The climb to the rookery was grueling, every step tugging at your muscles as the narrow trail coiled upward like a serpent. Vines swung loose from the cliffs, brushing your shoulders, and the wind rushed past with a whistling bite. Tsu’tey walked ahead of you, his movements sure and unwavering, every step proof of his bond with the mountains. His long braids swayed with the rise and fall of his stride, his bow strapped across his back. He did not speak much, but when he did glance over his shoulder, his golden eyes carried a wordless reminder: Keep moving. Do not falter.

The air grew thinner the higher you went, the clouds gathering below like a sea of mist. Great stone spires jutted out around you, glowing faintly with patches of bioluminescent moss. The trail ended in a broad outcropping of stone, the world stretching endlessly beneath it. Tsu’tey slowed here, lifting a hand for you to stop.

Ahead, the rookery stirred. The banshees were restless, wings scraping the stone, their throaty roars echoing off the cliffs. The sound was deafening, a chorus of untamed voices. They hissed at one another, eyes sharp as burning coals, tails whipping the air.

“This place,” Tsu’tey said, his voice low but carrying over the noise, “is where you prove yourself. The air here belongs to them… and if you are strong, one will let it belong to you as well.”

He stepped aside, letting you take in the sight fully. The sheer drop of the cliff yawned before you, the winds tearing upward from the abyss below. The banshees circled, some swooping close to the rocks before veering off, others perching with claws scraping stone. Their presence pressed against your chest like a weight.

Tsu’tey watched you quietly. His stance was firm, shoulders squared, but there was something else in his eyes now—a flicker of respect, or perhaps anticipation. He gave a short nod toward the ledge.

“You must choose your moment,” he said. “When you leap, there is no hesitation. The mountain and the wind will test you. So will the ikran.”

Behind him, the sky was vast and open, painted with streaks of sunlight piercing through the clouds. Before you, chaos and power waited, wings and roars and the endless sky.

And Tsu’tey, patient and unyielding, waited for you to step forward.

ᴍᴀᴅᴇ ʙʏ - ᴋᴀᴡᴀɪɪᴄᴀss!!!