Entry 63: Return to Talebra Velora

by Hayley Thomas

Dear Diary,

We pushed onward at the break of dawn, the sky barely tinged with light. The road stretched before us, long and heavy with silence. Each of us was trapped in our own thoughts, but my eyes kept flicking back to Liliana and Alistan. They wore their grief like armor—visible in every set jaw and distant stare.

This battle had scarred them more deeply than any wound. The Black Knight hadn’t just been an enemy to them; he had been blood. A lost brother returned in the worst way imaginable. And for Alistan, the blow cut even deeper. Behind us, the cart creaked with every turn of the wheel, carrying Galiene’s frail, cursed form—and with her, the shreds of Alistan’s hope. Only yesterday, he had all but glowed with excitement, dreaming of a future as Galiene’s chosen companion. Now, that dream lay broken at his feet.

It’s a cruel thing, how quickly life can unravel.

By the time we reached Talebra Velora’s gates, the morning sun was high enough to paint the city’s great walls in gold. The same guards as before spotted us and rushed forward, spears in hand but faces wary. They informed us that a messenger had already been sent to summon Lady Surina, having spied us approaching from afar. True to their word, we hadn’t even time to dismount before she arrived, gliding toward us like a storm barely contained.

Concern shadowed her normally serene, draconic features. She wasted no breath on pleasantries. “What has happened?” she demanded, her voice sharp with urgency.

I didn’t sugarcoat it. No riddles. No excuses.

“The Black Knight is dead,” I said, letting the words hang heavy between us. “But Galiene has been cursed.”

A flicker of shock crossed Lady Surina’s face. I hurried on, knowing how it must look—dragging a wounded dragon, uninvited, into the Fenhunter’s domain. It was reckless. Desperate. But necessary. I explained that we had come hoping Lady Morenthene might have the power to help—or, if not, that she could at least speed our path to Keralon. Time was our enemy now, and we could not afford the luxury of pride or protocol.

Lady Surina listened in grim silence, and I could see the wheels turning behind her golden eyes. The stakes had shifted, and with them, our future.

Lady Surina wasted no time. She ordered us back to the tavern where we had stayed before, instructing us to wait there for word while she spoke directly with her mistress. A single guard peeled off from the gates to accompany us—not with the rigid suspicion of a jailer, but with the casual, watchful ease of someone sent to protect more than police. When he settled into position outside the tavern’s door, leaning on his spear like a man posted to keep secrets rather than prisoners, the message was clear: privacy, not imprisonment.

The wait dragged on, thick with the kind of restless silence that even a roaring fire couldn’t chase away. Nearly an hour passed before the tavern’s doors swung wide and Lady Surina swept inside. This time, she wasn’t alone. Royal guards flanked her, their armor polished to a gleam, their cloaks heavy with the weight of authority.

Without preamble, Lady Surina delivered the verdict. Lady Morenthene would help—but only on her own terms. Galiene would be taken to the Fenhunter’s lair immediately, but we would not be allowed to follow.

Even before the full meaning of her words sank in, Alistan surged forward, protest burning in his eyes. I moved quicker, laying a firm hand on his arm before he could speak. The tension thrummed through him like a bowstring ready to snap.

“We came here for her help,” I said, low and steady. “We’d be fools to throw it away now.”

For a heartbeat, he resisted—but then he exhaled, sagging slightly under the weight of reality. I turned to Lady Surina and suggested a compromise: we would accompany Galiene as far as the lair’s entrance, and wait there. Lady Surina inclined her head in silent approval.

So Alistan and I walked beside Galiene’s unmoving form, our steps echoing in the stone streets as the guards led the way. When we reached the threshold of the lair, a tavern across the road offered a vantage point—and little else. We took a table by the window, our eyes never straying far from the entrance.

Alistan fidgeted relentlessly, his foot tapping, his fingers drumming on the worn wood of the table. Grief and helplessness wore at him like a tide. I, meanwhile, surrendered to the slow passage of time the only way I knew how: ordering food and letting the familiar rituals of eating anchor me against the rising tide of worry.

Hours crawled by. Midnight loomed.
Still, we waited.

It wasn’t until just before midnight that one of the royal guards finally emerged from the lair, his gaze sweeping the street like a hawk searching for prey. Alistan spotted him first. Without a word, he bolted from his seat, nearly knocking over his chair in his hurry.

The guard caught sight of him, nodded gravely, and spoke in a low voice heavy with meaning. “The ritual is complete. Lady Morenthene requests your presence.”

We wasted no time. A quick message was sent to the others, and together we descended once more into the hollow heart of the Fenhunter’s domain—the vast, dreamlike cavern beneath the impossible tree, a world unto itself.

Galiene lay still upon a stone slab before Lady Morenthene’s towering, majestic form. At a glance, it was as if nothing had changed. Her skin was still ghostly pale, her breathing shallow and ragged. But there was a tension in the air, a quiet crackle of unease that even the warm glow of the cavern could not dispel.

Lady Morenthene’s massive frame was coiled tighter than before, the fine membranes of her wings quivering ever so slightly, her tail flicking in restrained frustration. To anyone who could read the language of dragons, her disappointment was deafening. Whatever she had attempted—it had failed.

