Everbloom's branchesshifted, revealing an ancient
pathway veiled in light.
The champions watched in awe,zuli's breath hitched.
The path of thorns, the queen'splan.
The path of thorns, the queen'splan.

(25:15):
Silara stepped forward, herpresence commanding the space
around her.
The forest king does not bow tomortal whims, she said.
He does not interfere in ourwars, nor does he heed the cries
of kingdoms.
She turned her gaze toward thesacred path, its twisting vines

(25:37):
parting to reveal a trail lostto time.
But he will answer me.
Elira frowned.
And if he refuses, salara'sexpression did not change Then
he will understand the cost ofhis silence.
Ronan let out a low whistle.
I don't suppose there's a wayto just send him a letter.
Celara's gaze sharpened.
No, felipe took a step forward.

(25:59):
Then we go together.
No, the weight of her wordsfroze them in place.
Celara turned back toward thechampions.
Her expression unyielding youwill not come with me.
She said.
Your path lies elsewhere.
Zuli narrowed his eyes.
Where the queen of the Shardredforest lifted her hand, the air

(26:26):
shifted and in an instant avision bloomed before them, a
map formed of vines and glowingley lines.
At its center, pulsing like adying star, was the forbidden
door.
The seals are weakening.
Salara said the second gate hasalready begun to unravel.

(26:48):
She turned her gaze to Zuli.
You and your companions mustprepare for what lies ahead.
She gestured to the prism athis side.
Your burden is no longer justthe prism.
Her voice grew softer but noless commanding.
It is the fate of Aetherionitself.

(27:08):
Is the fate of Aetherion itself.
Zuli inhaled slowly.
He had known this moment wouldcome, the moment when the
prophecy could no longer bedenied, when the choices of
kings and queens would no longermatter, only the path ahead,
only the truth.
Locked behind the forbiddendoor.
He turned to his companions.

(27:30):
Elira, despite her wounds,stood ready, her celestial magic
still humming beneath her skin.
Felipe's grip tightened aroundhis blade, his earlier doubt
replaced with fiercedetermination.
Zarian, silent but watchful,still held the obsidian blade, a

(27:52):
weapon that could either savethem or damn them.
Sirenia rested her handsagainst her twin daggers, the
storm in her veins waiting to beunleashed.
And Ronan, ever the cynic,simply sighed.
I suppose this means we'regoing on another death march.
Zuli gave him a small tiredsmirk.

(28:16):
Yes, they all turned back toSalara.
The queen of the forest liftedher hands and the air shimmered,
the vision of the forbiddendoor solidifying before them.
The path is treacherous, shewarned, and you will not walk it
alone.
The champions exchanged uneasyglances.

(28:36):
Felipe frowned.
Who else will be there?
Silara's lips curled into afaint smile the ones who seek to
open it?
The silence that followed washeavy.
The champions knew what thatmeant the obsidian strain, the

(28:56):
skybound knights and worse,those who already served the
Firstborn.
The battle for Aetherion hadnot begun, it was already upon
them.
Sallara will confront theforest king seeking the final
truth about the prophecy.
Meanwhile, zuli and hiscompanions will prepare for the

(29:18):
final confrontation at theforbidden door, where all who
seek the firstborn's return willbe waiting.
The war for Aetherian's futureis reaching its climax, and the
champions will not emergeunscathed.
Don't miss the next thrillinginstallment.
Tune in bi-weekly as the epicunfolds.

(29:41):
The choices made now willdecide the future of Aetherian,
and the storm is only growingstronger.