The bells of Elysium rang at dawn, a deep, resonant chime that echoed through every tower. Thaddeus Moon was already awake, katana in hand, shadows curling obediently around his feet as he moved through the morning's kata. The silver hair that marked his bloodline caught the pale light, glinting like steel as sweat rolled down his brow.
Aurora stood at the balcony, silent as always, watching. When he finished, she finally spoke. "Today is not about combat. It's about display. The professors will want to see what you can do, but more than that—they will want to see how you think."
Thaddeus wiped the blade clean, sliding it back into its sheath. "Then I will show them what shadows do best—adapt and overcome."
The Moon siblings joined the flood of students funneling into the Hall of Convergence, one of Elysium's largest lecture and training chambers. It was designed to impress: vaulted ceilings traced with glowing sigils, elemental channels flowing like rivers of light across the floor, and a massive circular arena at its center.
Students filled the stands, murmurs rising as the heirs entered. The presence of the six families pulled attention like gravity. Thaddeus ignored the stares, focusing on the shadows whispering at the edges of the chamber. They told him what he already knew: eyes are weapons too.
The instructor was already waiting: Professor Calvane, a sharp-eyed man with graying hair and a cloak stitched with every elemental symbol. His voice was steady, carrying effortlessly across the chamber.
"Welcome, students of Elysium. Today marks the beginning of your true instruction. You have come here proud of your bloodlines, your training, your legacies. But here, none of that guarantees success. Here, you will be stripped down, tested, and rebuilt."
He paced, hands clasped behind his back. "Strength alone will not earn you rank. Nor will family name. You will learn to wield your element as extension of thought, instinct, and will. And you will learn that no element exists alone. Fire without air is a candle. Water without shadow is a puddle. Sun without earth is blinding but weak. Only together do they become forces that shape the world."
The first exercise was simple in design, but brutal in execution: elemental resonance trials.
Students were divided into mixed groups, each representing different elements. The task: combine their powers to stabilize a glowing elemental core placed at the center of the arena. The cores pulsed with unstable energy, surging and flaring when mishandled. Too much force, and they shattered violently. Too little, and they collapsed into nothing.
Thaddeus was placed in a group with Selene Stormhaven, Serenity Clearwater, and Blaise Emberhart. A balanced mix: shadow, wind, water, and fire. Evan, Emily, and others were scattered across different groups, though Thaddeus noticed Evan's eyes flicking toward him more than once, sharp and measuring.
The instructor raised a hand. "Begin."
The core pulsed erratically as Thaddeus approached. Shadows stretched from his feet, coiling around the glowing sphere, dampening its wild surges. Serenity moved gracefully, her water aura flowing like a calming tide, cooling the core's unstable sparks.
"Hold steady," she murmured, voice calm but firm.
Selene drew a slow breath, wind encircling the group. "I can guide its surges," she said, her bow shimmering faintly at her side. Currents swept around the core, redirecting its chaotic bursts into controlled patterns.
Blaise, however, was less subtle. Sparks leapt from his spear as he grinned. "Or I can overload it until it bends to us."
"Too reckless," Thaddeus said sharply. "You'll shatter it."
Blaise scoffed. "You think shadows can smother fire? Let me show you how heat tempers steel—"
Before he could act, the core surged violently, cracking the stone beneath it. Shadows lashed forward, tendrils wrapping around the fissures, steadying them before they collapsed. Serenity's water flowed immediately after, cooling the burst.
Thaddeus' eyes locked on Blaise. "Control is not recklessness. Fire without restraint burns its wielder first."
Blaise bristled, but Selene cut in, voice cold as the wind she commanded. "Enough. If you two want to posture, do it after we stabilize the core. For now, follow my lead."
Reluctantly, Blaise pulled back, sparks dimming. Together, the four heirs wove their elements—shadows binding, water soothing, wind guiding, fire carefully tempered. Slowly, the core calmed, glowing with steady light.
The instructor's voice cut through the chamber. "Team four—successful resonance."
A ripple of murmurs spread through the hall. Thaddeus caught sight of Evan across the arena, his expression unreadable. Emily, however, tilted her head ever so slightly, as though making note of the way Thaddeus had seized control of his team.
By the end of the trials, not every group had succeeded. A few cores shattered explosively, forcing professors to intervene. Others collapsed into dim husks, wasted energy scattering like smoke.
Professor Calvane addressed them again. "Today, you have learned your first lesson. Power is meaningless without harmony. And harmony requires balance. Not submission, not dominance—but understanding. Some of you succeeded. Many of you failed. But all of you have seen the truth."
His gaze swept the heirs, lingering on Thaddeus and Evan in particular. "The path ahead will not be easier. But it will be necessary."
That night, Thaddeus sat on the Moon Tower balcony, shadows curling around him like loyal companions. Aurora joined him, silver hair glinting faintly.
"You commanded your team well today," she said softly. "Even when they resisted you."
Thaddeus exhaled slowly. "Fire resists water. Wind resists shadow. Yet balance was found. The Academy's lesson is clear."
Aurora tilted her head. "And what did you learn, Thad?"
"That alliances are fragile," he replied. "But necessary. For now."
He thought of Selene's sharp focus, Serenity's calm strength, Blaise's recklessness barely contained. He thought of Evan's watchful eyes, Emily's quiet calculation. Allies, rivals, enemies—lines blurred at Elysium Academy.
"Balance can break," Aurora murmured.
Thaddeus' silver eyes hardened. "Then I will make sure I am the one who decides when it does."
The shadows curled tighter around him, whispering promises of strength, patience, and inevitability. The first bonds had been forged, but like shadows themselves, they could shift, twist, or vanish in an instant.
And Thaddeus Moon would be ready for all of it.