Dawn broke soft and golden, the kind that made the dew glisten like stars had melted onto the earth.
Lira stood just outside the academy gates, her satchel secured at her hip, cloak fastened tight against the early chill. She had already packed light: a few more ingredients, extra empty vials, her bonewood pestle, and a charm Renkai had quietly slipped into her hand before she left, a smooth stone etched with a spiral.
The halls behind her were still half-asleep, save for a few apprentices sleepwalking through their morning routines. But she was fully awake. Something in her heart had shifted since the planting, a deeper clarity, like her path was aligning with something older than the academy itself.
Footsteps echoed.
She turned.
