The Last Song

In the kingdom of Eldenvale, music was more than art. It was power. A well-played flute could calm storms. A drumbeat could rattle mountains. And a voice, strong and true, could bend shadows or heal the sick.

Jacob Price was no warrior, no knight, but a wandering bard with a lute strapped across his back. He traveled from tavern to village square, trading songs for supper and tales for coin. His music was gentle, but it carried magic—magic that made weary farmers dance, soothed crying children, and turned quarrels into laughter.

But peace never lasts.

One autumn evening, as Jacob played in the marketplace, a darkness swept through the cobblestones. A sorcerer, cloaked in obsidian robes, strode forward. His name was Malrek, a name whispered in fear. With a curl of his hand, the music died, silenced as though the air itself had been strangled.

“You meddle too much, bard,” Malrek hissed. “Your songs make people hopeful. And hope is poison to me.”

Before Jacob could raise his lute, the sorcerer whispered a curse. Jacob fell to his knees, clutching his throat. His voice—his gift—was gone. No note passed his lips, no hum, no word.

The kingdom mourned, for the bard’s silence felt heavier than war drums. Yet Jacob did not stop wandering. Though voiceless, he carved runes into stone, scratched melodies into parchment, and tapped rhythms into wood. His music lived on through hands and heart, if not through voice.

In his final years, Jacob discovered an ancient cave high in the mountains. Its walls pulsed faintly with magic, as though waiting. There, by torchlight, he carved his masterpiece into the stone: a melody written in runes, a song no curse could silence.

The runes glowed as he worked, filling the cavern with a low hum. He pressed his palm against the final note, and though he could not sing, the cave carried the music for him—rising, swelling, echoing across valleys and villages.

When the song reached the people, something stirred. Farmers set down their plows to listen. Children stopped their games. Knights in their barracks lowered their swords. Together, voices across Eldenvale picked up the melody, weaving it into a chorus so strong it shook the kingdom.

Malrek, hearing the song, tried to smother it with shadow. But the power of many voices, bound by Jacob’s final gift, overwhelmed him. The sorcerer’s curse shattered, his darkness scattered, and the kingdom was free.

Jacob never spoke again. But every tavern, every village square, every child’s lullaby carried his melody—the song that saved them all.

It became known as The Last Song. And though the bard’s voice was gone, his music lived forever.