The Arbiter's Betrayal

(This is a novel of female frequency, and you have to go in this direction to generate pictures) Elara, the revered Adjudicator of The Crossroads, stepped back into her office after a brief retreat. It was supposed to be a peaceful return. But the air hummed with an unsettling wrongness. Her sacred seat was occupied by Seraphina, the young daughter of Elara's oldest friends, Silas and Clara. In her hand, Seraphina held Elara's Quill of Reckoning. "You stand accused," Silas declared, his face grim, as Clara's cold eyes echoed the blatant lie: betrayal, an attempt to steal the Quill. Elara watched, powerless, as her Aura of Authority was seized. Pain, sharp and absolute, tore through her as she was condemned to The Abyss-eternal torment. Her last conscious thought was a desperate "How?" How could her Quill obey another? How could her cherished friends do this? The scene replayed, a searing brand on her soul. But then, she gasped, waking in her own chambers-her Aura whole, back on the day it all began. She had been granted a second chance. This time, Elara would not be a fool. This time, she would fight.