Weave Academy
CommandMonitoring Division
The room was dim, lit only by rows of crystal screens reflecting faint blue light onto tired faces. Dozens of instructors and technicians sat before the array, each screen showing essence signatures from scattered student groups on training expeditions.
At the far corner, three operators monitored the Ishtara Expedition Line—the tracker assigned to Veyra.
For the past two weeks, the signal had been unstable, flickering erratically every few hours, but the specialists assumed it was because of the mountain's unusual terrain and the unknown interference.
Today was different.
A faint ringing tone pulsed from one of the consoles.
Operator Halden straightened in his chair. "… Wait. What?"
His partner frowned. " Another fluctuation?"
Halden stared at the shifting glyphs.
"Not a fluctuation… a flat line."
A cold weight settled in the room.
The woman at the central desk looked up sharply. " What happened?"
Halden swallowed. His voice cracked.
"We… We lost Veyra's tracker."
Murmurs erupted across the room.
"Injured?" " Did something destroy the tracer?"" Is the cohort— "
But Halden wasn't finished.
"It didn't degrade. It didn't fade." He pointed at the glyph. " The incoming signal stopped abruptly"
"Call the Principal," the division head ordered quietly.
No one argued.
***
Five minutes later, the air shimmered faintly, slowing almost freezing for a fraction of a second.
The temperature dropped.
And in the center of the monitoring room, Principal Nicole Richards appeared
Her hair, a cascade of silver that matched the faint glow around her eyes—drifted as though underwater. Her uniform coat was simple, clean, her expression unreadable.
But her presence crushed the air.
The strongest human alive.
Every instructor stood immediately.
Nicole's gaze passed over them, cool and assessing. " What did you call me for?"
The division head stepped forward, planting his tablet against his chest.
"Principal… we lost Instructor Veyra's tracker."
Nicole's eyes sharpened just slightly.
"How."
Halden spoke, voice trembling.
"The signal collapsed in an instant. No fade. No environmental distortion."
"And the cohort?"
"We… don't know."
Someone whispered, "Principal… should we send a retrieval team?"
Nicole didn't answer immediately.
She stared at the dead coordinates, somewhere in the upper spine of Ishtara's shorter peak.
Then she shook her head. "Interesting, This is interesting"
"No team would reach them alive."
Her voice held no bitterness, only fact.
She turned toward the doorway, but paused.
"Keep an eye on them, try to see if there is interference and if there is try to fix it."
"Y-yes, Principal!"
And she was gone.
Time resumed.