Roots and Departures

The Emberrest Inn creaked softly with the waking hush of dawn.

Somewhere above the rafters, a kettle sighed. Æstherlight lanterns buzzed faintly in warm gold, still dimmed from the night setting. The city hadn't stirred yet, but inside the inn, two souls had.

Kaiden rubbed his eyes, blinking away the last traces of sleep. The bed had been surprisingly soft. The scent of cedar still clung to the quilt.

He sat up and stretched.

[ Kaiden ]

"…Okay."

"That was the best sleep I've had in months."

From the other side of the room, Niklaus was already dressed, standing at the window with a cup of something dark and steaming.

[ Niklaus ]

"You looked like someone who needed to remember what rest feels like."

"Better get used to earning it."

Kaiden chuckled faintly, then pulled on his tunic, still stiff from yesterday's sweat and effort. His satchel lay untouched at the foot of the bed. His token from Ironroot — still pulsing faintly — sat on the bedside table like a patient heartbeat.

Downstairs, the Emberrest Inn smelled different.

Brighter.

The sharp zest of cooked citrus and honeyroot. The warmth of baked stonefruit. The undercurrent of peppered meat, pan-seared with smoked salts.

They sat at their same table.

Hilda gave Nik a knowing glance, then Kaiden a curious one.

[ Hilda ]

"No decisions that feel like regrets this morning, I hope."

[ Kaiden ]

"None yet."

She grinned and vanished behind the kitchen curtain.

A few minutes later, breakfast arrived.

It was quiet. Glorious.

A round skillet plate held twin servings of golden moonberry sausage, glazed with charred apricot glaze. Next to it, slices of hearthbread stuffed with whipped root-churn butter and flecks of firemint. A side bowl of sun-cracked egg hash — orange and gold yolks, stirred with crushed herbs and laced with crisped rice.

Nik ate slowly.

Kaiden didn't.

[ Kaiden ]

"…I could live here."

[ Niklaus ]

"You'd go soft in three weeks."

[ Kaiden ]

"If I'm eating this every day..."

"It's worth it."

Nik smirked and sipped his brew.

[ Niklaus ]

"So..."

"Final chance to back out."

"You choose Ironroot?"

Kaiden didn't hesitate.

[ Kaiden ]

"I meant it."

[ Niklaus ]

"Not for glory?"

[ Kaiden ]

"No."

"Because if I'm going to get stronger…"

"I want the kind that doesn't crack."

Nik tapped the side of his mug.

[ Niklaus ]

"Then we best not keep the tree waiting."

◈◈◈

Far above, beyond the reach of Ironroot's soil…

They walked down from the Emberrest Inn, taking a backlane shortcut through Heavenreach's western quarter. The city was waking now — chimes above shop doors, voices calling out morning wares, street-chickens slinking back into alley sanctuaries.

By the time they reached the Square, the air had shifted.

The crowd was thinner, but more focused.

Booths had reformed, official and tall, with guild banners draped proudly. Skyward Arcanum's was now guarded by floating æsther scrolls. Dawnseeker had posted storyboards of past deeds and glories. Even Seraphin Blades had somehow managed a live throwing dagger demonstration, hitting bullseyes at a hundred yards out.

But Ironroot's?

Simple.

A single desk made of raw-honed timber, shaped like a cross-section of an ancient tree, atop their timber-framed pavilion.

Behind it sat a figure with wide shoulders, bark-brown skin, and a long braid tied with copper rings. He looked up as Kaiden and Nik approached.

[ Ironroot Rep Finn ]

"Kaiden Stagin."

Kaiden blinked inquisitively.

[ Kaiden ]

"…Yes?"

The man nodded once and produced a scroll stamped with the Ironroot sigil.

[ Ironroot Rep Finn ]

"You took the Vein Trial."

"You chose us."

"Once written, your seed is planted."

"No switching tracks."

"No shadow deals."

"No regrets."

"All you have to do is just..."

"Grow."

[ Niklaus ]

"He knows."

Nik winked as Kaiden took the quill. He hesitated for only a breath, then signed.

The paper glowed.

Then dimmed.

The Ironroot representative stood and extended a closed hand. When Kaiden accepted it, the man dropped a tiny token into his palm — a seed, no larger than a fingernail, etched with a spiral rune.

As the seed touched his palm, a faint warmth pulsed through his fingertips, like the first stirrings of spring soil.

[ Ironroot Rep Finn ]

"You'll be summoned when the soil's ready."

"Until then, walk the city."

"Let its weight settle."

"We do not rush the growing."

