The Elder's Tale

The Memorial Tower rose like a silver needle against the twilight sky, its crystalline walls refracting the last rays of sunset into prismatic patterns that danced across the surrounding gardens. After the attack at the healing grounds, Elara had insisted on meeting the Keeper of Histories at dusk—a compromise between vampire comfort and Solarian tradition.

Draven studied the tower with barely concealed unease. "Your people build everything to catch light, don't they?"

"Says the man whose castle has exactly zero windows," Elara teased, though her light tone masked deeper anxiety. Her arm still bore the faint scar from yesterday's "accident," a reminder that someone wanted their investigation stopped.