Chapter Five – Of Swords Once Lost to Time
Part Two – The Ash That Knew His Name
The map of Celestis Veil burned behind King Vaelen's throne.
No fire touched it—only light—but it shimmered like something had just been set ablaze, and no one knew where yet. His hand hovered over the north ridge. Not near the border. Not near the walls. Too close.
"Another breach," he said. "Sixth in two weeks."
Selka stood still as silence.
Beside her, Yolti shifted uneasily. Kaelen's arms were crossed, flame-scorched bracers half-covered in soot from his morning training. None of them spoke. The silence in the Doctrine's mirror chamber was not made for voices. Only orders.
"The Riftborn aren't retreating anymore," Vaelen muttered, more to himself than to them. "They're searching for something."
He turned. His crown pulsed faintly where it met his brow—lines of dormant glyphwork laced into the metal like veins. His eyes, always too calm, settled on the three before him.
"And there's another problem," he said. "A… rumor."
Selka's jaw tensed. Kaelen's posture didn't shift.
"They say a masked figure is intervening. Lightning from his hands. Riftborn torn down before our agents arrive. A ghost that fights like memory."
Yolti whispered, "Do you think it's—"
"No," Selka cut in. Too quickly. Too sharp.
Vaelen's voice remained level. "I want him found."
The light from the Doctrine's high mirrors cut shadows across the chamber floor. Kaelen took one step forward.
"What are the orders?" he asked.
"Find the village. Observe the pattern. If you see the masked one—engage."
Yolti blinked. "Engage?"
"Bring him in alive," Vaelen said. "Do not fail. And do not speak his name. Not until you know the truth."
A breeze passed from nowhere, causing the mirror behind them to fog—just slightly.
Selka's fists closed at her side.
Kaelen turned without bowing. Yolti followed. Selka stayed one moment longer. She met Vaelen's gaze.
"If it's him," she asked, "what do we do?"
Vaelen didn't blink.
"Then the Riftborn aren't our only concern."