Ronan and the secrets hidden beneath the stones heart.

Chapter 1

The Sundial

The icy wind whipped through the streets of Salus, a city built upon steep cliffs that embraced the Sea of Shards. There lived Ronan, a young man with amber eyes and a crescent-shaped scar on his left cheek – a reminder of an encounter with a creature of the shadows that no one else could see. Ronan possessed a peculiar gift: he could hear the whispers of the stones, the stories told by the ancient walls of Salus.

One night, while exploring the ruins of the ancient Celestial Observatory, Ronan heard a different, more urgent whisper coming from a fragment of an ancient “Solarium”—a stone sundial, broken in two.

“The Black Moon approaches,” whispered the stone, its voice echoing in his mind. “The Heart of Lys needs to be protected.”

Confused, Ronan examined the fragment of the sundial. An intricate symbol, resembling a serpent entwined with a star, was engraved on the stone. The whisper from the stone, once faint, now echoed louder in his mind.

“The Heart of Lys… lies in the Sunken City,” whispered the stone. “But the waters conceal dangerous secrets. To find it, you will need the Blade of Nali and the Map of the Lost Stars.”

“The Heart of Lys? What is that?” he murmured to himself.

Ronan frowned. “The Blade of Nali? The Map of the Lost Stars? Where do I find these things?”

The stone replied, its voice echoing like the churning sea: “The Blade rests on the altar of the Moon Goddess, atop the Sacred Mountain. The Map… is hidden in the ruins of the Temple of the Sun, guarded by an ancient riddle. Solve it, and the path will reveal itself.”

At that moment, a figure emerged from the shadows – Elara, a young woman with hair as black as night and eyes like a stormy sea. She carried a crystal dagger, its blade gleaming faintly.

“Who are you?” Ronan asked, surprised by Ela

ra’s presence.

“I am Elara, sorry for the way I appeared to you, Ronan,” she said, looking at the sundial.

“How do you know my name?... Where do I know you from?” Ronan asked, not understanding anything that had just happened.

“In due time you will know why I know you, and not that you had never seen me before, but I had seen you, but this is not the time for that, tell me, did you hear?” Elara asked, her voice low and hoarse. “The whispers of the stone?”

Ronan didn't answer, he just stared at her, unresponsive, apprehensive about whether he could trust her, considering what the stones had told him.

Ronan looked at Elara, who was observing the scene with a serious expression. The stone continued, its voice now more urgent: “Trust Elara. She is the key to your survival. She will guide you, but remember… trust, like water, can be treacherous.”

Ronan, still hesitant, asked the stone: “How can I be sure I can trust it? It appeared out of nowhere.”

The stone replied in a soft voice, almost a whisper: “Destiny has united you, Ronan. The Black Moon is approaching. There is no time for doubt. Your journey begins now.”

“Alright, I’ll tell you what I heard,” said Ronan, approaching Elara to talk about what he had discovered.

“Yes, the stones spoke…” Ronan replied with suspicion but at the same time believing what the stones had told him. “They spoke about the Black Moon and the Heart of Lys.”

“The Black Moon is an eclipse that happens every hundred years,” explained Elara. “During this eclipse, the barriers between our world and the Shadow Realm weaken. The Heart of Lys is a magical artifact that protects Salus from this invasion.”

"And where is this Heart?" Ronan asked, adrenaline pumping through his veins.

“He’s hidden somewhere within the Submerged City,” Elara replied, pointing to the churning sea. “An ancient city, swallowed by the sea centuries ago.”

“Submerged City? That’s… impossible,” Ronan said, incredulous.

“Nothing is impossible when the Black Moon approaches,” Elara retorted.

“And the Submerged City… so how do I get there?” Ronan asked the rocks, feeling a mixture of fear and excitement.

“The entrance is hidden behind the Mermaid Waterfall,” the rock whispered. “But be careful, Ronan. The waters hold more than secrets. They hold monsters.”

“We need to find it before the Shadowwalkers,” Elara said, looking at the sky.

“Shadowwalkers?” Ronan asked, feeling a shiver run down his spine.

“Creatures of the shadows, servants of the Black Moon,” Elara explained. “They want the Heart of Lys to open a portal and flood our world.”

Despite his doubts, Ronan felt a strange force propelling him forward.

“We need to hurry.” Ronan touched the sundial. He looked at the serpent and star symbol engraved on the stone, a symbol that now seemed to carry a deep and mysterious meaning. He nodded to Elara. “Let’s go.”