The shimmering light of the portal folded behind her, leaving her once more in the high stone chamber of the academy. Her body still trembled from exertion, but her mind was sharp, sharper than it had been in weeks. She pressed her palms together, feeling the faint hum of air and earth still lingering there.
The Grandmaster had given her paths to walk, but even he did not hold every answer. The visions in the library, the strange cube-like puzzle awaiting its missing pieces… those were not things of the academy's making. They belonged to an older, deeper knowledge.
Renkai.
Thalanir.
Her thoughts went to them immediately. The two had always carried something different about them, an understanding that seemed rooted in times far before the walls of the academy were raised. Thalanir with his quiet, patient strength, his way of seeing the patterns beneath chaos. Renkai with his sharper edges, but wisdom steeped in old texts and forgotten tongues.
