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Chapter Six – Faultlines
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2025-05-11 17:19:36
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The Academy of The Ascendant - Book 1 Marked by Starlight Chapter Ten – The Unseen War
(Lyra’s POV)Whispers were worse than blades.At least blades cut clean.Whispers sank into your skin and stayed there, infecting every look, every hallway, every moment of silence with something you couldn’t name but could feel.By the end of my first week in the neutral zone, I’d been called:“Voidspawn.”“Darkblood.”“Celestial defect.”And my personal favorite: “The girl who cracked the sky.”They said it behind their hands. Sometimes not. Sometimes loudly, so I’d hear it.They left ash runes on my door. Scratched ancient warding sigils into my desk. One even left a dead elemental moth in my breakfast—its wings charred black and folded like a warning.“Stay down,” that message said. “You don’t belong.”They weren’t wrong.But they weren’t right either.Instructor Varran was the worst.He was old, but sharp—former commander of the Aetherian War Battalions. His voice carried like a spell, and his air magic was so precise it could shave the hair off your arms without drawing blood.H
The Academy of The Ascendant - Book 1 Marked by Starlight Chapter Nine – The Edge of Belonging
(Lyra’s POV)I was placed in the neutral zone like a curse no one wanted to claim.No House. No dorm. No crest. No guide.Just a small room carved from cold stone, a bed that might’ve once been used for torture, and a narrow window that didn’t show the sky—only the jagged rock wall of the eastern tower.The message was clear:I wasn’t welcome.I wasn’t one of them.I wasn’t safe.The guards who watched my door didn’t speak. The other students avoided eye contact—unless they were whispering or smirking or calling me Voidborn.I didn’t know how they even knew that term.But somehow, they did.One morning, as I passed through the hall, a boy with ice-white eyes muttered, “Careful, she might split the ground again.”His friend snorted. “I heard her magic cracked the arena stone. Bet she dreams in black lightning.”I paused, turned slowly. “Say that again.”The taller one blinked. “What? Just a joke.”I raised my brow. “You’ll be fun in a duel.”He paled.On the third morning, training beg
The Academy of The Ascendant - Book 1 Marked by Starlight Chapter Eight – Fracture Lines
(Talon’s POV)Control is everything.In combat, it’s about timing—the precision of a well-timed strike, the instant when everything aligns for victory. In politics, it revolves around perception—how you present yourself to others, how you shape narratives and influence opinions. In survival, it demands restraint—the ability to hold back when your instincts scream to act, to conserve your energies for the right moment.I had mastered all three concepts through years of rigorous training and razor-sharp discipline. I had approached this academy as if it were a chessboard, playing each piece with meticulous care. Every move was calculated, every word I uttered was purposeful, and every expression I wore was either thoughtfully chosen or intentionally absent.Because real power doesn’t need to scream to be heard.Real power observes quietly.It learns from every interaction, every encounter.And it strikes with precision when the moment is right.So, why then, after all this practice, was
The Academy of The Ascendant - Book 1 Marked by Starlight Chapter Seven – Stormborn Sin
(Riven’s POV)Her face remained permanently imprinted in my thoughts.They were different from those who called my name in a sigh before disappearing like steam.She stuck. Like blood on my teeth. Like a curse I didn’t want broken.Once I returned to my makeshift shelter beneath the Tower of Storms following the induction and the terrifying Void event that caused half the students to wet themselves.Not official housing. Not approved.Mine.Lightning shattered the ceiling while thunder rumbled against the stone walls. The walls throbbed with current. It felt like home. The storm that dwelled beneath my skin had taken root in this place.And right now, that storm was obsessing over a girl who should’ve shattered under our magic.But didn’t.I sprawled shirtless on the cushions near the storm basin, sparks jumping lazily across my fingers. Liora—blonde, forgettable—ran a hand down my chest.Her proximity filled my senses while I remained mentally detached from the intimate connection. M
The Academy of The Ascendant - Book 1 Marked by Starlight Chapter Six – Faultlines
