Aelys arrived at the training grounds before dawn, her boots whispering across the mosaic tiles. The Convergence Hall still pulsed behind her, but here, in the open air, the lines of the world felt quieter. More forgiving. A place to learn without the walls listening.
She exhaled sharply and flexed her hand.
The incomplete spiral sigil glowed faintly beneath her skin — not painful, not demanding, but present. Watching. A silent pulse that aligned with her heartbeat.
Lira stretched beside her, arching her tiny back with a musical hum.
"You're tense," the little foxlike companion said, blinking up at her.
"I'm about to learn my first proper weave," Aelys replied. "I'd be worried if I wasn't tense."
Lira hopped onto her shoulder, tail coiling around Aelys's neck like a scarf made of starlight.
"Seris won't let you break time," Lira assured.
"That's not as comforting as you think it is."
A faint laugh answered her — Seris had arrived.
The mentor's silver hair caught the earliest hints of sunrise, glimmering like threads of elemental light. "Good," Seris said, observing Aelys's stance. "You're grounded. Nervous, but grounded. That is better than confidence."
Aelys bowed slightly. "I'm ready."
Seris raised a hand, and the training field shimmered. Thin threads of luminescence — only visible to those who could see the Lines — revealed themselves like a web draped over the world. Some were taut, some trembling, others soft and slow.
"Lesson one," Seris said. "The Lines are not yours to command. They respond to resonance, not force."
She drew a glowing thread toward herself effortlessly, shaping it into a spiral that hovered in the air.
"This is the Flow Spiral, the simplest stabilizing weave. You will learn to calm a fractured line by aligning its rhythm."
She released the spiral, letting it drift.
Aelys inhaled deeply. Her own Resonant Sight activated almost instinctively, and the world bloomed again — threads crisscrossing the space around her, humming faintly.
Seris nodded in approval. "Good. Now align yourself with the nearest stable line."
Aelys scanned the glowing landscape. A steady, bright thread floated a few meters ahead. She took a step—only for the thread to shift slightly, as if evading her.
"I think it's avoiding me," she said.
Seris chuckled. "Stable lines resist bonding with new weavers. Approach slowly."
Aelys centered her breathing, calmed the pulse of the Fragment within her, and reached.
This time the thread paused… watched… and allowed her resonance to brush its surface.
Aelys felt a rush of warmth through her fingertips.
"Now," Seris instructed, "invite it."
Not command. Not grasp.
Invite.
Aelys visualized her intention — calm, steady, respectful.
The thread responded.
Its glow wrapped around her hand lightly, the way a tame creature brushes its nose against a palm.
Aelys's breath caught. "I… did it."
"Not yet." Seris stepped closer. "Now you create the Spiral."
Aelys focused, letting her intuition guide her. The thread coiled, trembling slightly, forming the first curve—
But the Fragment pulsed sharply.
Her weave overcorrected.
The spiral snapped back with a violent recoil, and Aelys stumbled backward as temporal static burst across the field.
Lira yelped and leapt off her shoulder.
Seris steadied Aelys instantly. "Breathe. The Fragment is amplifying you."
Aelys clenched her fists. "I wasn't trying too hard—"
"You weren't," Seris agreed. "The Fragment was. It wants to align, but it doesn't yet understand restraint."
Aelys sighed. "So I have to control both myself and the Fragment?"
"You must harmonize with it," Seris corrected. "You are partners now. Balance is essential."
Aelys nodded. She centered her breath again, feeling the Fragment awaken, stretching within her like a coiled spring.
"Let's try again."
She approached the thread once more.
This time, instead of letting instinct take over, she communicated silently with the Fragment — a request rather than surrender.
The Fragment pulsed softly, agreeing.
The thread responded.
It curled into her hand like a compliant ribbon.
Aelys shaped it gently.
The Spiral formed — glowing steadily in front of her, a perfect motion of luminous geometry.
Seris smiled proudly. "Excellent. You've completed your first weave."
Aelys gasped in relief. Lira leapt back onto her shoulder, chittering triumphantly.
"I knew you could do it!"
The Spiral held for several seconds before dissolving naturally into the air.
Aelys beamed. "So… that's a stabilizing weave?"
"That is the foundation," Seris said. "With it you can soothe early distortions, mend minor fractures… and eventually, reinforce broken timelines."
Aelys's excitement faded slightly. "Eventually?"
Seris's expression sobered. "Aelys, listen."
The air grew still.
"Learning to weave is not like learning a craft. We are the protectors of existence's structure. Even a beginner's mistake can open a rift."
Aelys nodded slowly. "I understand."
But Seris wasn't finished.
"There is something else," she said. "Something Velorien insisted I tell you."
Aelys tensed.
"The Fragment bonded with you for a reason. And that reason will attract attention — not just from distortions or Wraiths."
Seris drew a long, narrow box from her robe and opened it. Inside lay a shimmering pendant shaped like a split hourglass.
"This," she said, "is a Convergence Token. All apprentices wear one. But yours is different. It will help regulate the Fragment's resonance… and alert us if your signature becomes too unstable."
Aelys stared at it. "Is it a tracker?"
"Yes," Seris said honestly. "For your safety, and for everyone's."
Aelys hesitated, then took the pendant. The moment it touched her skin, it synced with her pulse, glowing gently.
A calm settled over her.
Seris nodded. "Good. Now—"
A sudden tremor shook the field.
Both Aelys and Seris spun toward the city.
A streak of red light erupted over the rooftops, twisting the air into spirals of distortion.
Lira hissed.
"That's close. Too close."
Seris's expression darkened. "A major fracture… in the Scholar's District."
Aelys felt her chest tighten. The Fragment pulsed with alarm.
"Seris," she whispered. "I can help."
"Not yet," Seris replied firmly. "This is too dangerous. You've just woven your first Spiral. You're not ready—"
Aelys met her gaze, steady and unwavering. "If the distortions are increasing because of the Fragment… shouldn't I learn to face them sooner rather than later?"
Seris froze.
Then slowly, reluctantly, she nodded.
"Stay at my side," she said. "And don't weave unless I tell you."
Aelys tightened her grip on the pendant.
"Understood."
Together, they ran toward the rising distortion.
And the city trembled again.