The mountain shook once.Dust drifted from the ceiling in thin grey streams while iron chains hanging from the stone walls rattled softly against one another.Then silence returned.Far beneath the northern cliffs of Valdrake, where sunlight had not touched stone in centuries, dozens of figures immediately dropped to one knee.Nobody spoke. No one dared to even breathe too loudly. At the center of the enormous underground chamber stood a throne carved from black crystal and dragon bone. The bones twisted upward behind it like claws reaching toward the cavern roof.And seated upon it was Drecon, the rogue mage. His eyes remained closed as the tremor faded through the chamber. Pale silver markings pulsed faintly beneath the skin of his neck like veins filled with moonlight instead of blood.Another tremor ran through the floor again, a sign that the power was still very much alive. Slowly, Drecon smiled. “There you are,” he whispered.The voice echoed softly through the chamber. Belo

The market square of Meadow City was loud enough to wake the dead.Voices crashed into one another beneath rows of hanging banners and crooked wooden stalls. Merchants shouted over livestock while carts rolled through dusty streets and children darted between crowds carrying baskets too large for their arms.Kael nearly got trampled three separate times before noon.“This city hates walking men,” he muttered after narrowly avoiding another wagon wheel.Lyra kept moving through the crowd without looking back. “The city hates slow men.”“That cart almost killed me.”Lyra rolled her eyes and ignored him. Ahead of them, Master Liam continued down the center road like the chaos parted for him out of fear alone.The old man carried two enormous sacks of potatoes over one shoulder while another bundle of onions hung from the crooked wooden plank resting across his back. He walked with the posture of someone decades younger, despite his grey hair and weathered face.Kael still could not under

Rain hammered softly against the towering windows of Astra academy, covering the entire place in thick dark clouds. It might as well reflect Ronan’s foul mood that morning Inside the upper halls, Ronan sat alone at the long oak table in his workspace, shoulders stiff beneath dark ceremonial robes as stacks of decrees surrounded him.Not only is he the head of the Astra academy, he was the supreme mage of the realm; the ultimate power in the realm. Ronan signed another parchment without reading half of it, the quill moved sharply across paper.His eyes burned from exhaustion; he had not slept properly in days. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw blood on stone.His father collapsing and Kael standing there like he'd done nothing wrong. The room smelled faintly of old parchment and candle smoke. Only one lantern remained lit now, casting long shadows across the walls lined with ancient books and relics.A knock sounded at the door but Ronan did not look up.“Enter.”The heavy door

The grass still carried droplets of cold dew that soaked through Kael’s boots each time he ran past the training posts. His arms burned. His shoulders burned. Even his fingers ached.The two wooden buckets hanging from the pole across his shoulders sloshed dangerously as he jogged unevenly around the field.That alone felt like victory.A week ago he could barely take three steps without spilling half the water into the dirt. Now he could make almost two full laps before losing balance.Kael gritted his teeth as the buckets swayed again. “Steady… steady…”Water splashed over the rim anyway. From somewhere behind him, Liam’s voice thundered immediately.“I SAW THAT.”Kael nearly tripped. “It was one drop!”Liam tuts his teeth in disappointment. Kael muttered darkly beneath his breath and kept moving.The old man sat beneath the porch roof chewing loudly on dried fruit while sharpening a carving knife against his boot. Beside him rested the dreaded wooden plank he used for “instruction.

Kael's eyes opened slowly as his head throbbed. A dull ache pulsed behind his eyes while warmth from the fireplace flickered weakly against his face. For a moment, he simply stared upward at the wooden ceiling above him, blinking slowly as memory struggled to return.“Roset!” he muttered. Kael shot upright too quickly. He winces as pain explodes through his skull.“Ypure alive? I was starting to worry I would be forced to give you a burial.” Liam’s voice rumbled somewhere nearby.Kael ignored him completely. “Roset..”He remembered her being dragged off by the guards and Lyra knocking him out before he could do anything. “She is gone.”Lyra’s answer came from the far side of the room. Kael turned sharply toward her.She sat near the window sharpening her sword beneath the dim orange glow of lanternlight like nothing had happened. That somehow made him angrier. “What do you mean gone?” he snapped.Lyra did not look up. “I mean the men took her.”Kael shoved himself fully to his f