The Return of Stormfire

They say the sky cracked open the morning he returned.
A low thunder rolled across the hills, though no lightning had yet touched the earth. The mist lay thick upon Malvern Hill, curling over the stones like the breath of ancient spirits. Somewhere between the bracken and the stormclouds, a shape emerged not quite man, not quite myth.

Taranis Stormborne had come home.
He walked as one who had been reforged, each footstep heavy with memory and fire. Ten winters had passed since he’d been cast out as a cursed boy. But now he stood seven feet tall, shoulders broad as yew trunks. his eyes glinting with the steel-grey of a storm’s eye. His breath steamed in the cool dawn, yet he wore no furs. He needed none.
To his right padded Boldolph, the black wolf, massive and scarred, his red eyes burning like coals.
To his left prowled Morrigan, white as frost, her gaze sharp as carved bone.

Above them circled the watchers of the sky two dragons cloaked in storm. Tairneanach, the spirit of thunder, and Pendragon, King of Flame. Their wings stirred the clouds. Their roars were hidden in the rumble overhead.
No trumpet called. No banner flew. But the mountain knew.
So did the tribe.
The watchmen were first to see him — one dropped his spear, the other fled into the trees. Word spread like fire through dry grass:
“The Stormborne has returned.”
By the time Taranis reached the outer ridge, a ring of warriors had formed. Men he once called brothers. Men who remembered the boy and now beheld the storm.
His father was gone. His mother, buried in silence.
But Lore was there the eldest, proud and sorrow-worn.
So was Drax once cruel, now haunted.
And others less forgiving.
They stepped ahead, hands on stone blades, fury in their eyes. The past had not been buried with the bones of the dead.
Taranis did not speak.
He simply knelt. Placed his hand upon the earth.
And the clouds above them began to swirl.

Thank you for reading.
© 2025 Emma Hewitt / StormborneLore. All rights reserved.
Unauthorized copying or reproduction of this content is prohibited.
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If you would like to read more Taranis stories please see: The Prophecies and Tales of Taranis Unfolded
If you would like to read more about Drax : The Chronicles of Drax
If you would like to read more about Rayne: The tales of Rayne
If you would like to read more about Lore: The Keeper of Cairnstones: Myths and Mysteries Revealed

