Aeloria

Rena is in her early twenties, living in the quiet confines of a small Appalachian town where the mountains press close and life feels predictable. She spends her days in school and her weekends working, the routine leaving her restless. She wants more than the narrow path laid out for her. She wants freedom, adventure, and the chance to make her own choices. She dreams of leaving Marshall, North Carolina, even if only for a little while, but her overprotective mother keeps her tightly controlled, watching her every move and questioning every decision.

For most of her life, Rena believed her world was small and limited, safe and manageable. That belief shatters after a terrifying accident in the nearby forests. The mountains, which once felt familiar, suddenly feel alive with danger and possibility. She realizes that her small town is only a surface, a small part of a much larger reality. Beyond the woods lies a world she could never have imagined, a place full of strange and hidden truths waiting to be discovered.

It is in the aftermath of that accident that she meets him. He appears without warning, a man who seems out of place in the quiet town and even more so in the depths of the forest. His presence is unsettling, but there is something magnetic about him, a quiet strength that makes her both wary and curious. He watches her carefully, as if measuring her, studying her in a way no one in Marshall ever has. His eyes hold knowledge she cannot place, and his calm, deliberate movements suggest he belongs somewhere entirely different. Rena cannot decide if she should trust him, but she knows she cannot ignore him. In a world that has suddenly grown larger and more dangerous, he is a mystery she feels drawn to, a piece of something far greater than she can yet understand.