The grove was quiet. Not even the wind dared disturb the silence that wrapped around the secluded place, a sanctuary hidden away, known only to two souls.
Khael perched high upon a branch, lungs drinking in the crisp air. His body still ached from the academy battle, muscles bruised and spirit shaken, but heavier than the pain was the knot of turmoil coiled inside him.
He dropped down lightly, boots pressing into the moss-soft ground with a muted thud.
Beneath the shadow of an ancient tree, waiting as though time itself bent around him, sat Master Isen.
Golden hair spilled like threads of fire beneath the sun. His calm blue eyes, gentle yet unfathomably deep watched the world with both kindness and weight. Draped in black and silver robes, he looked less like a man of flesh and more like a sage carved out of legend.
The Keiryuu.
The Blood Flow Leader.
The Supreme Commander of the Veinwalker Corps.
The man who once split a dragon's heart.
