[The Temple of Seven — High Priest’s Office — Continuation]
"Did you adopt that child because you found a benefit in her?"
Nerath’s words echoed through the quiet office; for several heartbeats, Vaerun remained still. Then his silver gaze shifted toward him, cold, sharp, and dangerous.
The temperature of the room seemed to drop.
Nerath felt that gaze settle upon him like the edge of a blade. His throat tightened, but he forced himself to continue.
"Azram... the child is not something you can experiment upon. She is at an age where she sees the world with innocence. If you intend to make her part of an experiment simply because you believe she possesses unusually high elemental power—"
"Utter another word..." Vaerun’s voice cut through the chamber as his expression had not changed, yet the air itself suddenly trembled.
"...and I will forget you are the High Priest, Nerath."
The words were quiet, and that made them worse. A violent pressure descended upon the room.
WHOOOOSH—
The curtains exploded outward, and the flames of the oil lamps bent sideways. Loose parchment scattered across the floor as an invisible current tore through the chamber.
The Veyra (Air) within Vaerun had awakened.
Air twisted around him like a living tempest, spiraling from the stone floor toward the ceiling. The carved walls groaned beneath the pressure, while the windows rattled violently in their frames.
Nerath’s robes whipped around him as his golden eyes widened. For one brief moment, the High Priest is facing the Azram Vaerun Veyrath, the Silent Tempest.
’I could never overpower him, not even with my own elemental power.’
Vaerun’s silver eyes remained fixed upon him, and then the pressure vanished. The air settled, the curtains slowly fell back into place, and the scattered parchments landed upon the stone floor.
Vaerun stood there as though nothing had happened; he rose from his chair and straightened his shawl as his voice was cold and absolute.
"She is my daughter now. I do not need an outsider to tell me how to treat my daughter."
Vaerun passed Nerath without sparing him another glance, then he stopped beside the doorway.
"Do your duty." His silver eyes shifted toward the High Priest. "Find out which level of Aether Core she possesses."
Nerath lowered his head. "Yes, Azram."
Vaerun walked past him and disappeared beyond the doorway; the office fell silent once again, only the faint movement of the curtains remained.
And somewhere beyond the ancient walls of the Temple of Seven, the wind continued to whisper around the name of Seyra Vaerun Veyrath.
***
[The Temple of Seven — Courtyard — Same Time]
Captain Kharzen and Assistant Ravian stood several paces behind Seyra; neither man spoke. Their attention remained fixed upon the little girl who was now sitting beneath the shade of a carved stone pillar, completely unconcerned with the grandeur of the temple surrounding her.
A small elemental spirit hovered before her. It had taken the form of a kitten made entirely of flickering flame.
Seyra reached out and gently patted its head; the little fire spirit purred. Kharzen’s brows drew together.
"A child touching an elemental spirit without a contract...that is strange."
Ravian’s eyes remained on Seyra.
’Strange is not the word I would use.’
He had seen nobles spend years attempting to form contracts with spirits that refused even to acknowledge their presence. Yet this child had approached a spirit as though it were nothing more than a stray kitten wandering through the temple courtyard.
Then Ravian noticed her eyes again. Violet, beautiful, and yet, for the briefest heartbeat, the color seemed to shift beneath the sunlight.
His expression tightened.
’Does the Azram know?’
The thought unsettled him.
’A child who can approach elemental spirits without a contract... and eyes that do not remain one color.’
If other nobles noticed, the matter would not remain within House Veyrath. It would spread through the empire, and once the nobles became interested in a child, peace rarely followed.
Then—
"Seyra."
Vaerun’s voice came from the temple entrance. Seyra’s head immediately turned, her entire face brightened. She sprang to her feet and hurried toward him.
"You took so long!" She stopped before him, placed both hands upon her waist, and glared upward. "Do you know how long I have been waiting beneath that sun?"
Vaerun looked down at her as his expression remained perfectly calm as he reached down and took her small hand. "We have one final matter, then we leave."
Seyra narrowed her eyes.
"And what am I getting for waiting so long?"
Vaerun glanced at her. "Whatever you want."
Seyra giggled wickedly, saying, "Whatever I want, huh...?"
