The council hall remained silent after she spoke.
Valdros Academy.
The words hung in the air like they didn't belong in a village like Asterwall. They sounded too far away. Too important.
Karl's throat was dry. "Why me?"
Liraen's gaze didn't waver.
"Because the mark chose you."
Mira shifted beside him, suddenly serious. Even she understood the weight of those words.
Elder Mareth finally broke the silence.
"You leave at dawn."
That night, Karl stood outside his house, staring up at the stars.
They looked the same. But everything beneath them had shifted.
He heard quiet footsteps behind him.
"You're really going?" Mira asked, arms folded, trying to sound casual.
"You heard them."
"I also heard you almost died in a well and got marked by an ancient spirit. I hear a lot of things. Doesn't mean I like them."
He chuckled. "I'll be back. Maybe with a beast companion and a long coat."
"Don't come back if it's a stupid coat."
A pause.
Then:
"Just come back."
At sunrise, Karl stood at the edge of the village.
His pack was light. His heart heavier.
Liraen waited just beyond the shrine, her hawk already circling above.
Elder Haren gave a small nod. Elder Mareth wouldn't meet his eyes.
Mira shoved something into his hands.
A scarf. Red. Bright. Way too Mira.
"Don't get yourself killed before your first lesson," she muttered.
Karl looked back once as they walked out of Asterwall.
The trees swayed gently. The wind was cold. And somewhere, distant but certain, his mark pulsed once.
A whisper in the frost.
A step closer to what slept inside.