The hall was silent.
Not the usual kind of quiet after a night of drinking and stories—but a heavy, crushing silence. The kind that pressed on your chest. Our guild, RavenCrow, had always been loud. Music. Laughter. Arguing. Singing. Now it felt like a tomb.
Asmond had returned.
But not as the man who left.
He came back from a peace meeting—burned, broken, barely alive.
When the news reached us, we all gathered in the hall. No one said a word, but the same thought hung in the air.
What now?
Edith, Roland, and Frey—our best fighters—pretended things were normal. They cleaned, checked supplies, sharpened blades. But this day wasn't normal.
Our guildmaster, the strongest mage in the land, was lying on a healer's bed. If he couldn't survive what was out there… what chance did we have?
I sat alone in the corner, still shaking. My head hurt. My thoughts kept circling one sentence.
"My mage… you are not ready yet. Get stronger. Faster. The one ahead of you… is a force of nature."
What did that mean? Who said it? What had Asmond seen?
My fingers tapped the table, faster and faster. The sound echoed, too loud in the empty room.
Then Frey walked in.
She didn't speak at first. Just stood there, staring at me with those sharp, unreadable eyes.
"Follow me," she said.
No questions. No explanation. She grabbed my arm and pulled me outside.
The courtyard was cold. The air stung when I breathed it in.
"Let's train," Frey said, stepping into a stance.
"What? Frey, Asmond's barely—"
She cut me off with a punch to the gut.
The breath flew out of me. I dropped to my knees.
Before I could recover, her foot hit my jaw. I hit the ground, hard.
"Get up," she said. Her voice shook. "We don't get to be weak anymore."
I looked up. My lip was bleeding. My jaw ached. But then I saw it—fear in her eyes.
Frey never showed fear. She was always steady. Always in control. But now her hands trembled. Her breath was fast. Her eyes glassy.
She was falling apart.
I stood. Slowly. Wiped the blood from my chin. Raised my hands in a weak stance.
Her eyes softened, just a little.
"…Thank you," she whispered.
Then she attacked again.
Her movements were fast. Angry. Wild. I blocked what I could, dodged some, took most of it. My body ached. But I stayed standing.
She wasn't fighting me.
She was fighting the fear. The pain. The helplessness.
Eventually, her strikes slowed. Her hands shook mid-swing. She missed, stumbled.
Then she stopped. Frozen mid-punch. Breathing hard. Shoulders rising and falling.
And then, she cried.
At first, it was just her eyes shining. Then the tears rolled down. She tried to hide it. Tried to stay silent. But her body trembled.
"I might lose the only family I have left," she said. "I can't…"
Her voice cracked. Then she dropped to her knees.
I hesitated. Then knelt beside her. She didn't look at me. Didn't speak. But she didn't pull away when I took her hand.
"It'll be alright," I said softly. "Asmond is stronger than any of us."
Just then, Roland's voice rang out from the hall.
"Frey! Asmond's awake!"
She jumped to her feet. Wiped her face fast. Like nothing happened.
But she didn't let go of my hand.
She pulled me with her.
We ran through the guild, past old banners and cracked walls. Her grip was tight.
When we reached the healer's wing, the door was open. Soft magic lights floated above. The room was warm.
Asmond lay on the bed.
His body was wrapped in bandages. Burn marks covered his skin. His breath was shallow. Weak healing runes pulsed on the walls, barely helping.
But he was alive.
His eyes opened.
"Frey…" he rasped.
"Granddad," she said, stepping to his side.
She still held my hand. Her grip tightened.
"I'm here."
He smiled. It was small, tired—but real.
"Good. You're both here."
Then he coughed. A deep, wet sound. It hurt just to hear it.
Roland stepped forward. "Don't talk too much. You need to rest."
Asmond shook his head slowly.
"No… they need to know. There isn't much time."
Frey leaned closer. "Know what?"
He turned to me. His gaze was sharp, cutting through me.
"You especially," he said. "You must get stronger. What I faced… it was a special grade. A being of destruction."
Then everything changed.
I wasn't in the room anymore.
I was in a round stone chamber. Five people stood in a circle.
Asmond stood tall in the center—unharmed.
Around him stood four others. An elf. A dwarf. A dryad. And a wolf-headed demi-human.
"The peace must be kept," Asmond said. "Auria belongs to all. We can't let old hate tear it apart."
The demi-human growled. "You think our pain is petty?"
"No," Asmond replied. "But your anger is being used. Now demi-humans are hunted. Dryads hide in their forests. Dwarves keep their craft secret. And elves…" he pointed, "hoard knowledge that could save lives."
The elf stepped forward. Calm, but cold.
"And you?" he asked. "You humans keep the special grades to yourselves. I hear the new one has power like nothing we've seen."
His words were meant to stir chaos.
Asmond started to reply—
Then the vision shattered.
I stumbled back into the healer's wing.
Asmond was still watching me.
"It was a setup," I said, heart racing.
Frey turned sharply. "What?"
"The meeting. It wasn't about peace. It was a trap."
Asmond nodded weakly.
"The elves…" he whispered. "They made a special grade. A weapon. It destroyed the council."
Silence fell again.
Even the magic lights dimmed.
Asmond's eyes closed, and we all felt it.
The peace was over.
War was coming.
"My children…" he said, voice faint. "I promised your parents you'd never see war. Forgive me… I must break that promise."
His voice shook.
"Auria cannot survive this alone. You must help… in any way you can."
He looked to Edith.
"Call the others back," he said. "Everyone must return."
Then he went still.
"Granddad?" Frey asked, panic rising in her voice.
"Calm down," Edith said, glancing at the healer.
"He's only sleeping," the healer confirmed. "The runes will keep him stable."
Frey took a deep breath. Her body slowly relaxed.
Edith turned to the rest of us, her voice firm.
"You all heard Asmond. Get ready to fight."
She looked to Roland. "Reach Decker and Barek. We need everyone back."
Then her voice softened.
"If you won't fight for Auria… fight for Asmond. He gave us a home."
Everyone nodded. No questions. No hesitation. We got to work.
Frey wiped her face, then turned to me. Her eyes cold again.
"Helios," she said. "Follow me."
Usually I would hesitate. Complain. Say I needed time.
But not this time.
I stood and followed without a word.
Even I was ready to fight.