"We nurture it."

Kaiden nodded solemnly.

But as he turned to leave, he scanned the Square again. Rio was behind him, waiting for his turn to get his seed.

[ Kaiden ]

"Rio..."

"You are for Ironroot also?"

[ Rio ]

"Yeah. I'm not one of the gifted, you know..."

"Planning to take it slow."

[ Kaiden ]

"Hehe..."

"Guess we will be bunk buddies."

[ Rio ]

"Nice."

[ Kaiden ]

"By the way..."

"Have you seen Avelyn?"

"I didn't see her at the Skyward booth."

"Very sure she accepted their offer."

[ Rio ]

"Haven't you heard?"

[ Kaiden ]

"Heard what?"

[ Rio ]"She's gone."

Kaiden turned, flabbergasted.

Rio leaned against a post nearby, arms folded, a slight smile that didn't quite reach the eyes.

[ Kaiden ]

"…Gone?"

"What do you mean... gone?"

[ Rio ]

"She left for Star Groove last night."

"Concordium doesn't linger once they've flagged someone."

"Said she was 'deviant-resonant, alpha-class.'"

[ Kaiden ]

"Deviant-resonant...?"

"What does that even mean?"

[ Rio ]

"Exactly what it sounds like."

"Rare blood."

"Concordium got really interested, really fast."

"Even took her there using the Æstheral Gateway."

Kaiden stiffened.

[ Kaiden ]

"They didn't even let her say goodbye?"

[ Rio ]

"She tried."

"They escorted her before she got the chance."

"Real quiet about it."

Kaiden closed his fist around the seed.

[ Kaiden ]

"…They didn't give her a choice."

Rio shrugged.

[ Rio ]

"When Concordium pulls strings, they don't always ask first."

"They say it's for safety."

"Or containment..."

"Or something."

Kaiden stared down at the seed in his hand.

[ Kaiden ]

"They can't do that."

"They had no right."

[ Rio ]

"Hate to say this, buddy, but that is the world we are living in."

"We marhaens don't have a say in anything."

They stood in silence for a moment. The guild booths. The murmuring wind. The sun catching on banners.

[ Kaiden ]

"Some day I'll change all that..."

Kaiden closed his fingers tightly around the seed. If the world wanted to claim people like roots in stone, maybe he'd become the crack that split the rock.

[ Rio ]

"She is a strong one, buddy."

"My gut's tellin' me that she'll make it."

"Hah..."

"I bet even the goons at the capital can't cage her for long."

Kaiden nodded slowly.

Then, after a breath...

[ Kaiden ]

"…Will we see her again?"

[ Rio ]

"Yeah."

"Maybe..."

"Maybe during the annual Academy Games."

"Who knows..."

"I hope she'll be there."

Rio walked towards the guild's booth as his name was called, hands in his coat.

Nik stepped beside Kaiden, quiet for a moment.

[ Niklaus ]

"Every choice we make…"

"Something else departs."

[ Kaiden ]

"Does every root cost a wing?"

Nik raised an eyebrow.

[ Niklaus ]

"Poetic."

[ Kaiden ]

"Still hungry."

Nik barked a short laugh that didn't quite reach his eyes.

[ Niklaus ]

"That's the spirit."

They turned away from the Square.

Behind them, the Ironroot booth returned to stillness. The seed pulsed once in Kaiden's palm — its spiral rune a promise: growth, and return.

◈◈◈

The æsther winds shimmered blue-gold as the portal sealed behind her.

Avelyn and her parents stood atop the Skybridge Deck of the Concordium's capital bastion, far above the clouds.

The world was quiet here.

Silent in a way that felt orchestrated.

Behind her, robed figures moved like shadows, their steps precise, their presence a constant hum in the æsther. She had already undergone three scans and an affinity test. Another examination was scheduled before nightfall.

She gripped the edge of the balcony.

Not out of fear.

But because if she didn't hold on, she felt she might drift away.

A flicker pulsed through the spiral mark on her hand — faint, like a heartbeat she recognized but couldn't reach.

Below, in the endless sky, she imagined Heavenreach. Imagined Kaiden, standing with that look of stubbornness he wore at the trial.

She'd tried to resist.

But the moment the word "alpha-class" passed their lips, it had already been decided.

They hadn't even let her say goodbye.

A small wind stirred her hair. The spiral mark on her hand — a sigil freshly branded in æstherlight — flickered dimly, reacting to something only she could sense.

Avelyn closed her eyes.

[ Avelyn ]

"I hope you chose something worth staying for."