Chapter Three: The Academy of Whispers
Lila didn't remember how she fell.
The last thing she remembered was the blinding swirl of mist and the urgent voice telling her to run. Then darkness—thick, pulsing, almost alive—had wrapped itself around her like a cocoon. Now, she was lying on soft earth, the scent of lavender and old books filling her lungs.
Above her stretched an impossibly vast sky, dark and starlit, but unfamiliar. Constellations blinked in patterns she didn't recognize. She sat up slowly, groggy, her head spinning.
The landscape around her had shifted again.
Towering spires pierced the sky, each structure shaped not by tools, but as if grown directly from the earth. Trees wove themselves into archways. Lanterns floated midair, flickering with blue fire. And in the center of it all stood a grand castle-like structure—alive, breathing, its walls pulsing faintly with veins of light.
A sign carved into a floating slab of crystal read:
ARCANWYN ACADEMYWhere Magic Is Not Learned—It Is Remembered
Lila staggered to her feet, the words echoing in her head. This was real. It was all real. The creature, the figures in the mist, the prophecy... her. She wasn't dreaming. She wasn't imagining. She had stepped into a different world—one that had somehow been waiting for her.
A sudden movement to her right made her spin around. A girl, maybe seventeen, with flame-red curls and eyes like molten silver, stood watching her. She wore a long coat of midnight velvet, with symbols stitched in glowing thread.
"You're late," the girl said, her voice sharp, but not unkind. "We expected you yesterday."
"I—what?" Lila blinked. "Who are you?"
"Name's Thorne. First-year guide. You must be Harper." She said the name like it meant something more. "Come on. It's not safe to be out in the open after midnight."
As they walked toward the Academy gates, Lila couldn't help but glance around. She saw figures—students?—gliding silently across floating platforms, riding creatures that looked part-dragon, part-smoke. Whispers followed her. Eyes watched her from towers.
"What is this place, really?" Lila asked.
Thorne didn't slow down. "It's a school for the magically inclined. For people who see the things others can't. For creatures who were forgotten by your world. And for those born under the mark of the Prophecy."
Lila froze. "Prophecy?"
Thorne turned, expression unreadable. "They didn't tell you?" Then she sighed. "Of course they didn't. Come on. Let's get you inside. The Headmistress will explain."
The Academy doors opened without a sound, revealing a vast hall of shifting staircases, libraries suspended in midair, and creatures—real, magical creatures—walking alongside humans.
Lila's eyes widened at everything. A group of students passed, one with antlers growing from his head, another trailing mist where she walked. A pale boy leaned against the wall, his eyes glowing softly as shadows curled around his feet.
"You'll be assigned a House tomorrow," Thorne said. "Four of them. Each tied to an ancient magical creature. Each one tests your heart, not your skills."
Lila barely heard her. Her mind buzzed with questions, but before she could ask any, the hall suddenly fell silent.
A tall woman, robed in silver and black, with hair like woven night, stood at the far end of the hall. Her eyes glowed faintly with pale blue light.
"Welcome, Lila Harper," the woman said, her voice both kind and commanding. "I am Headmistress Caelum. We've been expecting you for a very long time."
Lila swallowed hard. "Why me?"
Caelum stepped forward, the floor rippling beneath her feet like water. "Because the Forbidden Creatures are vanishing. And the last time they disappeared... the world nearly ended."
Silence echoed.
"You, child, carry the bloodline of the first Gatekeeper," Caelum continued. "It is said that when the balance begins to break, a Seer born under the Veil of Two Moons will awaken the slumbering bond—and either save us all, or shatter the veil forever."
Lila's knees almost buckled.
Me?
Before she could respond, a deep rumble shook the ground. Students looked around, startled. Candles flickered. A cold breeze swept through the hall.
Caelum's eyes narrowed.
"They're here," she whispered.
"Who?" Lila asked, voice barely above a breath.
Caelum turned her gaze toward the tall stained glass window depicting a winged creature chained in fire.
"The ones who want to tear this world apart."