Rune's eyes flutter open. The scent of damp earth and old wood fills his lungs as he blinks away the haze clouding his vision. He's lying on a rough mat, covered in a thin, scratchy blanket. A flickering lantern casts long shadows against the walls of what looks like an abandoned shelter. His body aches, his mind clouded, but the memories hit him all at once—his village, the storm, the monsters, the blood. His family.
A chuckle snaps him out of his daze.
"Took you long enough to wake up, kid."
Rune turns his head sharply. Sitting by the fire, a weathered old man stirs a small pot of something steaming, his tattered cloak barely covering his wiry frame. His white beard is unkempt, his eyes sharp yet amused.
Rune says nothing. He doesn't know what to say. He doesn't even know if he can speak right now.
The old man sighs. "Yeah, I know that look. Like the world came crashing down on you. And judging by the state you were in when I found you, I'd say that's not far from the truth."
Rune swallows hard, his hands gripping the blanket. His voice is hoarse. "…Where am I?"
The sage stiffens. His casual demeanor cracks for just a second before he mutters, "Ah. Right. I, uh… wasn't really supposed to be here long." He rubs the back of his neck, suddenly looking uneasy. "Damn, I really need to head back."
Rune furrows his brow. "Head back where?"
The old man exhales sharply, waving a hand dismissively. "Somewhere I should be instead of meditating in the middle of nowhere." He mumbles something under his breath before shaking his head. "Doesn't matter right now. Bigger issue is you."
Rune tenses. "…What do you mean?"
The sage squints at him, then chuckles—low at first, then a full, hearty laugh.
Rune shifts uncomfortably. "…What's so funny?"
"Oh, it's just hilarious. I didn't expect to find a damn Voidborn out here."
Rune blinks. "A… what?"
The sage wipes a tear from his eye, grinning. "Voidborn. You really don't know?"
Rune shakes his head.
The old man smirks. "Then let's start simple." His eyes gleam as he points at Rune. "My Veil Signature lets me see the Veil of others. And yours? Yours is unlike anything I've ever seen."
Rune stares, the words unfamiliar yet… intriguing.
"Veil?"
The sage nods. "Veilflow. The essence that governs—"
A distant crack echoes through the trees. The sage's head jerks up.
"Shit I should've head back way earlier."
He grabs his satchel and slings it over his shoulder. Rune stumbles to his feet, struggling to keep up with his thoughts.
"Wait—where are you going?"
The sage glances over his shoulder. "Veldris Academy of Arcane Arts. You're coming with me."
Rune shakes his head. "No. I have to find my sister."
The sage raises an eyebrow. "How are you going to find her, kid? Do you even know where to start?"
Rune clenches his fists. "I'll find her. I won't leave her behind."
The sage crosses his arms and gives Rune a pointed look. "And what are you going to do when you find her? Die together in this forest?"
Rune freezes. He thinks back to his last conversation with his parents—their arguments. Their last words before they were gone. Why… why was that the last thing we talked about?
The sage watches him, his gaze softening for a moment, but then he turns to walk away.
Rune watches him go, his heart a storm of confusion, grief, and anger. "Wait up."
The sage doesn't stop, but he calls back. "I don't have time to wait. You're either coming or you're not."
Rune grits his teeth and follows, his thoughts consumed with the desire to find his sister, but also something else... His eyes glowed with curiosity. The urge to learn what it meant to be a Voidborn—what he was.
The forest is eerily quiet as Rune and the sage begin walking, the soft crunch of their steps on the wet earth breaking the silence. Rune's mind races, still reeling from everything that's happened—the village, the monsters, his family. But now, he has a new question gnawing at him, one he can't shake.
"So… what exactly is a Voidborn?"
The sage doesn't respond immediately, his gaze focused ahead, lost in thought. Rune glances at him, waiting. The old man's pace doesn't slow, and Rune's curiosity pushes him to ask again.
"Hey, you never told me what a Voidborn is. You said I'm one, but what does that even mean?"
The sage mutters something under his breath, but Rune can't make out the words. The silence stretches on, and Rune gets the feeling the sage isn't even listening.
"Are we even close to where we're going? How far is Veldris Academy?" Rune presses, trying to distract himself from his own growing uncertainty.
The sage gives a small grunt, but nothing more.
"What does this Veil stuff really do?" Rune's eyes narrow. "Can you use it to find people? Will it help me find my sister?"
The sage glances over at him but doesn't answer.
"You said my Veil Signature is different. What's that supposed to mean? Does it make me special or something?" Rune's voice rises with frustration. "You've been saying all this cryptic stuff and not telling me anything!"
Finally, the sage lets out a long, exasperated sigh. "Kid, if you don't stop asking me questions every five seconds, I might just throw you in the lake."
Rune blinks, taken aback by the abruptness. He frowns but refuses to be deterred. "I'm just trying to understand what's going on. You said I'm a Voidborn. What does that mean? Why is it so important?"
The sage's footsteps grow heavier. He rubs his forehead, clearly irritated, but Rune can't help himself.
"Do Voidborns have any special powers? Like, do they—"
The sage cuts him off, turning sharply to face Rune, his expression darkening. "Will you please stop talking for two minutes? I've got my own problems to deal with currently and soon that could become your problem, you can learn all of this at the academy if you study hard enough.
Rune recoils a little, but he isn't scared. He's just confused. "Then why did you bring me along if you don't want to help me? You said I'm a Voidborn. Isn't that important?"
The sage takes a deep breath, trying to calm himself, and after a long pause, he answers in a clipped tone. "It's important, sure. But not in the way you're thinking. It's unstable—it's an absence. Something that shouldn't be there." He shakes his head. "We'll talk about this later, alright? Right now, I'm trying to keep us from getting eaten alive by whatever's out there. So, shut up for once."
Rune looks down at the ground, chewing over the sage's words. "An absence?"
The sage ignores him, his eyes scanning the shadows between the trees, his mind seemingly elsewhere.