The road to Eldermire took six days, each one heavier than the last.
They slept in the carriage or roadside inns when Yuna deemed it safe. Evelyn cried quietly the first night. Liam didn't cry at all—he just stared out the window, gripping the wooden practice sword Garren had carved for him.
Yuna barely slept.
Every snapped twig made her flinch.
Every shadow made her reach for the dagger hidden in her cloak.
By the time the capital's outer walls
rose into view—tall white stone carved with reliefs of ancient heroes—she looked ten years older.
But she still straightened, wiped her eyes, and said softly:
"We're home, children. For now… this is home."
Eldermire — Heart of Kaereth
The city was enormous.
Treece had been a handful of cottages
and farmland. Eldermire was a world.
Stone streets wider than Treece's entire square. Market stalls bursting with color, perfume, sizzling meat, and enchanted trinkets. Knights in polished armor patrolled on horseback.Horse-drawn carriages wove through foot traffic, bells chiming. Towering spires of the Church of the Dawn pierced the skyline, each crowned with gold.
Liam stared, mouth open.
Evelyn stared harder.
"It's like a fantasy MMO," she whispered in English.
"You mean… it is a fantasy world," Liam muttered.
"You know what I mean."
Yuna guided the carriage toward the
upper districts, where the buildings became tall, elegant, and expensive-looking. She finally stopped in front of a manor with ivy crawling up its arching stone façade.
A woman in a green dress burst out the door.
"Yuna!"
"Alyss!" Yuna barely stepped off the carriage before her sister wrapped her in a tight hug. A moment later, her gaze turned to the twins, softening.
"Oh, look at you two! You've grown so much—though of course you have, that's what children do—oh gods, come here."
She pulled them both into a perfumed embrace before Yuna gently disentangled her.
"Alyss… Caelen is gone."
The words fell like stones.
Alyss's face slid from joy to heartbreak to fury in under a second, then back to heartbreak again.
"Oh, Yuna… I am so sorry."
The two sisters held each other tightly as the twins watched in silence.
"Come inside," Alyss said after a moment. "Your rooms are ready. You'll stay as long as you need—no arguments."
Yuna smiled weakly. "Thank you."
A New Life Begins
The manor became their refuge.
Evelyn had books again.
Liam had space to train.
Yuna had family to hold her together.
It wasn't Treece, but it was safe.
Still… the twins felt it.
Something missing.
Something broken.
The first week passed in a fog. Liam tried to resume his sword exercises, but every swing felt wrong without Garren's voice correcting him. Evelyn tried practicing basic fire spells, but Yuna stopped her whenever she noticed—the sight of flames made her hands shake.
They were surviving.
But not living.
That changed the day Liam received the
letter.
The Letter from Garren
It arrived early morning, delivered by
a courier wearing Kaereth colors. Yuna was in the kitchen, and Liam was feeding scraps of bread to the neighborhood strays when the courier called out:
"Message for Liam Dureth!"
Liam blinked. "Me?"
The letter was sealed in blue wax, stamped with a symbol he knew intimately
Two crossed swords.
Garren's sigil.
His heart leapt—and plummeted—at once.
Hands shaking, he broke the seal.
Boy, If you're reading this, then word has
reached me about what happened in Treece.
I survived.
Barely.
You and your family should remain in Eldermire. I will find you soon.
Until then, keep training.
Your father would skin me alive if I let you go soft.
— Garren
Liam's vision blurred with relief. Before he could react, Evelyn snatched the letter from his hands and read it herself.
"He's alive," she breathed. "He's really alive."
Liam nodded, swallowing hard. "Yeah."
And for the first time since Treece
burned, something warm bloomed in his chest.
Hope.
Liam Meets Nexi
Two days later, Liam set out to find Garren's estate—one the letter had directed him toward. It was located on the east side of the capital, within the noble training district.
He got lost three times.
He asked directions from a blacksmith, a baker, and a very confused priest.
He knocked over a crate of apples and nearly got chased by the vendor.
And then, while turning sharply onto a
side street, he collided full-force with someone.
A someone who yelped as they fell onto the cobblestones.
"Oh gods—I'm so sorry!" Liam said quickly, kneeling to help the person up.
He froze.
It was a girl.
An elf girl.
Her silver-blonde hair was braided
intricately, her tunic embroidered with patterns Liam couldn't place. Her eyes—sharp, green, and entirely unimpressed—narrowed at him.
"Watch where you're going!" she snapped.
"S-sorry," Liam repeated, startled.
Behind her came two tall elves—clearly
her parents, judging by their elegant attire and stern expressions.
"Nexi," her mother called. "Are you
all right?"
The girl brushed off her clothes,
giving Liam a glare that could cut steel.
"I'm fine," she said. "Someone wasn't
watching where he was going."
"I said I was sorry!" Liam protested.
She sniffed. "You're human. Humans
don't look where they're going."
Liam blinked. "That's— that's racist."