Vaerun stared at her with a straight face and began walking toward the inner sanctuary with Seyra beside him.
After a few steps, she looked up.
"What is the final matter?"
"Nothing important."
Seyra studied his face suspiciously, then a wicked little smile appeared.
"Are we going to murder the High Priest?"
Vaerun stopped as he slowly looked down at her. His face remained utterly expressionless. "You seem very fond of murder."
Seyra lifted her chin proudly.
"I like being a villainess."
Kharzen’s eyelid twitched. Ravian silently looked toward the heavens.
’May the Seven give us strength.’
Before Vaerun could respond, a pale radiance drifted past them. Seyra’s attention immediately shifted.
"Oh... the spirit of Light."
She waved at it.
"Hello."
The tiny spirit circled her once before floating onward. Seyra watched it disappear among the golden pillars.
"This temple really has many spirits."
Vaerun’s gaze remained ahead. "You are too close to them."
"I’ve been close to them since the day I opened my eyes."
Vaerun’s footsteps slowed, and something unreadable passed through his silver eyes. He looked at her; Seyra was already walking ahead, completely unaware of the weight behind her own words.
Vaerun said nothing; he simply tightened his hold on her little hand, and together, they crossed beneath the towering gates of the inner sanctuary, and behind them, the elemental spirits quietly followed, and none of them behaved as though Seyra were a stranger.
***
[The Temple of Seven — Inner Sanctuary — Later]
The inner sanctuary was quieter than the rest of the temple.
Ancient stone pillars rose toward the shadowed ceiling, each carved with the symbols of the Seven Elements. Faint streams of elemental light moved between them like living threads, drifting through the sacred air before disappearing into the walls.
At the center of the sanctuary, High Priest Nerath Zair knelt before Seyra. In his hands rested a small sphere of white crystal. Its surface was smooth and flawless, almost luminous beneath the golden temple lamps.
Nerath held it toward her.
"My lady... please place your hand upon this."
Seyra stared at the crystal, then she stared at Nerath. Her eyes narrowed.
"Why?"
Nerath’s confident expression faltered as Seyra continued staring at him suspiciously. "Only for a moment, my lady. We need to determine the strength of your Aether Core."
She looked at the crystal again, then at Nerath and then back at the crystal. It was the expression of a child who had just been offered a suspicious piece of food by a stranger.
"And it won’t explode?"
Nerath’s lips parted; for a moment, the High Priest of the Seven Temple seemed completely uncertain how to answer a four-year-old.
"It should not."
"Should?"
Nerath coughed lightly, and before the interrogation could continue, Vaerun’s cold voice came from behind her.
"Hold it."
Seyra turned. Vaerun stood several steps away, his arms folded across his chest, his silver eyes fixed upon her.
"If anything happens, I am here."
Something in his tone made Seyra pause; there was no teasing, only certainty. Her cheeks warmed slightly.
She quickly looked away.
"Alright... alright."
Nerath smiled faintly; he carefully placed the crystal into Seyra’s tiny hands. The moment her fingers touched it, the sanctuary fell silent.
The priests stopped moving. Kharzen straightened. Ravian held his breath. Even Vaerum’s eyes sharpened and waited.
. . .
. . .
. . .
But nothing.
The crystal remained white; no elemental light emerged from its surface, no Aether current stirred, no flame appeared and no wind moved.
Not even the faintest spark.
Seyra blinked; she looked at the crystal and then she turned it around. She examined the other side, she even lifted it closer to her face.
"...Is this a real crystal?"
Kharzen’s mouth twitched. Ravian immediately looked away. Nerath, however, did not react; his golden eyes remained fixed upon the motionless sphere.
The smile slowly disappeared from his face as he looked toward Vaerun.
"Nothing is happening."
Vaerun’s expression remained unreadable as Nerath lowered his voice.
"...Azram, that means..." A heavy silence settled over the sanctuary. "...Lady Seyra possesses no Aether Core; she cannot even form a contract with lower spirits."
Vaerun’s silver eyes shifted toward the little girl. Seyra was still turning the crystal around in her hands, completely unconcerned; the sacred crystal remained silent and somehow...that silence felt far more frightening than any light it could have produced.