The sky above the Valley of Slumber had turned the color of a fresh bruise.Blue lightning crawled through the clouds. Molten-red veins split the mountainsides, and violent winds tore across the settlement, ripping branches from trees and scattering roof tiles across the muddy ground.The three Grand Masters hovered beyond the valley entrance, their combined mana pressing down on everything beneath them.Children lay trembling in the training yard. Some struggled to breathe. Others clung to their teachers, tears streaming down their faces as the earth shook beneath their feet.Elara stood in front of the youngest disciples, one arm stretched protectively across them. Her silver dagger trembled in her hand, but she refused to retreat.“Stay behind me,” she whispered.Mira tried to stand, only for the crushing pressure to force her back onto one knee.“They're too strong,” Tovin gasped.Across the yard, Lyra's silver eyes narrowed. Her Prophetic Sight flickered as possible futures flash

High above the Valley of Slumber, where jagged rocks crowned the tallest mountain peak, Kaelen stood alone beneath the fading stars. The last remnants of darkness stretched across the eastern sky, reluctant to surrender to the coming dawn. A cold breeze swept over the summit, stirring the grass around his boots and tugging gently at his white linen shirt. Below him, the vast valley lay wrapped in the peaceful silence of early morning. There were no armies marching toward its borders. No magical alarms shattered the stillness and no desperate cries rose from underground prisons, and no noble lord stood waiting to remind the poor that their lives belonged to someone wealthier. There was only silence. Kaelen gazed down at the land that had once been nothing more than a stretch of wilderness. Now, green fields spread between clusters of simple wooden houses. Clear rivers wound through the settlement, reflecting the pale light of the stars. Beyond the houses, the academy stood proudly,