(Cassian’s POV)Hours later the mark remained behind my eyes as a continuous reminder of the chaotic scene I had witnessed. The intensity felt as if it burned my mind with a searing mark which kept reminding me of my terrifying experiences while leaving an indelible stamp of dread.Four elements. The primal forces that shaped our world form the very foundation of our existence. Each element holding its own mysteries, its own dangers: Fire possessed the dual nature of providing illumination while holding the power to consume. The elements performed a deceptive waltz which concealed a sinister truth hidden beneath their surface.And something worse. This ancient power existed beyond both natural laws and logical reasoning. The primordial chaos reverberated as a reminder about destruction that lacked both mercy and compassion.Void. The slightest mention of it caused my stomach to churn. This force presented itself as a threat that demanded respect because it represented the total absenc
The Academy of The Ascendant - Book 1 Marked by Starlight Chapter Five – The Reckoning Begins
(Lyra’s POV)They paraded us like offerings, a procession of fate laid bare beneath a sky that seemed to hold its breath in anticipation.The crescent-shaped courtyard overflowed with students whose dark cloaks billowed around them like animated shadows. The garments featured elaborate embroidery of celestial sigils which emitted a supernatural glow while forming a tapestry of stars and mystical symbols that conveyed tales of ancient power and forgotten wisdom. The black stone underfoot shone with silver veins resembling frozen lightning which emphasized our insignificance against the institution’s magnificence. The academy’s towers rose above us as towering silent deities whose sharp spires stretched upward toward the heavens in an attempt to tear through the universe’s fabric. Above everything stood a dome of stars which rotated slowly across the heavens and appeared to shimmer and twinkle as if it possessed life.A constellation map. A moving sky. The tapestry observed us with its
The Academy of The Ascendant - Book 1 Marked by Starlight Chapter Four – The Fracture and the Storm
(POV split: Talon / Riven)TalonShe shouldn’t exist.The balance of nature in this world depends on four elemental affinities of earth, air, fire, and water because each element possesses both weight and legacy. Each elemental affinity serves as a fundamental thread that binds together family history and the power of a House with deep-rooted traditions. The families take great pride in their control of one element which they mastered to bring honor to their community.She possessed complete control over all four elemental forces within herself.The reality presented a complex disturbance that caused societal disruption through its conflicting forces. Her existence stood as an enigma because she embodied multiple contradictions unlike others who represented a singular legacy.Beneath these four complex elemental layers existed a deeper entity that many believed belonged only to history.Something older and darker.We had entombed it deep within our past, reducing it to murmurs and war
The Academy of The Ascendant - Book 1 Marked by Starlight Chapter Three – The Academy of the Ascendant
(Lyra’s POV)If stares held the power to burn me I would have vanished to become smoke spiraling into the sky, dispersing with the universe’s breath until I left no trace of my existence.Three figures representing fire, shadow and ice stood as unyielding guardians at the boundary of an inaccessible world pulsating with its silent codes and time-honored rights while they observed me with a palpable intensity. I landed in the middle of their holy emblem which was etched into the surroundings while my body still reeled from the hard landing which transported me here and my skin buzzed from the magical energy that pulled me out of my reality into their presence.The atmosphere in this place felt heavy because it contained both extreme heat and cold as well as a deep pressure that settled onto me like an unseen burden. We sat in a space heavy with tangible expectation as an unholy combination of uncertainty and curiosity sparked between us.The sky seemed to freeze in time with an overwhe
The Academy of The Ascendant - Book 1 Marked by Starlight Chapter Two – The Intruder
(Cassian’s POV)“She arrived early,” I murmured to myself so softly that the sound blended into the whispering leaves of the shadowy glade. I remained uncertain whether my remark was intended for Talon who maintained his complete attention, Riven who perpetually hovered near mischief or maybe the anxious part within me that sensed a threat more disturbing than the start of a new day.Talon responded with sharp precision as his voice chilled the atmosphere between us like the dark forest surrounding us. “She doesn’t belong here.” The declaration came from a place of undeniable conviction that mirrored our previous encounters with imminent dangers lurking on the outskirts of our vision.Talon never missed—he never overlooked details, never miscalculated the timing of an event, and he certainly never misjudged a potential threat. If he labeled this newcomer a mistake, then it was likely she represented some form of chaos we hadn’t anticipated, some anomaly in a world where order was para
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