The elder studied him for a long moment, something unreadable passing behind his tired eyes. "That," he admitted quietly, "may be the only threat that has ever actually frightened me."
Kael turned and left without another word, the ancient quills resuming their endless, silent work behind him.
Meanwhile, far beyond the academy's western cliffs, Liora's Star Compass suddenly changed direction without warning. Instead of pointing steadily north as it had for days, it swung upward, its silver needle trembling with newfound purpose. A hidden staircase of pure starlight materialized before her, spiraling upward into the sky itself.
