(Before the End, I Returned)
Chapter 8
(At the Table)
Dinner was quieter than usual.
Not because there was nothing to say, but because no one felt the need to rush into saying it.
Pryan sat across from his parents, the long table lit by soft lanternlight. The food was simple. Warm bread, stew still steaming, vegetables prepared the way Elara preferred. The kind of meal meant to be eaten slowly.
Arel noticed first.
"You've been thinking," he said, not looking up from his plate. "All evening."
Pryan paused, spoon halfway to his mouth.
Elara smiled gently. "He always does before saying something important."
Pryan lowered the spoon.
"I've decided," he said. His voice was steady. "I'm going to take the entrance test for Viserk Academy."
The words settled between them.
For a moment, there was only the sound of the fire.
Then Elara's expression softened, not with surprise, but recognition. As if she had been waiting for this sentence and simply did not know when it would arrive.
Arel set his utensils down carefully.
"Have you," he said. Not questioning. Inviting.
"Yes," Pryan replied. "I've thought about it for a long time."
Elara reached across the table and rested her hand over his, warm and firm.
"You don't have to push yourself," she said. "You're still a child, Pryan. No matter how fast you grow."
He met her eyes.
"I know."
Her grip tightened slightly. "Whatever you choose, I'll support you. Always. Even if you change your mind later."
Something in Pryan's chest eased. Not fully. But enough.
Arel nodded once. "Viserk is not an easy path," he said. "But it's a good one. And you won't be walking it alone."
He turned his head slightly. "Marven."
The butler stepped forward from the shadows near the wall, posture immaculate as ever.
"Yes, my lord."
"Send for my aide," Arel said. "Have him join us."
Marven bowed and left without another word.
Elara withdrew her hand and returned to her meal, as if this were the most natural progression of an evening.
"You'll eat," she said to Pryan. "Thinking works better when you're not hungry."
He obeyed.
The aide arrived shortly after.
He was older, dressed plainly, with the kind of posture that suggested long hours spent standing beside people who made decisions. His name was Corven, and he bowed to Pryan with respectful familiarity.
"My lord," Corven said. "You wished to know about Viserk Academy."
"Yes," Pryan replied.
Corven inclined his head and began.
"Viserk stands at the intersection of all major dukedoms," he said. "Its land is independent. Neither duke nor viscount holds authority there."
"Only the royal family," Arel added, "and the academy's headmaster."
Corven continued. "The territory itself is vast. Nearly the size of Ardmere. Trade routes pass through it, but none control it. That neutrality is what allows the academy to exist."
"And the journey?" Pryan asked.
"Long, but safe," Corven replied. "You'll travel through three regions before reaching Viserk's outer lands. Escorts will accompany you until the final border. After that, academy jurisdiction applies."
Elara frowned slightly. "It's far."
"Yes," Corven said simply.
Pryan nodded. He already knew that part.
Arel studied his son for a moment longer, then spoke. "You'll prepare properly. No rushing. No proving anything to anyone."
"I understand," Pryan said.
Elara reached for his hand again, this time squeezing once before letting go.
"Just promise me one thing," she said.
"What?"
"That you won't forget you're allowed to be human," she said softly. "Even there."
Pryan hesitated.
Then he nodded.
"I promise.",he said with a calm smile.
Later that night, alone in his room, Pryan sat at his desk and stared at the wall long after the lantern had dimmed.
Viserk Academy.
A place he had once failed to reach.
A place that now waited for him again, unchanged and entirely different.
This time, he would arrive not as someone chasing strength.
But as someone who understood its cost.
And for the first time, he did not feel alone in that understanding.