Kael stood in the center of the arena, the sand still disturbed from his battle with the stormsteel warrior. His muscles ached, but there was no time to rest.
High Warden Selyra stepped forward again, her silver-threaded hair gleaming under the strange twilight of the Skyhold."The Trial of Wisdom awaits," she declared, her voice carrying easily across the terraces.
A section of the arena's far wall shimmered and split open, revealing a vast chamber beyond, filled with spinning mechanisms, floating stones, and walls inscribed with glowing runes.At the center of the chamber floated a colossal stone obelisk, suspended by currents of invisible air.
"This," Selyra said, "is the Puzzle of Winds. Solve it... or be trapped within forever."
Kael swallowed hard. Magic pulsed thick in the air. This wasn't just a test of cleverness it was a test of his spirit, his understanding of the world's deeper currents.
Thalen gave him a reassuring nod. "Trust what you feel," he whispered.
Kael stepped into the chamber.The moment he crossed the threshold, the doorway behind him sealed with a hiss of air.
The winds howled inside the puzzle room, tugging at his cloak and hair. Before him, intricate pathways of floating stones twisted through the air, some flickering in and out of existence. Strange glyphs hovered along the edges, shifting constantly, like a language he almost, but not quite understood.
On the ground at Kael's feet were four sigils:
a falcon, wings spread,
a spiral, like a storm,
a broken chain,
and a crowned tree.
Choose the path, choose your fate, the winds seemed to whisper.
Kael closed his eyes, letting the shard's subtle hum guide him.He remembered the words Thalen once told him: "The winds of Aerlyn obey only the free, not the chained."
The broken chain.
Kael stepped onto the sigil of the broken chain.
Immediately, a stone path solidified before him, forming a rough, swaying bridge of floating rocks.
One wrong step, and he would plummet into the churning clouds below.
Gritting his teeth, Kael moved forward. Each step triggered shifting patterns in the air around him some gusts tried to knock him off, others tried to lift him. He realized the trick wasn't to fight the winds but to move with them.
He danced along the path, sometimes jumping, sometimes letting himself be carried briefly by an upward current.
As he neared the floating obelisk, a massive storm glyph ignited before him, summoning a guardian a being of air and lightning, shaped like a wolf with glowing eyes.
The creature growled, low and rumbling.
Kael raised his hands. His first instinct was to fight, but no, this was a test of wisdom.
"Storms rage because they are unchained," Kael said aloud, his voice steady. "But even fury must find balance."
He knelt, lowering his sword to the ground.
The air-wolf circled him, sniffing.Then, slowly, it dissipated into mist, leaving behind a bridge of solid light leading to the obelisk.
Kael approached and placed his palm against the warm stone.
The winds died instantly.
The chamber faded, replaced by the thunderous applause of the Skyhold's court.
Kael stood once again in the center of the arena, Selyra and Commander Darius waiting.
"Trial of Wisdom passed," Selyra said, a hint of admiration in her voice.
But her gaze turned grim.
"One trial remains. The hardest of all."
Kael squared his shoulders, the shard at his neck thrumming with anticipation.
Honor.
And he knew deep down, it would not be a trial of blade or mind, but of heart.