The Celestial Academy's Trial Plaza roared with excitement.
This was no ordinary day.
Once every cycle, new entrants of the academy had their veins inscribed into fire before the elder sigilstone—a relic of the Founding Lawforger himself. The ritual determined not only status, but public standing, as each youth's Crest manifested from their veins in spectral light.
Nocth stood among dozens under the radiant ring of elder mages. His eyes wandered, though—half distracted by a girl trying to spy on him from behind a broken pillar, half by the flickering whisper in his chest.
Shae stood near him, casually sipping from a chilled gourd of violet wine, unbothered by the ceremony's grandeur.
> "That's Luu," she muttered, nodding toward the awkward girl with jeweled boots and hair like gilded waterfall threads. "Daughter of a dragon, mind of a rabbit. Assigned to 'observe' you."
Nocth blinked. "Spy?"
"Poorly," Shae said, handing him the gourd. "Don't drink it, just hold it. Makes you look important."
---
The Ceremony Begins
One by one, students stepped into the ring, pressing a hand to the sigilstone. Flames leapt skyward, revealing their crest — a symbol shaped by their bloodline and awakened vein traits.
Calem stepped up early.
His veins flared with icy blue, and a blade-shaped crest of frost hovered above him. Students gasped. A crest of the Fifth Tier — rare.
He turned, eyes daring Nocth to follow.
Nocth stepped forward next.
At first… silence.
Then the sigilstone cracked.
A sharp burst of ashen fire erupted, spiraling up into a void-shaped sigil — shifting, unreadable, yet blinding. The flames didn't just burn, they erased light around them.
Then it all collapsed into the stone, and the entire ground dimmed.
Elder Ramasu stood quickly, eyes wide. "The Crest… burned through the stone?"
Nocth stepped back, hand still smoking, as whispers filled the crowd.
"Was that even a Crest?"
"It... broke the ritual?"
"That's not possible…"
Calem scowled, jaw tight. Shae chuckled softly.
Later That Night – Private Chambers of the Elders
Lord Enmer, recently summoned from Selun'Thael, stood with the Academy's High Master.
"The boy's Crest burned through a foundational relic," the High Master said. "That's not mere prodigy. It's... unsorted Law."
Lord Enmer's thoughts turned to the Auracrown's flicker days ago.
"We must not act rashly. The moment we try to cage what we don't understand," he whispered, "we risk waking things older than us."
Meanwhile – In the Garden Courtyard
Luu clumsily scribbled notes on a floating page while peeking around a marble statue.
"Subject… stared at clouds for five minutes. Likely hiding strategic depth."
Then she tripped on her own hem and fell face-first into a water basin.
Nocth, sitting nearby, raised an eyebrow. "Are you spying again?"
She sputtered. "I'm… not! I just like clouds too!"
Shae appeared beside him, lounging lazily. "Told you. Dragon blood, rabbit brain."
Nocth almost smiled.