"Is it wrong?"
"Well… no," he admitted. "But still rude!"
Her lips twitched. Like she wasn't
sure whether to be offended or amused.
Her father approached, giving Liam a
polite but appraising glance. "Are you injured?"
"No, sir."
"Then be on your way," he said gently. "Come, Nexi."
Nexi turned to leave.
Liam couldn't help staring as she walked.
There was something… striking about her. Elegant, but fierce. Aloof, but burning with some inner spark.
He didn't know it yet, but he had just met the person who would become the center of his heart.
The Event in the Square
Later that afternoon, Liam finally reached Garren's estate—only for Garren's assistant to inform him he was running very late.
"You missed the morning drills," the man said. "Master Garren will speak to you tomorrow."
Liam left the estate feeling even more lost.
Then he heard music.
And cheering.
And the deep, ceremonial horns of
Kaereth.
Curious, he followed the sound to a massive stage set up in Eldermire's central square.
A crowd had gathered—humans, elves,
dwarves, orcs, even a few drow with veiled faces. Bright banners fluttered overhead.
On stage stood several delegates.
And among them—
Nexi.
She was dressed differently now—formal
robes, embroidered with leaves and starlight, marking her as part of an official envoy.
Liam slipped through the crowd until
he stood close enough to hear the announcer:
"Today marks the first time in history
that all peoples of Vaerith join Kaereth's Academy of Eldermire! A new era of unity begins!"
The crowd roared with applause.
Nexi tried to look dignified.
She mostly looked bored.
Liam couldn't look away.
You're staring, he told himself.
She must have sensed it, because her gaze swept the crowd—and landed right on him.
Recognition struck her face first.
Then annoyance.
Then something like: Seriously? You again?
Liam panicked.
He waved.
Nexi's eyes widened in horror.
Then her mother nudged her, and she was forced to look away.
Liam stood there grinning like an idiot.
He didn't know why.
He only knew he wanted to see her again.
And fate, it seemed, would give him that chance.
Garren's Instruction
The next morning, Liam returned to Garren's estate—determined not to be late.
It didn't matter.
Because the moment he stepped into the
courtyard…
Nexi was already there.
Standing beside her parents. Speaking with Garren.
"Oh no," Liam whispered.
Nexi saw him before anyone else did.
Her face lit up—not with joy.
With indignation.
"Oh gods," she said loudly. "Are you following me?!"
Liam's soul left his body.
"I—I'm not! I swear! I train here—this is where Garren lives—"
Her mother raised an eyebrow. Garren suppressed a laugh.
"Oh, I see," Nexi said, folding her arms. "You're stalking me."
"I'm not stalking you!"
"You absolutely are."
Garren cleared his throat. "Nexi, perhaps Liam should show you around the grounds while I speak with your parents."
Liam's jaw dropped. "What?!"
Nexi looked equally horrified. "Why him?!"
Her father gave her a pointed look. "Because he is your age, and you will be spending time with humans now. Consider it practice."
Nexi scowled.
Liam scowled harder.
But Garren was already ushering her parents inside.
And so, with the exaggerated misery of
two children deeply offended by fate, Liam and Nexi began walking through the courtyard together.
The Beginning of Something
It was awkward at first.
Painfully awkward.
Nexi walked like someone who expected
the ground to move for her. Liam walked like someone trying very hard not to bump into anything.
They spoke at the same time more than
once.
"You go—"
"No, you—"
"You asked first!"
"No I didn't!"
But slowly, painfully, the tension eased.
Nexi asked him about the human training style.
Liam asked her about elven mana flow techniques.
She boasted about her magical heritage.
He admitted he'd awakened lightning.
Her eyes actually lit up at that.
When the tour ended, Nexi hesitated.
Then she said, attempting nonchalance,
"I suppose… you are not completely insufferable."
Liam beamed. "Thanks!"
"That wasn't a compliment!"
"It feels like one!"
Nexi huffed, cheeks faintly pink. "Fine. Then… we can be friends. A little."
Liam blinked. "Friends?"
"Not close friends," she clarified quickly. "Just… friends."
Liam grinned wider.
Nexi looked away so he couldn't see her smiling too.
By the time Liam returned home, Evelyn
was waiting on the stairs, tapping her foot.
"Well?" she demanded. "What happened?"
Liam dropped onto the step beside her,
staring dreamily at the ceiling.
"I think…" he said slowly.
"I made a friend."
Evelyn smirked. "A friend who's pretty."
Liam's ears went red. "Shut up."
She nudged him. "Does she like you?"
He thought of her glare. Her indignation.
Her pink cheeks.
"I have no idea," he admitted. "But I think she will."
Evelyn leaned her head on his shoulder.
"Good," she said softly. "You deserve that."
Liam nodded.
Even as, far beyond Eldermire's shining walls, a blighted gaze turned toward him with growing interest.
Because the Blight does not forget lightning.
And The Hollow King does not forget potential.