At fifteen, Kael received a letter. Not just any letter—an invitation bearing the silver crest of Arkhensoul, the most prestigious academy of magic in all of Aetherra.
Arkhensoul was a place where noble blood and high magic intertwined. Every student there had influence, bloodlines, and legacy.
Kael had only knowledge.
On his first day, he was placed in the lowest ranking class. Assigned the smallest dormitory. Mocked for his faded family name. But by the end of the first week, he'd outdueled a noble heir using a hybrid spell the instructors couldn't even categorize.
A spell that used both:
Aetheric sigil arrays (Construct)
And the Invocation of the Seventh Flame (Archaic)
The instructors called it unstable. Dangerous.
Kael called it progress.