Nora stood at the edge of the forest behind her childhood home, now twelve, sun low in the sky. Solas the kitten—no longer a tiny kitten but agile and alert—padded at her feet. The world seemed ordinary enough, yet the threads whispered faintly beneath her skin, tugging at her awareness.
She closed her eyes and reached out, just a flicker of intent, and felt it: the threads responded. Light rippled along the edges of the trees, bending shadows as if listening. Subtle, a whisper rather than a roar, yet enough.
“Focus,” Solas the kitten’s presence murmured in her mind, steady and warm. “They are near. The Unmakers sense you. Shape the threads, or they will shape you.”
Nora’s pulse quickened. She lifted her hand, instinct guiding her. A flicker of light arced across the forest floor, and the shadows that had begun to gather twisted away, uneasy.
She remembered fragments of herself—so many lives, so many selves—folding together:
It was overwhelming, yet exhilarating. For the first time, adolescent Nora could feel all these selves as part of her, not as strangers but as extensions of herself. The threads pulsed in response, vibrant, alive, and obedient.
A shadow flickered at the edge of her vision, a lingering probe from the Unmakers, testing her skill, seeking weakness.
Nora exhaled. Solas the kitten nuzzled her hand, warmth and presence grounding her. She extended her fingers deliberately. Threads of light arced from her hand, forming a lattice across the shadow. It recoiled, twisting and shrinking, caught in the pulse of her awareness.
A thrill of realization coursed through her. I can do this. I can shape it.
The shadows hissed, gathering again—but now, she did not flinch. She was learning, practicing, weaving herself across realities. Each flicker of light, each twist of the threads, became a rehearsal, a training ground for the battles yet to come.
And somewhere in the lattice of her mind, Solas the kitten whispered: “Good. You are ready to learn the ways of the Weave. But the Unmakers will test you… and the weave will demand more than instinct alone. Be prepared.”
Nora smiled faintly, tightening her grip on Solas the kitten. The threads hummed in response, and for the first time, she felt power and control, tempered with the knowledge that the realities were not yet fully hers—but that they could be.