Dawn slipped through the closed window's slats at "The Silent Raven," a ramshackle inn on the outskirts of East Vigil. A grayish light, fragile as a whisper, brushed the worn wooden walls, clashing with the warmth still pulsing in the air after a night of grazing touches and biting laughter. The wolf pelts strewn across the bed exhaled a rough scent of old leather, but the space was saturated with an impossible sweetness, a wild, floral perfume that emanated from Kaili and rose like a living entity, drowning everything else. The candles from the night before, melted into hardened wax puddles on the oak table, cast trembling shadows that writhed with each icy gust seeping through the cracks—a sterile chill that couldn't compete with the purple glow dominating the dimness.
Kaili rested atop Sebastián's chest, her true form unveiled in the privacy of the moment: clear purple skin shimmering as if it held fragments of galaxies, golden and red runes pulsing in a slow rhythm that sent vibrations through the air with contained energy. Her iridescent wings—a whirlwind of fathomless black, vibrant purple, and blazing scarlet—lay folded, brushing the pelts with a whisper that left glistening trails of oil. Her gemmed horns, crowned with glints that sliced the light like daggers, rose near his face, majestic and sharp. Sebastián, his green shirt hanging in tatters from one shoulder, held her with a calloused hand tracing the runes with casual ease, his deep breathing resonating like a rhythmic echo in the charged silence.
"What if we stay like this 'til the sun gives up?" Sebastián murmured, his hoarse voice breaking the stillness, a crooked smirk tugging at his face as his fingers followed the edge of a golden rune with a slow stroke. "Don't tell me this human wreck's already bored you, Kaili." She cracked one eye open, cosmic sparks dancing in her black gaze, and let out a huff that rang like a glacial echo. "Boredom would be giving too much credit to your racket, gardener. You still snore like you're trying to bring this dump down," she shot back, her tone sharp as a stellar blade, though a fleeting hint—a warmth he knew well—slipped into her breath against his chest.
Sebastián let out a low laugh, the sound stirring the pelts with a dry rustle. "How generous of you. At least I'm the wreck who worked out your knots last night—poor Bonebreaker didn't get off so easy in the coliseum." His brown eyes glinted with amusement as he looked at her, his hand sliding up her back with a steady touch. "How fast did you send him to the other side? He looked like a bull 'til you broke him down."
She raised an eyebrow, her mouth curling into a sneer of pure disdain. "That gnat didn't even have time to blink—one hit, and he crumpled like the weakling he was. Trash like that doesn't deserve my notice," she said, her voice a stellar hiss slicing through the air, giving him a light shove in the chest with her elbow as her silver eyes flashed with an arrogance that filled the room. "You're still here making noise—a miracle your clumsiness can't explain."
"Miracle? Nah, I'm just too stubborn to leave," he replied, his laugh rumbling as he nudged her back gently, his fingers tangling in the feathers of one of her wings with a seasoned confidence. "But seriously, Kaili, that coliseum crowd was screaming like you'd touched the heavens. What's it feel like having them at your feet for a bit?"
Kaili growled, propping herself up on an elbow to face him, her dark hair falling in messy strands that grazed her purple skin. "A bunch of fools yowling like I'd done them a favor. They cheered me for cleaning up their garbage—pathetic," she said, her tone laced with a contempt that seemed to press against the walls, her wings stirring with a low hum that made the hardened wax quiver. "They're not even worth the ashes I leave behind."
He grinned, sinking deeper into the pelts with a calm that countered her edge. "Poor mortals, they don't know clapping doesn't buy you anything. Though it beat that time you tried cooking with my herbs and nearly torched the forest," he teased, his voice dry but warm with a familiarity only she'd catch, his hands resting behind his head as he shot her a raised eyebrow.
She narrowed her eyes, her mouth twitching into a grimace that couldn't quite hide a spark of amusement. "Cooking? That was an experiment—you're the one who nearly poisoned those wolves with your concoction. What a waste of fire," she said, her dry laugh cutting through the air as she tapped his shoulder with the back of her hand, a gesture hiding a subtle thrill. "Stick to your weeds, gardener—it's the only thing you don't completely screw up."
"The only thing? That's a low blow, Kaili. My hands got those knots out last night, and I didn't hear any complaints," he countered, his tone playful as he leaned toward her, his breath grazing her neck with a calm that defied her sharpness. "Admit it, I'm more useful than you let on."
Kaili tilted her chin up, her eyes flashing with a mix of mockery and defiance. "Useful like an old rag—passable, nothing more. Don't get too full of yourself, or I'll make you sleep out with the wolves," she said, her voice a glacial murmur thrumming with a spark he knew how to read, her wings shifting slightly as if to punctuate her threat.
