Chapter 16
*Elaris Veilshade – Mistress of the Veiled Dawn*
Elaris stood alone in her private chamber within the Sanctum—its walls covered in shifting sigil scripts that only she could decipher. Her hands hovered above a bowl of obsidian water as her voice whispered a forgotten tongue. The surface rippled—revealing a vision of Draziel and his companions around a dying fire.
He looked… uncertain. Still growing into the shape the Void had carved into him.
"Too fragile," she murmured. "But… *not broken yet.*"
She walked to a tall, cracked mirror. Within it, dozens of faces shimmered—agents, acolytes, and familiars tied to her web of influence.
With a snap of her fingers, one face enlarged—a young seer named *Kelrith*, stationed near the Hollow Expanse.
"Report," she said.
*Kelrith (via mirror):* "They passed through three nights ago. The girl—Ryann—suspects they're being followed. Sylas is paranoid. But Draziel… he's changing. We felt the flare. Something… shifted."
Elaris smiled faintly. "Good. Let him think he's evolving. Let him burn hotter. I want to know how far the Void will take him before it eats the rest of his soul."
She dismissed Kelrith and walked toward a glass case. Inside, a relic pulsed with dim, black light.
*A fragment of pre-Dominion Void.*
One of the few remnants from a time when Domains were wild and unchecked.
"Soon," she whispered, pressing her fingers to the glass, "you'll meet your chosen. And when you do… I will be there to welcome the end."
She turned and summoned a shadowform of herself.
"Begin the *Mirrored Hunt*. Send illusions—false allies, twisted memories. If he can't trust the world, maybe… just maybe… he'll turn to the only one who truly understands shadows."
*Her.*
---
Within the hidden sublevels of the Sanctum, Elaris descended a winding staircase that didn't appear on any of the council's maps. The torches along the walls did not burn with flame—they shimmered with phantasmal light, casting shadows that danced against logic.
She entered a chamber sealed with thirteen bindings—each representing a forgotten Dominion. At its center was a massive scrying crystal suspended in void energy, pulsing with eerie, rhythmic pulses. Around it circled fragments of lost memories—shattered illusions, echoes of old truths.
Elaris placed a hand on the crystal.
"Engage *Phase One*," she said aloud.
The crystal reacted, and the chamber thrummed as ancient bindings released. A ripple of energy shot through the illusion-web she'd been weaving for years. All across the continent, subtle agents and enchantments began activating.
*Targets:*
1. *Sylas* – Will begin to question if Ryann has ties to the Veilcasters.
2. *Ryann* – Nightmares begin tormenting her, suggesting Draziel may be the next great threat.
3. *Draziel* – He will begin to encounter *mirror phantoms*—perfect illusions of people from his past. His dead comrades. The betrayers. Even himself.
These aren't just visions. They fight. They bleed. They speak.
*Elaris' intent:* Break the growing unity between them. Isolate Draziel by forcing them to mistrust one another—while planting a singular whisper into his soul:
*"She is the only one who sees you."*
---
Later, back in her sanctum, Elaris poured herself a silver glass of shadowwine and watched as the illusions began to slither across the continent like smoke through cracks.
She turned to a darkened alcove.
"You may join the hunt now," she said.
A figure stepped from the shadow. Cloaked in silence, wearing a mask of living obsidian—Elaris's most dangerous assassin: *Thorne*.
"Track him, watch him, bleed him—slowly," she instructed. "And when the moment is right, do not kill him."
Thorne's voice was low, rasping: "Then what?"
"Break him. And bring him to me."
---
*The Forest Beyond Halden's Ridge – Three Nights After the Council*
The wind had taken on a new chill, one that seemed to whisper between the trees.
Draziel stirred from a restless sleep, sitting upright beside the dying embers of their campfire. Sylas lay not far, his back turned, breathing slow. Ryann had taken watch, sitting on a low boulder, eyes scanning the darkness.
But something was… off.
Draziel's eyes narrowed as a faint shimmer moved between the trees. Like a person—but flickering. No sound. Just motion.
He stood. Quietly.
Then, it stepped forward.
A figure cloaked in the unmistakable armor of a Domain Warden. Crimson scarf. Blackened gauntlets. Scar down the cheek.
*"Kaelen?"*
The name slipped out before Draziel could stop it.
The figure didn't speak. It simply stared—expression unreadable.
"You bastard!!," Draziel said, fists clenching.
And then the figure lunged.
Blades met in a sudden clash of steel. The force knocked Draziel back, sparks lighting the dark. Sylas awoke with a shout, drawing his weapon—but saw nothing. Just Draziel, alone, swinging at empty air.
"Draziel! What are you—?!"
"I saw him!" Draziel barked. "Kaelen was just here!"
Ryann turned sharply. "Kaelen?, Your comrade who also betrayed you."
Draziel stared at the spot.
But it was empty now.
Only scorched grass where his blade had struck.
---
*Later That Night*
The tension had returned. Heavy and unspoken. Sylas barely looked at him. Ryann kept her distance.
They didn't say it—but Draziel felt it.
*They thought he was losing control.*
And when he closed his eyes…
He saw *Mira*, laughing with blood on her hands.
---
*Ryann's Perspective*
She stirred from uneasy rest, only to find herself walking—feet bare, the ground soft beneath her. Moonlight poured through the trees.
Ahead stood a version of herself.
Eyes wide. Pale. Unblinking.
"I saw what he becomes," the double said. "You'll regret saving him."
Then it vanished.
Ryann fell to her knees, trembling.
---
*Sylas*
He watched from a ridge as Draziel stood below, speaking to the night again. Muttering something about betrayal. His stance was rigid, like a coiled predator.
*"You sure he's still with us?"* came a voice—his own, but from the shadows behind.
Sylas turned. Nothing there.
He didn't sleep the rest of the night.
---
None of them spoke of what they saw.
But by morning, something had shifted.
*Trust was fraying. Doubt was growing.*
And somewhere far away, Elaris smiled.
"Phase Two," she whispered.
---