Martice leaned back against his bed frame, arms crossed, watching as Kaelen neatly arranged his few belongings on his side of the dorm. The silence between them had been easy, unbothered—until Martice decided to break it in the bluntest way possible.
"So," he started, voice carrying just a hint of amusement, "are you related to Head Administrator Veyl, or was that extremely convenient last name a coincidence?"
Kaelen let out a long sigh, like he'd been expecting the question and had really been hoping Martice wouldn't be the one to ask it. He placed his last item—a folded spare uniform—on the shelf before finally turning to Martice.
"He's my grandfather."
Martice raised an eyebrow. "Huh. That explains why he looked at you like you owed him something."
Kaelen shrugged, rubbing the back of his neck. "It's not really a secret, but I don't usually go around announcing it either."
Martice tilted his head slightly. "He doesn't look old enough to be your grandfather, though. I mean, sure, he's got that 'imposing administrator' thing going on, but I was expecting gray beard, old-man wisdom, you know?"
Kaelen sighed even deeper, rubbing his temples this time. "Yeah. That's because he's manipulating time to slow his aging."
Martice blinked. "Oh. That… actually makes sense."
Kaelen let out a humorless chuckle. "Yeah, well, most people don't realize it. Time magic gets written off as just reversing mistakes or freezing moments—but my family's been using it in ways that most mages don't even consider."
Martice narrowed his eyes slightly, intrigued. "Maintaining magic like that for years should be impossible."
Kaelen shrugged. "If you're using time magic the way most people do? Yeah. The mana cost would kill you." He sighed again, rubbing his temples. "But my family… we do things differently. The techniques we use—" He hesitated for a moment before shaking his head. "—they're not really something that gets mentioned outside the family."
Martice gave him a calculating look. "So, what, trade secret?"
"More like a necessity," Kaelen muttered. "Time isn't meant to be manipulated on a large scale. It's… volatile." He leaned back against the wall, looking distant. "It's like trying to carry water in your hands—no matter how careful you are, some of it will slip through. You can slow the flow, redirect it, but stopping it entirely? That's when things get dangerous."
Martice hummed thoughtfully. "And yet your grandfather's been keeping himself young for decades."
Kaelen gave a humorless smile. "Yeah. Which means he's compensating for it somewhere else."
Martice frowned, processing that. The idea of bending time to extend one's life made sense in theory, but if the cost had to be paid in some other way… what exactly was the trade-off?
Shifting topics slightly, Martice asked, "So what can you do?"
Kaelen exhaled through his nose, giving him a sideways glance. "What do you think?"
Martice shrugged. "I thought you could just rewind and fast forward things a bit. But now, I'm wondering how far that actually goes."
Kaelen was silent for a moment, then lifted a hand.
The air around his fingertips shimmered subtly, like heat waves rising from stone.
"I can slow things down," he said, the movement of his hand seeming almost too fluid too deliberate. "Speed things up." He snapped his fingers, and the sound came a half second too late, as if reality had just played catch-up.
Martice raised an eyebrow. "That's disorienting."
Kaelen smirked slightly. "It's worse when you're in the middle of it." He flexed his fingers, the magic fading. "I can also rewind… but that's the part that takes the biggest toll."
Martice nodded slowly. "That's why you looked like death after the last trial."
Kaelen huffed a short laugh. "Yeah. I burned through way too much mana getting us all up to the last platform."
Martice leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "So let me get this straight—you can undo events, you can manipulate time on a personal scale, and your family is hiding time magic secrets from the rest of the world?"
Kaelen nodded. "Pretty much."
Martice let out a slow breath. "Damn."
Kaelen shot him a dry look. "Yeah, it's a lot to live up to."
The room fell into a brief but comfortable silence, the weight of the conversation settling between them.
Eventually, Martice leaned back against his bed frame again, a smirk creeping onto his face. "You know, if I could manipulate time, I'd never be late for anything."
Kaelen snorted. "You would think that. But trust me, when you actually have the power, it just means you procrastinate even harder."
Martice chuckled. "I can respect that."
Kaelen sighed, rubbing his face. "Gods, I'm so tired."
Martice gave him a knowing look. "Yeah, well, maybe next time, don't rewind reality before getting a good night's sleep."
Kaelen groaned. "Noted."
Kaelen groaned as he dropped onto his bed, exhaling sharply as the weight of exhaustion finally caught up to him. The day had stretched too long—trials, orientation, explanations, expectations—it was a miracle he was still upright at all.
Martice, still seated across from him, stretched his arms over his head. "I take it that's your way of saying goodnight?"
Kaelen didn't even respond. His breathing had already slowed, the tension melting from his body as sleep dragged him under without hesitation.
Martice watched for a moment, his usual smirk slipping into something quieter. The room was dim now, the academy's enchanted lighting fading into the low glow of dormitory lanterns.
It was a strange feeling—being here.
He had spent so much time preparing for this place, for the trials, for the start of his journey. But now that he was in it, now that he was settled into his dorm, hearing Kaelen's even breathing across from him, he realized something…
The real work hadn't even begun.
Elsewhere, across the dormitory…
Fenn wasn't sleeping.
Not because he couldn't, but because sleep was boring, and there were still so many things to learn about the academy's security measures.
He lounged lazily on his bed, arms folded behind his head, staring at the ceiling. His mind churned—not with worry, not with regret, but calculated consideration.
Remaining at the academy for this long was going to be a challenge.
They'd doubtless expect him to sit still. To play by their rules.
Fenn grinned to himself. Well, we'll just have to see about that, won't we?
And on the outskirts of the dormitory, in the quietest corner of the academy, a lost soul stirred.
The world around him was still dark—not because it was night, but because his mind had not yet reassembled itself.
He had been sleeping for… how long?
He didn't know.
And for the first time, the thought terrified him.
Aeryn stood alone beneath the stars, eyes closed, Sylra's soft glow illuminating the courtyard around them.
The academy was quiet now, settled into its first night. But she could still feel the lingering hum of magic, the pulse of something far older than the trials, older than the school itself.
Her hands rested against the bark of the tree she had grown during the examination—the very same that had vanished when the trial ended, leaving nothing behind.
Except…
Beneath her palm, something stirred.
Faint. Almost imperceptible.
But it was there.
Sylra shifted beside her, sensing it too.
Aeryn didn't smile, didn't frown. She simply whispered, "So you still remain."
And as the wind passed through the branches, the leaves whispered back.
On this night, Kaelen collapsed into a dreamless sleep, his mana utterly drained from the burdens of time.
On this night, Martice contemplated the meaning of the path ahead, the weight of expectations heavy on his shoulders.
On this night, Bohdi's scheme was already taking shape—just waiting for its moment to unfold.
On this night, a lost soul dreamed, frightened and disoriented, reaching for a past he could not yet grasp.
And on this night, Aeryn felt something stir deep within the roots of her power—something that should not have remained.
The road ahead would test them all.
And as the academy's lanterns flickered in the night, the first day came to a close—marking the beginning of everything.