Opening Line:
âSome beginnings donât shout. They arrive quietly⦠but change everything.â
---
Scene 1: Flashback â Young Kaelric at Valethir Academy
A boy, barely eleven, stood near the edge of the corridor at Valethir Academy, his eyes fixed on the floor. His father towered over him â stern, impatient.
Karlos (Father):
"Why donât you try harder? Keep this up, and you'll be the weakest in Igniseth. And stop crying â you're too soft, Kaelric."
Kaelric sniffled, struggling to hold back tears. His small fists curled tightly at his sides.
A voice broke the tension.
Mistress (approaching):
"Mr. Karlos, Iâve been looking for you."
Karlos (quickly turning):
"Ah! I was just about to come find you."
Mistress:
"Letâs sit and talk, Mr. Karlos."
Karlos offered Kaelric a stiff smile, but his tone was cold.
Karlos:
"Iâll be back. Stay here."
Kaelric kept his gaze down. The moment his father disappeared around the corner, a girl approached him â about the same age. She held out a small, round candy that shimmered like it was made of rose petals.
Kaelric looked up. Her eyes sparkled like sunlight dancing over water. Her shoulder-length black hair swayed with the breeze.
For a moment, Kaelric forgot to breathe.
Girl:
"This is my favorite candy⦠but you can have it, if you want."
Kaelric (frowning):
"Iâm not a baby. I donât need candy."
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Girl (teasing):
"Oh really? But I heard only babies cry with snot running down their nose⦠and look, yours is dripping."
Kaelric blinked â then let out a tiny, surprised laugh.
She smiled and handed him the candy anyway.
Girl:
"Iâm Dunira."
Kaelric didnât say anything. But he took the candy.
From that moment, a quiet friendship began. One that didnât need big promises or loud moments â just an unexpected act of warmth.
---
Scene changes : Present â Outside the Academy Gates
Dunira walked beside Sansa, unwrapping a familiar rose candy and popping it into her mouth.
Sansa (teasing):
"Not sharing today?"
Dunira (smirking):
"I need it. And I donât like sharing. Especially this one."
Sansa (nudging her):
"You donât think you were a little harsh back there?"
Dunira:
"It was just a candy."
Sansa (raising a brow):
"I meant your response to Kaelric. He only said that because he wanted Vespara to choose him instead of you. Poor guy â the whole hall saw it."
Dunira (tense):
"I donât want people thinking Iâm weak. I donât need Kaelric stepping in like heâs my protector."
Sansa rolled her eyes and stopped walking. She turned to face Dunira, placing both hands gently on her shoulders.
Sansa:
"Dunira, youâre not weak. But seriously⦠everyone knows Kaelric likes you."
Dunira stiffened. Her throat caught.
Dunira:
"Thatâs not true."
Sansa (grinning):
"Oh please. Stop pretending. Why else would you keep running away from him? Itâs painfully obvious."
Duniraâs cheeks flushed.
Dunira:
"Obvious how?"
Sansa (with a smirk):
"Obvious enough."
Flustered, Dunira turned and began walking faster.
Sansa (calling out, sing-song):
"Ooooooh Duniraaa~"
Dunira groaned and picked up her pace.
---
Scene changes : At night â Tharavine, Duniraâs Home
Dunira lay in bed, wide-eyed, her thoughts racing â the dream, the Veilpond, the strange power, the officers. Her chest felt tight with too many questions.
She suddenly sat up.
Dunira (to herself):
"Just lying here⦠wonât solve anything."
The door opened.
Navalyn (voice breaking):
"Dunira..."
Dunira (alarmed):
"Mother? What happened?"
Navalyn:
"Itâs... Lira. She disappeared."
The words hit Dunira like a blow to the chest.
Dunira:
"No... it canât be..."
---
ð (Narration)
Lira and Dunira were cousins â born to twin sisters, Navalyn and Serenya. Though the twins looked nothing alike, their daughters were close. Serenya still lived in Lunareth.
---
Navalyn:
"Serenyaâs shattered. She hasn't stopped crying. Orren and some others are searching, but... Crestbore officers came. They showed her Liraâs satchel. Theyâve started an official investigation."
Dunira (suddenly alert):
"They were at the Academy today too."
Navalyn (alarmed):
"What?"
Dunira (rushed):
"Crestbore. They were looking for something. And something's wrong, Mom. Everythingâs been off. During a challenge⦠I lifted an entire pondâs water. And at the Veilpond⦠I saw destruction. Darkness. I saw myself on a battlefield."
Navalyn froze. Her expression shifted from confusion, to disbelief⦠then to something unreadable. Her face turned pale.
Navalyn (quietly):
"You saw... a battlefield?"
Her voice dropped to a whisper.
Navalyn:
"Dunira⦠I donât want to panic you. But I canât let you go back. Not yet. Somethingâs wrong. Deeply wrong."
She cupped Duniraâs cheek, trying to hide the fear in her eyes.
Navalyn:
"Weâll figure it out. Youâre not alone."
But Duniraâs mind was already drifting â to Lira, the vision, and the shadow that refused to let go.
---
After a while ...
Dunira didnât realised when she fell asleep â only that the silence turned into darkness⦠and the darkness into fear.
Blackness.
Then â shapes.
A pale, cold light spread across a green lake. Around her, students stood in a circle â frozen, unmoving. Trees loomed in the background, but it was their faces that chilled her.
Their eyes were blank. Ghost-white. As if their souls had been stolen.
And among them stood Lira.
Dunira (whispering):
"Liraâ¦? Lira! Letâs go. Everyoneâs looking for you."
Lira turned. Her face was pale, and when her eyes met Duniraâs, they had no whites â only deep black pupils like ink.
Lira (shaking):
"Dunira⦠theyâll kill us⦠all of usâ¦"
Dunira:
"Lira, calm down. Who are you talking about?"
Liraâs terrified gaze shifted â not at Dunira, but behind her.
Dunira turned â a shadow-like structure stood behind her, dark and twisting, whispering in a raspy, echoing voice:
Shadow:
"We⦠are⦠comingâ¦"
End of chapter ð©¸