The order came at dawn.
A sealed scroll, pressed into Elira's hand by a knight in steel armor, the wax marked with the sigil of the Third Order. Her heart thudded as she broke the seal. Escort mission—shadow beast activity near the river valley. Assigned squad: Mira Solenne, Kael Dravern, Elira.
It was her first mission outside the Sanctum walls. The weight of it nearly crushed her chest.
She strapped on her training leathers, tied her silver hair tight, and slid her blade into its sheath. The steel still felt alien in her grasp—heavier, sharper, unforgiving compared to the wooden practice swords. But it was real. And so was the task ahead.
The mustering yard held two figures already waiting.
The first was a girl near her age, auburn hair catching the morning sun, sapphire eyes bright with curiosity. Two silver rings floated at her fingertips, orbiting lazily, glowing faintly with mana.
The second stood taller, dark hair falling across a calm but guarded face. His build was lean, his stance unshaken, and at his side rested a broad blade strapped in rough leather. The faint crackle of static clung to the air near him, grounding into the stones beneath his boots.
They looked at her as she approached, and for a breath she felt smaller than she had since arriving.
"So this is her," the auburn-haired girl said with a spark of humor, voice smooth yet edged with testing curiosity. "The one who shattered the crystal?"
Elira stiffened, chin raised. "I'm Elira."
The boy gave a quiet laugh, low and clipped. "We'll see if that glow amounts to more than luck."
Heat rose in her chest. She wanted to argue—but instead she nodded. "Then I'll prove it."
"Good." Mira's smile curved faintly, like a flame teased by wind. "Try not to fall behind."
The gryphons carried them swift across the land. Forests sprawled like endless oceans below, rivers gleaming silver, the distant mountains bristling like jagged teeth against the horizon.
They landed on a ridge above the valley by noon. The air here was heavy, the mist unnatural, curling low and clinging like smoke. The stream cutting through the gorge ran dark, the water muddied as though poisoned.
Kael's sword rasped from its sheath in a single fluid motion. "Eyes open. They strike in silence."
Mira's rings rose higher, shimmering with threads of flame and water weaving together. "Let's see what's lurking."
Elira drew her own blade. Her palms sweated against the hilt, but she refused to loosen her grip. She had trained. She had bled. She would not falter.
The first attack came from the mist.
Black shapes, lean and wolfish, surged forward—shadows half-formed, their crimson eyes burning with hunger.
Kael stamped the ground. Stone erupted at his feet, jagged shards lurching upward to catch the first beast mid-leap. He slashed, his sword laced with earthen weight, cleaving it in two. Sparks of pale lightning flickered up his arm, his follow-up strike cracking with a thunderclap that sent another shadow scattering.
Mira's voice rang sharp, commanding:
"Crimson Deluge!"
The rings blazed, one flaming, one pouring with water, spinning until their streams merged into a vortex. A torrent of boiling firewater exploded forward, searing through three beasts at once. Steam hissed as their bodies dissolved back into mist.
Elira's breath caught. Their power was overwhelming—fluid, certain, merciless.
Then claws slashed for her.
She swung on instinct, steel whistling. The blade caught only smoke. Pain raked her arm, shallow but burning cold. She staggered—then grit her teeth.
No hesitation. No fear.
Wind surged at her call. She raised her sword, blue eyes flashing.
"Breeze Edge!"
The air cracked, a crescent of wind bursting from her strike. It cut into the beast's form, unraveling it with a howl before it scattered into mist.
Her chest heaved. Her arms trembled. But the strike had landed.
Kael's gaze flicked her way. "Not bad."
Mira's lips curved. "So the crystal wasn't lying."
More surged from the fog. Dozens now.
Kael moved like a fortress in motion, each step crushing earth, his sword striking with weight that shook the ground. Lightning leapt across his blade, snapping into beasts that came too close.
Mira spun in fire and frost, her rings weaving fusion spells with sharp incantations.
"Glacier Break!" she cried. Ice burst from the ground, spearing shadows in jagged spikes, freezing their movement before flame scoured them to nothing.
Elira fought beside them, blade and storm moving as one. Her strikes were clumsy compared to theirs, her breath ragged, her cuts shallow—but they landed. Each time her wind bent the beasts back, she felt the pulse of strength growing.
Then the valley roared.
The mist split apart, churned by something vast.
From the depths crawled a beast three times the size of the others, its body jagged with obsidian shards, its claws dragging sparks as they carved furrows in the stone. Its eyes burned red, and from its maw spilled smoke thick with the stench of decay.
Elira's stomach twisted.
Kael planted his blade into the ground, static rolling along the stones. "Bigger prey."
Mira's rings flared, her hair whipping in the surge of mana. "Then let's bring it down."
The shadow charged.
Kael met it first, his sword braced, the ground itself rising to meet his strike. The clash cracked stone, thunder reverberating through the gorge.
Mira unleashed fire and water, a torrent bursting against its flank, scalding steam rising like a storm.
"Elira!" Mira shouted, voice sharp over the chaos. "Cut the left!"
Her legs trembled, but Elira surged forward. Wind whipped around her, pulling at her braid, surging through her arms. She raised her blade high.
"Breeze Edge!"
The crescent strike ripped into the beast's shoulder. It staggered, roaring, its claws flailing wildly. Lightning snapped from Kael's blade into the wound, Mira's flames seared deeper, and together their assault forced the monster back, step by step, until its body unraveled into ash and shadow.
Silence fell. Only the stream's sluggish trickle remained.
Elira fell to one knee, gasping, sweat slicking her skin. Her sword felt impossibly heavy, but she refused to drop it.
Kael wiped his blade clean, his expression unreadable. "You stood."
Mira twirled her rings, the glow fading. Her smile was faint but certain. "Not bad for a first mission."
Elira met their gazes, her chest still heaving, but inside her heart blazed with something new. For the first time, she had fought not as a burden, but as one of them.
The storm within her no longer felt like fear.
It felt like promise.