Elemental Blitz

11

Rael trudged alongside Miris, Vynn, and Captain Olysia, every step sending sharp pain through his side. Blood from the gash left by the creature’s claws had soaked through his tunic, but he kept his face expressionless. The physical pain was manageable, but the gnawing sensation in his gut, the echoes of the creature’s words—those were harder to ignore.

“The shadow calls to you. You are its chosen.”

He couldn’t get the voice out of his head. Worse, no one else had reacted when the creature spoke. His gaze flicked briefly to Captain Olysia, whose face remained hardened and unreadable. Did she hear it? No. No one else seemed to have heard a thing. It was meant for him alone.

As they continued toward the academy gates, Miris gave Rael a sidelong glance. “You okay?” she asked, her sharp edge softened by concern.

Rael grunted, his voice rough. “I’m fine.”

She didn’t press further. She knew better than to pry, but her gaze lingered on him longer than usual.

They reached the gates of the Magi War Academy just before dawn, the towering stone walls a welcome sight after the chaos of the Ghostwoods. Other recruits and instructors had joined them but the captain made sure they kept their distance. Healers were waiting near the gates, their hands already glowing with soft, restorative magic. As they entered, Rael felt the comforting warmth of their spells enveloping him, but before the healers could fully take over, Captain Olysia pulled him aside.

“You did well out there, Rael Phaze,” she said, her voice measured as she studied him with a critical eye. “But that thing—whatever it was—seemed to know you.”

Rael didn’t flinch, though his heartbeat quickened. “I’ve never seen anything like it before.”

“Neither have I,” Olysia muttered, her eyes narrowing as they flicked over the blood-soaked tunic. “Get yourself healed. But we’ll talk more about this later.”

Rael gave a nod, grateful she didn’t press him more. As the healers led him to the infirmary, Rael’s thoughts churned like a storm. He had to figure out what was going on—quietly. No one else needed to know what the creature had said to him.

In the infirmary, the healers quickly stitched him up with their magic and left him to rest. Once alone, the familiar quiet settled over the room, but Rael’s mind was anything but calm. His thoughts were a whirlwind of confusion and anger. He barely noticed when the door opened behind him.

“So, we meet again,” came a calm, familiar voice.

Rael turned sharply, his eyes narrowing at the woman who stepped into the room. It was her—the woman who had approached him after the trials. This time, though, she wasn’t cloaked in shadows. She wore the black robes of an academy instructor.

“Well,” Rael said, his voice dry. “Professor Rozlyn Gauss.”

The woman smiled faintly, her sharp features only highlighted by the soft glow of the infirmary lights. “Hello, Rael.”

“What do you want?” Rael asked, sitting up straighter, his voice low and cold. His side still ached, but the pain seemed secondary now.

Rozlyn stepped closer, her gaze intense but not threatening. “It’s time we had a proper conversation about who you really are.”

Rael’s jaw tightened. “I know who I am.”

She tilted her head slightly, amusement flickering in her eyes. “Do you? Your father—Jerman Phaze—told you about your mother, didn’t he?”

Rael’s muscles tensed, the wound momentarily forgotten. “He told me she didn’t want anything to do with us.”

“That much is true,” Rozlyn said softly, her voice cutting through the air like a blade. “But what he didn’t tell you was why. Your mother wasn’t just some woman who walked away, Rael. She was bound to an ancient and dangerous force—one that the academy has hidden away for centuries. And now, that force is waking up.”

Rael’s fists clenched at his sides, but his voice remained steady. “What are you talking about?”

Rozlyn’s gaze softened slightly as she took a seat opposite him. “You’ve grown up believing your mother left because she didn’t care for you or your father. But that’s not the whole story. Your mother, Elendris Morn, was not an ordinary woman. She was an elf—a member of the Vael’Thor.”

At the mention of the Vael’Thor, Rael’s eyes widened. He’d heard of them in passing, a secretive and feared faction among the elven races. The Vael’Thor were notorious for their deep connection to ancient, primal forces—forces older than the kingdoms, older even than magic itself. They were rumored to be keepers of forbidden knowledge, protectors of ancient powers, but they were also seen as dangerous extremists by many within elven society. It was said that the Vael’Thor had been exiled long ago due to their willingness to channel shadow magic—magic tied to the darker forces of the world.

“My mother was one of them?” Rael asked, the words coming out quieter than he intended.

Rozlyn nodded, her expression grim. “Yes. And it was through this connection that she came to meet your father. Jerman Phaze, back when he was still a soldier for the Kiston Kingdom, was sent on a diplomatic mission as protection for the group of noble diplomats to broker peace between the humans and the more secretive elven houses. It was during that mission that he crossed paths with Elendris. She was unlike any elf he had ever met—mysterious, powerful, and bound to the shadow magic that the Vael’Thor wielded.”

Rael’s mind flashed with an image of his father, tough as iron, teaching him to fight and survive. He had always been a man of few words, especially when it came to his past. Rael had known his father had left the army after meeting his mother, but Jerman had never spoken about her. The most he had said was that she “wanted nothing to do with us.” Now Rael was beginning to understand why.

“They fell in love, despite the odds,” Rozlyn continued. “Your father believed he could save her from the dark path the Vael’Thor walked. He tried to pull her away from their influence, away from the ancient powers they served. But the Vael’Thor don’t just let people leave, and Elendris… she was deeply entangled in their cause. She cared for your father, but her loyalty to the Vael’Thor and the shadow magic was stronger.”

Rael’s chest tightened as the weight of Rozlyn’s words settled in. “So she left.”

“Yes,” Rozlyn said softly. “She left not because she didn’t care for you or your father, but because the Vael’Thor demanded it. They knew the danger of her having a child with someone outside their order. A child like you. So, she gave you over to your father the same day you were born and disappeared.”

Rael’s pulse quickened. “A child like me?”

Rozlyn’s gaze intensified. “A child born of both human and elven blood, with a direct connection to the ancient shadow magic your mother wielded, and the untapped potential your father carried in his bloodline. Your abilities is a manifestation of that potential. It allows you to see and manipulate the elemental forces in ways that no one else can, but it’s also tied to the shadow. That’s why the creature in the Ghostwoods was drawn to you.”

Rael stared at her, his heart pounding in his chest. “The academy knows about this?”

Rozlyn nodded. “They’ve known for years. They’ve been watching you, waiting to see if you would awaken to your true potential. The creature you faced in the woods—it wasn’t there by accident. It was a harbinger, sent to test you, to see if you were ready.”

Rael’s head spun as he tried to process everything. His mother was an elven sorceress tied to an ancient and dangerous power. His father had left the army to protect him from that same power, but it had been watching him all along, waiting for the right moment to reveal itself. And the Academy itself had been watching him all along. It made him wonder how high it all went.

Rozlyn leaned in closer, her voice dropping to a whisper. “The shadow is rising, Rael. And you are the key to unlocking it. The academy will do whatever it can to keep you in the dark, but I can help you uncover the truth.”

Rael’s pulse quickened. He could feel the weight of her words pressing down on him, but he wasn’t ready to accept them. Not yet. “I’ll think about it,” he muttered, his voice strained.

Rozlyn straightened, her expression unreadable. “You don’t have much time, Rael. The shadow is coming. And when it does, you’ll have to choose a side.”

With that, she turned and swept out of the infirmary, leaving Rael alone with his thoughts. The quiet of the room returned, but it was no longer comforting—it was suffocating.

Rael lay back on the bed, staring at the ceiling. His mother. His power. The shadow that was rising. Everything he thought he knew had been turned upside down in a single conversation.

And now, Rael had to figure out what the hell to do next.