The Capital. The Mages' Tower. Morning.
The tower rose from the heart of the capital, ancient stone and gleaming glass, its peak lost in the morning mist. Mirena had seen it before—years ago, when she was young, when she had dreamed of studying here, of becoming something more than a wandering mage with a staff and a handful of spells.
Those dreams had not come true. She had left. She had gone to the border. She had found Grog and Aldric and Lira and the others.
Now she was back.
The Duke had insisted. "The King's mages need to know what we've learned. They need to understand what we're facing." His voice had been firm, brooking no argument. "You're the best person to tell them."
Mirena had not argued. She had packed her notes, her journals, the broken pieces of her staff. She had traveled to the capital with a small escort. She had watched the city rise before her, its towers gleaming, its streets crowded, its people unaware of how close the world had come to ending.
Now she stood in the Mages' Tower, surrounded by people who had spent their lives studying magic, and she was about to tell them something that would change everything.
---
The meeting room was circular, its walls lined with books, its ceiling lost in shadow. A long table dominated the center, polished stone, worn smooth by years of use.
Mirena sat at one end. The King's mages sat around her—seven of them, old and young, men and women, their robes dark, their eyes sharp. They had been polite, curious, professional.
Now they were waiting.
"I've been tracking the portal for weeks," Mirena said. "Following the residue. Mapping the thin places. The portal opened and closed at random spots across the kingdom—wherever the veil was weak."
One of the mages leaned forward. "And now?"
"The portal is closed. The connection is severed. Vorlag—the thing on the other side—cannot open it again."
The mages exchanged glances. Relief. Skepticism. Curiosity.
"But that's not why I'm here."
---
Mirena reached into her pack. Pulled out a small leather pouch. Opened it.
Inside was a mana stone.
Not one of the stones from Lira's quiver—those were clear, bright, full of light. This one was dark, smooth, warm. It pulsed faintly in her hand, like a heartbeat.
The mages leaned closer.
"I took this from a creature," Mirena said. "It was growing inside its chest. Like a pearl in an oyster."
One of the mages, a woman with gray hair and sharp eyes, reached out. "May I?"
Mirena handed it to her.
The woman turned it over in her fingers. Her eyes widened. "This is... pure. Concentrated. I've never seen anything like it."
"There are more," Mirena said. "The creatures that came through the portal—they're still here. They're breeding. They're spreading. And they're producing mana."
The room went silent.
---
The head mage—a man named Aldus, old, bald, his face lined with decades of study—leaned forward. "Producing mana?"
Mirena nodded. "The creatures absorb magic from the void. They convert it into mana. They store it in their bodies—in their blood, their bones, their flesh." She paused. "And when they die, that mana is released. Into the soil. The water. The air."
Aldus's face went pale. "You're saying the creatures are increasing the mana concentration in our world."
"Yes."
"How many creatures are there?"
Mirena shook her head. "I don't know. Hundreds. Thousands. They're spreading across the kingdom. They're breeding. They're—"
"They're changing our world."
Mirena met his eyes. "Yes."
---
Another mage spoke. A younger man, his robes new, his eyes eager. "Is that... bad?"
Mirena was quiet for a moment.
"It's new," she said. "We don't know what it means. Magic will be stronger. Spells will be easier. People with latent talent—people who never knew they could use magic—may start manifesting abilities."
The younger mage's eyes lit up. "That's incredible!"
Aldus held up a hand. "It's also dangerous."
Mirena nodded. "The creatures are dangerous. The cult is still out there. Vorlag may still be looking for a way back." She paused. "And we don't know what else might come through."
Aldus looked at the mana stone in his hand. "The veil is thickening."
"Yes."
He set the stone on the table. "We need to study this. Understand it. Learn what it means for the future of magic." He looked at Mirena. "You found this. You tracked the portal. You fought the creatures. We need your help."
Mirena nodded slowly. "I'll help."
---
After the meeting, Aldus pulled her aside.
The room was empty now, the other mages gone, the table cleared. The mana stone sat on the polished stone, pulsing faintly.
"This has happened before," Aldus said.
Mirena frowned. "When?"
Aldus walked to the bookshelf. Pulled down a heavy volume. Its pages were yellowed, its binding cracked. He opened it to a marked page.
"The old texts speak of a time when the veil was thin. When creatures came through from other worlds. When the mana concentration grew." He pointed to a passage. "They called it the Awakening."
Mirena read the passage. Her blood went cold.
"When the veil thickens, worse things come through," Aldus said. "Not just creatures. Not just hunters. Things we don't have names for."
Mirena looked at him. "How do we stop it?"
Aldus shook his head. "I don't know. We've never faced anything like this before." He paused. "But we have you. We have the heroes who closed the portal. We have time."
"We hope," Mirena said.
Aldus nodded slowly. "We hope."
---
Mirena stood at the window of the tower, looking out at the city below.
The streets were crowded. The people were living their lives, unaware of how close the world had come to ending, unaware of what was still to come.
She thought about the creatures. About the mana stones. About the veil thickening, the magic growing, the world changing.
She thought about Aldric. Gone. Maybe dead. Maybe alive. Maybe lost in another world, waiting to be found.
She thought about Grog. About the look on his face when he knelt on the scorched stone. About the berserker lurking beneath his skin, waiting to be unleashed.
She thought about the future.
She didn't know what it held.
But she knew one thing: the world was changing.
And they needed to be ready.