Bronach sat in his chair in the library, the Book of Life open before him. He'd had no need to attend the execution, for he could watch words appear on the pages, as if penned by an unseen hand, recording everything as it happened. His presence there would have been for naught, since the covenant forbade him from interfering with the due consequences of Garren's actions. He couldn't have stopped it had he wanted to.
But what Azrian didn't know was that Bronach had already been told by the seventh Laionai, who had foreseen it, that Garren would be pardoned.
A draft swept through the room, flipping the pages of the book. Bronach glanced up to see the light from the candle flicker, casting shadows across what might have been the darkest mistake he'd ever made.
And so, with the covenant in place, Irial and Eanna were sent to the created realms; Irial born into the cursed lineage of the Ereubinians, Eanna born into the blameless blood of the Adorians. Unaware of who they really are, or of the weight that rests upon the outcome of their lives, they will come face to face as strangers in the mortal world.
He could hear the sounds of preparations being made to accommodate the crowd that would gather for Michael's address that evening. The elders had decreed the age of guardians had come to an end. They felt secure behind the divide, but Michael was right. This wasn't the end of anything.
"It is just the beginning."