Eryx stopped showing up to classes altogether. The training grounds had given him real progress, making the daily lectures on basic conduit flow feel like a complete waste of time.Down in the main courtyards, his sudden absence didn't go unnoticed. The high-ranking elder council spent their mornings huddled together in hushed whispers, throwing sharp, suspicious looks toward the lower dorms. Under their backing, the top noble recruits had formed an exclusive student committee, effectively marking Eryx as an outcast.They couldn't wrap their heads around him. He didn't ask for guidance, he didn't fight for resources, and he certainly wasn't crawling on his knees begging the instructors for extra pointers like the other low-tier stragglers. By all rights, a cripple with broken conduits should have been weeded out weeks ago. Yet there he was, moving around with an unnerving, steady calmness that irritated them to their cores.Back in the room, his dorm mates weren't any better."Look at

The shockwave hit him like a wall and threw Eryx straight out of the tunnel mouth. He hit the muddy bank hard and rolled. Once. Twice. Three times through wet grass and cold dirt before he finally slammed onto his back and stayed there. His lungs were burning. His ears were ringing.Behind him, the entrance to the tunnel caved in with a heavy, dull thud. Tons of rock and bedrock came crashing down and sealed the burning nest forever.For a long time Eryx just lay there. The sky above was gray and heavy with clouds. He could feel his chest rising and falling too fast, like he had been running for hours. His shirt was ripped to pieces. His skin was covered in soot, mud, and that sticky yellow fluid from the nest.He closed his eyes and pulled his focus inward. He needed to check his conduits. He needed to feel if the egg Drogo swallowed had done anything. He traced the lines around his heart, down his sternum, through his arms. He waited for that big surge. That sudden jump in power