Rafe woke before dawn.
Not because of danger —but because his body insisted.
Too many days on alert.Too many nights with one ear open for metal steps or Primordial whispers.
The inn room was dim, lit only by the pale morning light leaking through the shutters.
Lyn was curled up against his side, breathing softly.
Mara had stolen the other pillow and somehow twisted herself in the blanket like she was wrestling it.
Rafe watched them for a moment — the peacefulness on their faces a small gift the world rarely gave.
He stood carefully, easing Lyn's head onto the blanket before she stirred.
His muscles ached, but the pain was manageable. His mana hummed quietly beneath the surface — no flickers, no clashes, just a soft, steady glow.
Stable.
Whatever the Ruins had done to him, it held.
He crossed the small room, splashed water on his face at the basin, and looked at his reflection in the cracked mirror.
He looked older.
Not physically — he was still a boy.But his eyes…
Something in them had changed.
A knock came.
Soft.Measured.
Selene.
He opened the door.
She stood there in her cloak, hair tied back, staff resting against her shoulder.
"We need to talk," she said.
Rafe stepped into the hallway quietly and shut the door behind him.
At the end of the hallway
Selene leaned against the wooden railing overlooking the first floor. The inn was nearly silent — only the cook clattering pans and a few early workers finishing breakfast.
She didn't look at Rafe at first.
"You feel it, don't you?" she asked quietly.
Rafe hesitated.
"…Yes."
"The Primordial's whisper?"
He nodded.
Selene finally turned her head, studying him with a mix of worry, fear, and something unnatural for her — helplessness.
"It's getting stronger."
Rafe didn't deny it.
"But it's not controlling me," he said.
Selene's eyes narrowed.
"Not yet."
He looked at his hands.
"…What am I becoming?"
Selene didn't answer immediately.
Then:
"Something the world isn't ready for."
That didn't comfort him.
She straightened.
"We don't have time to dwell on that now. We need new identities before heading to the Academy."
"Fake documents?" Rafe asked.
Selene nodded.
"And something more."
She held out a folded piece of parchment with three empty circles drawn on it.
"Mana signatures," she said.
Rafe frowned.
"I thought only nobles or guild mages could register those."
"Normally, yes," Selene said. "But the Academy's entrance process is strict. Every student needs a registered mana signature. We can't let them record yours."
"Because of the Primordial."
"Yes."
Rafe swallowed.
"So… we fake them?"
Selene looked around the hallway.
"No. We disguise them."
"How?"
She tapped his chest lightly.
"You're stable now. That gives me room to reshape the surface pattern of your aura."
"Surface pattern?"
She nodded.
"Your true mana core won't change — but what people sense when they scan you will. You'll appear to have a common bright-light affinity. Nothing rare, nothing suspicious."
Rafe exhaled slowly.
"And Mara? Lyn?"
"Same process," Selene said. "Simpler for them. But you…"She paused."You're harder. Your aura is… layered."
Rafe didn't argue.
Selene straightened her cloak.
"We need to visit someone in the western district. A man I used to know. He owes me a favor."
Rafe raised a brow.
"A good favor or a dangerous one?"
"Dangerous," Selene said bluntly. "But he's the only forger in town skilled enough to handle magical identity papers."
Before Rafe could reply, footsteps echoed up the stairs.
Mara appeared, hair messy, eyes half-open.
"What are you two talking about so early…?" she muttered.
Selene frowned."How long have you been awake?"
Mara pointed at her own ears.
"I was awake the moment he left the bed. You think I don't hear things?"
Rafe blinked."You were asleep."
"No, you were asleep," Mara corrected. "I was… resting my eyes."
Lyn stumbled out behind her, rubbing her face.
"Rafe… don't leave without me…"
He gave a small smile.
"I wasn't leaving."
Selene clapped once.
"Good. Since you're all awake, get ready. We're going out."
Lyn blinked."Out? Where—?"
Mara noticed the serious expression on Selene's face.
"Oh. For fake papers."
Selene sighed."That's… oversimplified, but yes."
The Western District of Ashen Ridge
The town was waking up.
Vendors arranged their carts.Fishmongers shouted half-hearted greetings.Smoke curled from chimneys.A dog barked at nothing in particular.
It should have felt normal.
But Rafe noticed the glances.
People staring too long.Turning away too quickly.Whispering.Watching Selene's staff, the children, their cloaks.
"We're attracting attention," Rafe murmured.
Selene didn't slow her pace.
"Everyone recognizes a mage," she said. "Ignore it."
But Rafe didn't ignore anything.
Every sound.Every shift in mana in the air.Every pair of eyes staying on them too long.
The Primordial's presence rippled faintly.
Little flame… things sleep in daylight too.
Rafe suppressed the shiver crawling up his spine.
Selene stopped in front of a narrow shop wedged between two larger buildings.
Its sign was faded:
IRDEN'S CRAFTS & DOCUMENTATIONRepairs, Letters, Certification
Mara wrinkled her nose.
"This place looks like it sells dead rats."
"Sometimes," Selene said.
She pushed the door open.
A bell chimed.
The inside was cramped, dusty, and smelled faintly of ink, metal shavings, and old paper. Strange machines hummed quietly in the background.
A tall man with ink-stained fingers looked up from a cluttered desk.
He froze.
Then groaned.
"Oh no. Not you."
Selene gave a thin smile.
"Hello, Irden."
Irden pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Selene… last time you walked in here, half my building exploded."
"That was not my fault," Selene said.
"It was your spell," Irden said flatly.
Selene ignored that.
"I need identity documents for three children. Mana signatures included. Clean."
Irden stared at the kids.
Mara glared back.Lyn hid behind Rafe.Rafe stayed still.
Irden exhaled.
"You don't ask for easy favors, do you?"
"No," Selene said. "I don't."
He rubbed his chin.
"Fine. But it'll cost you—"
Selene tossed a small pouch onto the table.
Irden opened it.
His eyes widened.
"Is this—? Selene, where did you—"
"Don't ask questions," she said.
Irden quickly closed the pouch and shoved it under the desk.
"Alright. I'll do it."
He gestured toward Rafe.
"Start with him. He looks like trouble."
Selene's smile faded slightly.
"You have no idea."
Irden waved them closer.
"Kid. Hold out your hand."
Rafe stepped forward.
A strange device sat on Irden's desk — a bronze circle with rune-etched plates surrounding it.
"Aura sampler," Irden explained. "Harmless. Usually."
Mara squinted."Usually? What does—"
Rafe placed his hand on the device.
The runes lit up.
Bright.Brighter.Too bright.
Irden swore loudly.
"WHAT—?! Selene, what did you bring into my shop?!"
Selene grabbed the device before it overheated.
"Work quickly," she ordered.
"Quickly?!" Irden yelled. "This kid's aura has—has—WHAT EVEN IS THIS LAYERING?!"
He scribbled frantically on a parchment.
Selene turned to Rafe.
"This will take time. And he needs silence."
Rafe nodded.
Irden glanced at the boy again.
Then whispered under his breath:
"…Just what are you?"
Rafe swallowed.
He didn't know the answer.
And that terrified him more than anything else.