Chapter 17 – Wounds and Warnings
Kael hadn't planned on returning to the dorms. The night air tasted clearer out here, and the pressure of the duels had finally begun to ease from his shoulders. He lingered near the training cliffs as the tide crashed below, thinking of nothing and everything at once.
Then came the voice.
"Kael Caelum."
It wasn't shouted. It didn't echo.
But it cut through the wind as if spoken beside his ear.
Kael turned. No one was there.
But then the wind curved—bent—and a shimmering crest of light appeared in the air. A sigil of swirling silver, lined with threads of blue lightning.
A teleportation seal.
He felt the pull before he had the chance to resist.
A blink.
Then silence.
The air smelled of cold glass and polished steel.
Kael now stood inside the High Chamber, a circular room with floating lanterns and layered windows overlooking every corner of the academy. Maps and crystalline arrays glowed softly on a raised pedestal in the center.
He recognized it from whispers.
The Observatory Dome. Restricted. Reserved for those at the highest rank of faculty. Or Tower agents.
Kael's pulse quickened.
Then a figure stepped from the shadowed stairwell.
Principal Mavren Duskfall.
His long coat shimmered faintly with lightning thread as he descended the steps, gaze fixed on Kael with unsettling calm.
"You don't summon students like this unless you're planning to break them," Kael said coolly, hiding the unease bubbling inside.
Mavren didn't smile. "You're not just any student."
"Where's Joran?"
"He wasn't summoned."
That made Kael bristle. "Then I'd like to leave."
"You won't," Mavren said simply, stepping closer. "Because your father would have wanted you to stay."
Kael froze.
No one had spoken of his father in years.
No one should have known who he was.
"I never knew my father," Kael replied, voice low. "He died when I was young."
"True," Mavren said. "But his name was Caelus Caelum. And he died protecting a secret that could burn this continent to the ground. Yours."
Kael stepped back.
"How do you know that name?"
"Because I was one of the agents who tracked his movements during the Storm Rebellion," Mavren said. "And I owe him a debt."
Silence.
The light shifted in the room, drawn by an unseen wind.
"Kael," Mavren continued, voice quieter now. "You are not stable. The wind follows you. Fights you. The lightning buried inside you—it claws at your spirit. If you remain as you are, your body will crumble before you even reach Disciple stage."
Kael's mouth went dry.
"How do you know about the lightning?" he whispered.
"I shouldn't," Mavren said. "Even the Tower doesn't. But I've studied cases like yours and I myself I'm a lightning mage. And I've seen what happens when dual affinities—especially unstable ones—go unrecognized."
Kael's hands curled into fists. "So you are from the Tower."
"Used to be," Mavren said. "Now, I play a longer game."
Kael narrowed his eyes. "You're a double agent."
"Yes."
Mavren stepped past him, tracing a finger along the glowing array of the academy's wards. "I report to the Tower when necessary. I keep their eyes on the surface. But below this school is one of the Forbidden Zones. A relic, ancient and broken, hums beneath our feet. And for years, I've kept them from realizing how close it is to awakening."
"You think I'm tied to it?"
"I think you're one of the few who might be able to survive what it carries."
Kael stared. "You want to use me."
"I want to shield you," Mavren said firmly. "Until you're strong enough to choose for yourself."
Kael's shoulders slumped slightly. There was too much to process—too much to believe. But a part of him, buried beneath the fear, wanted it to be true.
He wanted someone on his side.
Still, suspicion lingered.
"What's the price?"
"No price," Mavren said. "Only a promise: when you reach the Disciple stage, your body will stabilize. Your wind will stop tearing at your core. You'll be able to summon it without breaking."
"And the lightning?"
Mavren hesitated. "That will be harder. You'll have to awaken it deliberately. Alone. Avoid using the wind in full or the Tower will find you."
A low hum resonated through the chamber.
Mavren turned and handed him a sealed crystal.
"When the time comes, this will help you hide it—just long enough to learn control. But not forever."
Kael took it.
A silence passed between them.
Then Mavren added, "I will protect you. But I can't fight your battles. And I won't stop the Tower if they come once you're exposed. That's the truth."
Kael met his gaze.
For the first time, the wind didn't rage. It circled gently around him, as if listening.
"I don't trust you," Kael said.
"You shouldn't," Mavren replied. "But trust this—every generation, one awakens the a whirl with too much power. This time… it's you."
System Notification
User: Kael Caelum
Stage: Initiate
Affinities: Wind (Unstabilized), Water (Stabilized), Lightning (Hidden/Locked)
Traits:
– [Hydrothread]
– [Gust Step]
– [Storm Core – Fragmented]
Core Progress: 47%
Lightning Affinity: Latent Surge Detected
Destabilization Threshold Nearing – Suppression.
Back in the empty dorm corridor, Kael stepped quietly into his room.
He placed the crystal down.
Outside, thunder rolled faintly over the cliffs.
And somewhere far below the academy, the sealed relic pulsed once… like a heart remembering how to beat.