They called it the Veil Harmonizer.
Polished silver bands, smooth as glass, cold to the touch, and threaded with runes older than the Academy itself. At first glance, they looked like ceremonial cuffs a tradition.
They were anything but.
---
The Council's Decree
The announcement came at midday.
Headmaster Ravel stood beneath the Grand Oculus, flanked by two robed figures whose faces were hidden behind ivory masks Elders of the Council. Their presence was rare. Their silence, absolute.
When Ravel spoke, the air buzzed unnaturally as though his voice was filtered through a Veil not meant for human ears.
"In light of increasing arcane irregularities within Arcvale's student body, the Council has issued a harmonization mandate. All students will be temporarily fitted with Arcane Stabilizers to aid in Veil clarity and Aether balance."
The crowd shifted. Whispers followed like ripples.
Stabilizers? Mandate?
Reian, watching from the east wing balcony, muttered under her breath, "They're scared."
Beside her, Caelum's stomach turned to stone.
He could feel the wind recoil at the presence of the masked Elders.
And worse, when Ravel raised a silver cuff and held it up for all to see
The mark on Caelum's hand throbbed, as if it recognized the device as a threat.
---
That evening, the upper-year students were the first to be fitted.
Lira returned to the Umbra dorm with the device clasped around her left wrist. Her flames, once ever-present, had dulled. She looked tired.
"It's like breathing through cotton," she muttered. "I can still summon it, but it's... slow. Muffled."
Caelum examined the cuff. Faint runes shifted under the surface like worms beneath ice.
"It's not suppressing your magic," he said, "it's dampening resonance."
Reian stepped into the room, closing the door behind her. "That's the point. They don't care about fireballs or water shields. They're hunting Sigils."
Eo entered next—unfitted, for now, but pale. "They say everyone will wear one by week's end."
Caelum clenched his fists.
"They're trying to bind us before we awaken."
---
The next day, the testing began.
Not every student received the same treatment. Some had cuffs that merely glowed when they used spells. Others like Ardynwere given enhanced models that recorded "internal fluctuations."
"They're experimenting," Ardyn said grimly. "Trying to find what triggers the Sigil awakenings. They're watching for patterns."
Caelum met his eyes. "And if they find one?"
Ardyn didn't answer.
But he didn't need to.
The Council didn't fear instability. It feared truth and the kind of power that could not be cataloged, categorized, or controlled.
---
Later that night, Reian led Caelum to the Veiled Sigil's inner archive beneath the east spire. She opened a sealed ledger, older than the academy itself, filled with names written in elemental ink.
One entry stood out crossed through with black sigil-blood.
Subject: Varrow, Garron. Status: Redacted. Last noted ability: Wind-born Echo. Action taken: Nullification.
Caelum's breath stopped.
"Your father?" Reian asked softly.
"He never said… he never told me."
Reian closed the book. "They tried to erase him. Looks like he escaped."
"Or survived," Caelum whispered.
"And they don't want that mistake repeated."
---
By the third day, strange things began to happen.
Lira's harmonizer cracked during sparring not from force, but from internal stress. When instructors replaced it, the replacement burned her skin.
Students in House Solari began falling ill fainting mid-practice, their magic lashing out involuntarily, as if rebelling against the cuffs.
Caelum felt the same tension building in his chest.
The wind wanted out.
So did the truth.
---
It was Eo who broke first.
During rune theory, a visiting Elder tried to fit her with a harmonizer. She resisted—politely at first. Then physically. The moment the cuff brushed her skin, a wave of memory
exploded from her.
The classroom shattered.
Windows blew inward. Walls cracked.
And every student within a ten-foot radius collapsed unconscious trapped in a vision not their own.
Caelum rushed to her side as instructors sealed off the room.
Eo's eyes glowed silver.
"It's not just me in here," she gasped. "It's them. The ones who came before. They're waking up."
Caelum took her hand. "Then we hold the door shut. Together."
She nodded weakly. "The inhibitor tried to cut them off. It hurts them."
And that's when Caelum knew.
These weren't tools of safety.
They were weapons of suppression.
---
That night, the three of them Caelum, Eo, and Lira sat on the edge of the old courtyard, away from eyes and ears.
"They're not going to stop," Lira said. "If they know what we are… they'll try to break us before we awaken."
Eo held her knees tightly. "And there are four more Sigils. Out there. Alone."
Caelum stared at his cuff.
He hadn't been forced to wear one yet.
But he knew it was only a matter of time.
"Then we find the others first," he said. "Before the Council does."
Lira raised an eyebrow. "And if they resist?"
Caelum's voice was calm.
"Then we remind them who they are."