"Outside? After all I've put up with, I deserve at least a corner in here," he shot back, his low laugh rumbling as he glanced at her sidelong, his fingers drumming on a rune along her back. "Though if you kick me out, I'm taking the pelts—earned those with sweat."
She huffed, giving him a firmer shove that rustled the pelts beneath them. "Sweat and clumsiness—what a prize. Keep your rags, gardener, I wouldn't use them to wipe my boots," she said, her tone sharp but with a faint curve to her lips that betrayed a game they both knew well.
A distant clatter broke through then, the rumble of heavy wheels on cobblestone growing like a dull echo through East Vigil's streets. Sebastián frowned, his body tensing slightly as he muttered, "What the hell's that now? More coliseum fanatics?" Kaili lifted her head, her eyes flashing with annoyance, the runes on her skin flaring briefly brighter. "Mortals and their noise—if it's another pest with delusions, I'll turn it to ash," she hissed, her voice a stellar whisper promising chaos.
The sound drew closer, joined by sharp whinnies and a chorus of excited voices echoing outside: "It's a noble! He's got guards!" some shouted, while others barked muddled orders—"Clear the way! It's the Council!"—mingling with the stomp of boots and the clink of metal. The clamor crashed in like a wave, shattering the dawn's calm until three sharp knocks rattled the door, a firm sound that made the boards creak with authority. A deep voice cut through the wood, crisp and demanding: "Open at once! I am an emissary of the Noble Council with urgent business for the coliseum warrior."
Sebastián grunted, rising with a rustle of the pelts, his hand slipping from Kaili's back. "Well, someone thinks they own the world this morning. Wanna bet it's another clown with gold and no brains?" he said, his tone biting but relaxed as he glanced toward the door. Kaili stood with a fluid motion, the pelts sliding to the floor, and with a sharp snap of her fingers, her human form emerged instantly: a sensual, curvaceous figure clad in a tight black linen shirt and flawless leather pants, her black hair cascading over her shoulders, her eyes—black sclera with silver pupils—glinting with an intensity that needed no wings or horns to intimidate. "What a nuisance—another mortal with delusions. Go open it, gardener, I want to see how long it takes to bore me," she said, crossing her arms with a dangerous calm, her presence filling the space like a living shadow.
He blinked, eyeing her with a mix of disbelief and amusement as he got up with a sigh. "So all this time you could do that and let me think you were stripping for the show," he said, shaking his head with a low chuckle as he adjusted his tattered shirt. "You're a walking trick, Kaili—fine, I'll go, but that loudmouth's not getting me to rush." He ambled toward the door with deliberately slow steps, the floor creaking under his boots as the knocks repeated, sharper now.
"Open now! I've no time for games—the Council demands answers," the voice roared from the hall, backed by the clatter of armor and heavy footsteps. Sebastián turned the knob with a lazy twist and yanked the door open, the hinges groaning in protest. The hallway light revealed a tall man draped in a dark blue velvet tunic embroidered with silver threads that gleamed under the dawn. His black hair, combed with obsessive precision, framed an angular face with green eyes radiating a serene arrogance, a golden crown-and-flame insignia on his chest proclaiming his rank. Three imposing guards flanked him: gleaming black armor, swords at their hips, faces hard as stone, their boots echoing with an intimidating rhythm. The sharp scent of expensive incense he carried clashed with Kaili's sweetness, thickening the air with tension.
Sebastián leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed with a calm bordering on indifference. "Quite an entrance—looks like someone brought a parade to impress," he said, his voice dry as he sized up the noble and his guards with narrowed eyes. "Who are you, rich boy? And what's so urgent you're banging down doors at dawn?"
The man, Lord Varian Kaelthas, tilted his head slightly, his green eyes sliding over Sebastián with calculated disdain before locking onto Kaili, who stood with a posture that defied the space. "I am an emissary of the Ascendants, one of the six glorious factions of the Noble Council," he began, his voice smooth and measured, laced with a pride that rang with precision, stepping forward with a deliberate rustle of his tunic. His guards moved behind him, metal clinking in disciplined unison. "I witnessed your performance in the coliseum, my lady. That instantaneous healing, that strength—it's not mere skill. It's a latent potential, a dormant power you've yet to claim. I believe you're an echo of the Vaelthar, a noble house that faded into shadow centuries ago. Join me, and I'll awaken that buried spark."
Kaili let out a dry laugh that sliced through the air like a whip, stepping toward him with a calm that made the boards creak under her boots, her silver pupils glinting in their black sclera like stars in a void. "Latent potential? You think I'm some relic you can dig up and polish? What a grand fool you are," she said, her voice a glacial murmur thrumming with contempt, the air around her thickening with an unseen pressure. "I don't need a worm like you to awaken anything."