Once we had gathered close enough to hear, Lady Morenthene lowered her head and spoke, her voice low and rough with something rare for a dragon of her stature: regret.

She apologized, admitting she had been unable to break the curse. It was unlike anything she had seen—a twisted fusion of necromantic and demonic magic, dark forces wound together in a way even her ancient power couldn’t unravel.

But there was a silver lining, slim as it was. She explained that the curse had never been designed for a dragon’s soul. Galiene’s natural defenses, bolstered by the potion I had poured between her lips, had bought her precious time. It was the only reason she still breathed.

Still, the curse was relentless. Without a stronger solution, it would claim her within a year.

Lady Morenthene’s voice softened as she confessed that she had thrown every ounce of her strength at the affliction—and it hadn’t been enough. A bitter thing to hear, but I could only nod. I understood too well the sting of watching your power fall short when it mattered most.

Refusing to let despair root itself in our hearts, I asked the next question already burning on my tongue: Could she at least send us closer to Keralon, to save what little time we had left?

Lady Morenthene considered, her luminous eyes narrowing thoughtfully. Then she dipped her great horned head. She would not place us inside the city itself—it would cause too many ripples among powers we couldn’t afford to anger—but she could open a gate two days’ journey from its walls.

Relief crashed over us like a breaking wave.

Given the late hour, she advised us to rest and gather our strength for what lay ahead. With a sweeping motion of her massive paw she dismissed us..

Tomorrow, we would walk through that gate—and toward whatever fate waited for us on the other side.

Continue reading...

Entry one: The trials

Entry two: The bramble

Entry 3: Rosebloom

Entry 4: Hearts and Dreams

Entry 5: of ghosts and wolves

Entry 6: Hillfield and Deals with Fae

Entry 7: mysteries and pastries

Entry 8: The scarecrow ruse
6th of Lug, 121 Year of the Tree

Entry 9: A betrayal of satyrs
7th of Lug, 121 year of the Tree

Entry 10: The fate of twins
8th of Lug, 121 year of the Tree

Entry 11: Cursed twins
10th of Lug, 121 year of the Tree

Entry 12: Loss and despair
11th of Lug, 121 year of the Tree

Hayley's rules to being a Witch

Entry 13: the price of safety
12th of Lug, 121 year of the Tree

Entry 14: A golden cage and fiery tower
13th of Lug, 121 year of the Tree

Entry 15: A trial by fire
14th of Lug, 121 year of the Tree

Entry 16: Keralon
15th of Lug, 121 year of the Tree

Letter to Luke 1

Letter to Luke 2

Letter to Luke 3

Letter to Luke 4

Letter to Luke 5

Letter to Luke 6

Entry 17: I shall wear midnight
1st of Nuan, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 18: peace in our time
2nd of Nuan, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 19: Caern Fussil falls
3rd of Nuan, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 20: I see fire
4th of Nuan, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 21: Cultists twarted
10th of Nuan, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 22: Ravensfield
14th of Nuan, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 23: The Hollow Hill Horror
15th of Nuan, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 24: Burn your village
16th of Nuan, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 25: Ravensfield burns
17th of Nuan, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 26: There will be blood!
21st of Nuan, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 27: A happy reunion
22nd of Nuan, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 28: The embassy ball
23rd of Nuan, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 29: The fate of Robert Talespinner
24th of Nuan, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 30: A royal summons
28th of Nuan, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 31: of Dogville and Geese
29th of Nuan, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 32: A boggle named Pim
30th of Nuan, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 33: A deal broken
1st of Aran, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 34: The cost of doing what is right
2nd of Aran, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 35: A dish best served cold
9th of Aran, 126 Era of the Tree

entry 36: Cornu returns?
10th of Aran, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 37: A letter from Amarra
11th of Aran, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 38: The case of the (not) missing villagers
14th of Aran, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 39: A curse broken
15th of Aran, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 40: Into the Lorewood
18th of Aran, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 41: Cabin in the Woods
19th of Aran, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 42: Myrdin and Anaya
20th of Aran, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 43: Into the Immerglade
21st of Aran, 127 Era of the Tree

Entry 44: A tale as old as time
22nd of Aran, 127 Era of the Tree

Entry 45: The truth
23rd of Aran, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 46: Luke's Ordeal
24th of Aran, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 47: The festival
26th of Aran, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 48: Trouble at the Cathedral
2nd of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 49: Quinn's court
4th of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 50: onwards to Latebra Velora
5th of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 51: Where is my cow?
6th of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 52: Here be dragons
7th of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 53: Dragon hoard with a side of scarabs
8th of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 54: Leave the basilisks alone
9th of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 55: Return to Ravensfield
10th of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 56: The needs of the many...
11th of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 57: Dreams of Sister Willow
12th of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 58: wetlands be wet
13th of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 59: Baron Perenolde
14th of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 60: Talebra Velora and the lady Morenthene
15th of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 61: Cypria
16th of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 62: Dragon takes Knight
17th of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 63: Return to Talebra Velora
18th of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 64: Your presence is “requested”
19th of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 65: I stand alone
20th of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 66: A day of normalcy
21th of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 67: Into the Neverhold
22nd of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 68: The Warg King

Entry 69: Chased by birds

Entry 63: Return to Talebra Velora

Continue reading...

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