While the student orientation for the freshers was concluded by Professor Caldrin, the setting was heavy with silence in the Principal's office.
Principal Aelthar's office was more of a war room than a study, with maps sprawled across a long crystal table, enchanted pins marking Demon sightings, Orcish skirmishes, and fragile trade arteries.
Shelves brimmed with tomes of mana theory, but tonight, they were untouched.
Candles burned low, shadows crawling along the walls.
Major Pain stood by the window, still bandaged, his massive frame dark against the moonlight. He wasn't drinking nor was he resting, he was just staring out at the sprawling city of Arcanum Nexus, jaw tight.
Across from him, Aelthar finally broke the silence. "The three Demon Lords… Malgar, Ulfar, and Serika, they've grown stronger since the last time I saw them".