Sebastián snorted, eyeing Varian with a mocking smirk. "Lots of fancy words for nothing—you sound like a market hawker with that tongue," he said, his tone sharp but easy, leaning harder against the door. "Keep going, rich boy, see if you sway anyone besides your goons."
Varian raised an eyebrow, his gaze drifting to Sebastián with a mix of irritation and restrained superiority, a faint tic pulsing along his jaw betraying his calm. "Your input is beneath my notice, commoner. This is a matter beyond your grasp," he replied, his voice cool but edged with a crystalline bite, before turning back to Kaili. "I haven't spoken of you to the Ascendants yet—this is an opportunity I offer you in private. But it's only a matter of time before the six factions learn of it: the Custodians, the Bloodforgers, the Pactbearers, the Veilheralds, the Ashliberators, and us, the Ascendants. They'll all seek to claim you once they see what I saw—a power that transcends mortality, a remnant of something ancient."
Kaili scoffed, cutting him off with a sound that rumbled like distant thunder, her silver eyes flaring with a fleeting purple glint. "Awaken my strength? You, a trembling pest, think you can give me something I don't already have?" she said, her laugh a stellar hiss filling the air as she spun an armor plate between her fingers before tossing it to the floor with a clank that echoed. "You're a joke, mortal—a joke not worth my breath."
Varian tilted his head, his expression hardening as his hands tightened deliberately around his jeweled staff, the rings glinting like tiny suns. "You underestimate what I know," he said, his voice low but heavy with icy certainty. "King Alaric plans to abdicate, leaving the throne to one of his four sons—Drenvar, Lysar, Korrin, or Thalind. The factions will convene in Vorsath to decide, and I will rise with or without your aid. But with you… that latent potential could crush armies. Your healing echoes the chronicles of the Vaelthar—I know what you are, even if you don't. I offer you a million Argentyum coins—a million, my lady, enough to buy this kingdom."
Kaili laughed louder, the sound a cataclysm that forced the guards back, her eyes blazing with a purple glow that lit the room, the air humming with a pressure that made the walls groan. "A million? For a power you can't even grasp? You're a rat with delusions," she said, advancing with a calm that shook the floor, her curvaceous figure casting a shadow that seemed to swallow the light. "I don't need your scraps—I can take whatever I want whenever I please. What makes you think a worm like you could 'awaken' anything in me?"
Varian narrowed his eyes, his face holding a mask of control as a faint tic ran along his jaw. "Because I saw it," he replied, his tone steady but laced with an intellectual fervor. "That healing isn't human—it's an echo of the Vaelthar, a house that ruled before it fell. With my guidance, you could be more than a coliseum fighter—you could claim what's yours by right." He paused, his gaze assessing her with a blend of greed and awe. "Allow me to show you what an Ascendant can offer." With a precise motion, he raised his staff and brought it down against the floor, unleashing a wave of blue energy that crackled like lightning, splintering the boards and sending a gust that rattled the dead candles.
Kaili lifted a hand with a lazy gesture, her expression indifferent as the electric hum died in an instant. The cracks froze as if time had snared them, and the blue energy faded into a pitiful whisper, dissolving like smoke before her presence. "Cute trick—you look like a kid playing with sparks," she said, her voice a glacial roar slicing through the air, the space around her thickening with an invisible force that made Varian stumble back, his green eyes glinting with contained astonishment. "Is that all you've got, mortal? What a letdown."
Sebastián stepped toward her, his tone dry but carrying a new edge. "Told you, rich boy—keep talking, and she'll turn you to dust before you finish your pitch. Not smart to poke her when she's in a mood," he said, his eyes locked on Varian as he crossed his arms, a warning wrapped in mockery that made the guards tighten their grips on their sword hilts.
Varian straightened, his staff steady in his hand as a shadow of reassessment crossed his face, his voice reclaiming an icy calm. "Intriguing… more than I anticipated," he murmured, almost to himself, before lifting his gaze to Kaili with a tight smile. "You don't need to accept me today—but when the factions come for you, you'll recall my offer. The Ascendants don't forget." With an elegant gesture, he turned toward the door, his guards following in silence, the clink of their armor fading like a retreating echo.
Sebastián slammed the door shut behind them, chuckling low as he sank back onto the pelts, glancing at Kaili with a smirk that mixed amusement and wariness. "What a guy—this is gonna be a mess, huh? That rich boy's not the type to give up easy." She settled beside him, growling as her black hair spilled over her shoulders, her silver eyes glinting with a lingering glow that still hummed in the air. "Let them come—I'll crush them all. Go to sleep, gardener, I'm done with all this noise," she said, her tone sharp but with a faint curve to her lips he knew how to read, her hand brushing his arm with a fleeting calm before curling into a fist, a gesture that said more than her words.