"Some men are born into power. Others take it, piece by piece, bone by bone."
---
The Fractured Dawn
The sky bled the color of embers.
Aedric stood atop the highest balcony of Velmira Academy, the morning wind threading through his dark hair. Below, the grand institution bustled with life—students rushing to early lectures, swords clashing in the training grounds, scholars murmuring spells beneath the canopy of ancient trees.
Yet Aedric's mind was elsewhere.
House Ravencourt… The Black Veil.
Their reach extended beyond nobility, beyond mere politics. They were a web spun over centuries—pulling the strings of kings, scholars, and warriors alike.
And they had come for him.
"A foolish mistake."
The memory of last night's assassins lingered.
Three men. Broken. Scattered. Afraid.
But fear would not be enough. He needed names, motives, leverage.
And for that, he needed to descend into Velmira's underbelly.
A place whispered of in caution.
The Hollow Court.
---
The Hollow Court – Where Shadows Speak
Midnight.
Aedric moved through the underground corridors of Velmira Academy, tracing his way past forgotten chambers and labyrinthine passageways. The walls bore the scent of damp parchment and aged stone—silent testaments to a history long erased from records.
Here, beneath the Academy's grandeur, the true game unfolded.
No laws, no teachers. Only power, bought and traded in whispers.
And in the center of it all—The Hollow Court.
A chamber where no light reached, yet no darkness could fully settle.
The figures within were draped in shadow. No faces, only presence.
This was where alliances were forged. Where enemies drank from the same cup, knowing poison lurked in every word.
Aedric stepped forward, his voice calm.
"I seek knowledge."
A chuckle. Then, a voice laced with amusement.
"Knowledge comes at a price, Valtherion."
The speaker emerged—a woman with silver eyes, her presence weaving through the air like an uncoiling serpent.
Seraphine Vael.
A name he did not take lightly.
A broker of secrets. A woman who knew the truths even kings feared to speak.
She smiled.
"Tell me, Aedric… how deep are you willing to dig?"
---
The Game of Wolves
Words were weapons in the Hollow Court.
Seraphine did not offer knowledge freely. But Aedric was not here to beg—he was here to bargain.
"House Ravencourt sent men after me."
A flicker of surprise in her silver eyes—gone in an instant.
"Ah. So the wolves are growing restless."
She circled him, her voice a silk thread wound tight.
"What makes you so interesting, Aedric? Why do they fear you?"
Aedric did not answer.
Because he did not yet know.
His past was a puzzle with missing pieces—memories slipping like sand through his grasp.
But one thing was certain.
He was dangerous.
And they knew it.
Seraphine studied him, then exhaled.
"Very well. The Black Veil operates through proxies—pawns in a game unseen. But their true hand? Hidden in the Arcane Council."
Aedric's gaze sharpened.
"The Council?"
"Oh, darling. Did you think Velmira was merely a school?"
A smirk played on her lips.
"It is a battlefield. And the war has already begun."
---
The Hidden Hand
The Arcane Council.
An unseen force pulling the Academy's strings. Professors, nobles, even legendary warriors—all tied to a greater scheme.
And the Black Veil had infiltrated its core.
Aedric understood, then.
This was not about him.
It was about something greater.
A destiny he had not chosen, yet could not escape.
---
The Chains of the Past
As he left the Hollow Court, Aedric's mind churned.
Memories flickered at the edge of his consciousness—whispers of another life, another war.
A city in flames. A crown of shadows. A name not his own.
"He is remembering."
The words from the unseen figure the night before.
Aedric clenched his fists.
If the world wanted him dead…
Then he would carve his name into its bones before it took him.
He would find the truth.
He would break fate itself.
And Velmira would be his first battlefield.
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