Third floor of the Hollow-Flame Inn. Kira knocks once before entering her mother's room. The candlelight inside flickers, casting long shadows. Kyla is seated by the window, armor half-unstrapped, staring into the rain-drenched night. "You're not sleeping." Kira said almost knowing her mother's habits.
"I never do after a report like that." Kyla responds without turning as Kira steps inside and closes the door behind her. There's tension in her every movement — the kind only a daughter raised by a warrior carries when trying to speak not as a soldier, but as blood. "You're scared of him."
"No." Kyla quickly responds as she pauses, then let out a small sigh. "I'm scared for him. And for the rest of us if he loses control." Kyla finished saying as Kira knew what she wanted to ask next "Is it true? That he used necromancy? That he fought Lord Siegfried's real son?" As it brought another small moment of silence.
"They kept it quiet. But yes. Indra didn't start the fight — but he finished it. And what I saw…" Kyla said as she shakes her head slightly. "He moved like a shadow that learned to bleed."
"Then the others should know. They've gone out looking for him. I didn't stop them." Kira said as Kyla's eyes widened slightly "They're not ready." Kyla said quickly and coldly "None of us are." Kira retorted as the room regained the silence it had before.
At the edge of the town. Midnight. A cold wind stirs the trees as fog rolls through the cobblestone alleys. Jack, Zack, and Nyla move quietly, their cloaks pulled up. They follow flickers of whispering magic that trail toward the graveyard near the ruined chapel.
"This is stupid." Jack said in a whisper "Why would he come here?" Jack asked as Nyla gave a quick sigh "This is where shadow magic resonates strongest. I tracked the residue. It's faint… but recent." She responded as they continued to follow.
"I don't like the air. It's… too quiet." Zack said gruffly as a dry wind passes. Then— "There." Jack said as he points toward a silhouette near a cracked stone altar. A figure kneels in the dark, hooded, surrounded by flickering violet runes etched into the earth. Bones twitch beneath the soil.
They approach cautiously, and as they near—
"You're loud." Indra says to them without turning as the three students freeze. His voice is cold, emotionless, not unfriendly — but not welcoming either. As he rises, shadows peel from his cloak like living things. His face is calm, but his eyes glow faintly with violet beneath the hood.
"We need answers, Indra." Jack said while steadying his voice "About what happened at the Manor. About why you fought Lord Siegfried's son." Jack said as Indra turned to face them slowly "He attacked first." His tone is sharp, clipped. No embellishment.
"Because I practice what he fears."
"Necromancy?" Nyla asked gently "Not just that." Indra responded as he lifts his hand. A flicker of pale flame in the shape of a skull floats above his palm. It pulses, then fades into smoke.
"He called the element useless and dangerous. I showed him how useful it really can be."
"You could've killed him. Why didn't you?" Zack said while gritting his teeth as Indra began stepping forward, eyes narrowing "Because I didn't, if you feel so strongly then finish the job done on your own." Indra said as the tension between them seemed strong.
The air grows colder. From behind Indra, a shadowy skeletal creature begins to rise — summoned, but controlled. Its jaw clicks shut as it watches the students, motionless. It isn't threatening… just there. A reminder of what Indra can do.
"…You're not like us, are you?" Jack said barely whispering. "No. I'm not." Indra said in a low tone "I'm a Dragonkin like Lord Siegfried and his son, I was just forged in places darker than this world admits exist. You wanted truth — this is it."
The silence stretches. None of the students move. They feel it — not fear of him, but of the gravity he carries. As if the world tilts slightly around him. As if something older than life itself walks with him.
"I'm not hiding what I am. I'm just waiting for the day you'll need it." Indra said while turning away and then, with a pulse of violet light, the runes fade and so does he — melting into shadow, leaving the graveyard empty, cold, and terrifyingly still.