Echoes of Ruin
I knew that hue before I saw her.
Nora Carver stood with her back to the fountain, curls haloed in morning light, fire dancing in the folds of her coat lining. Her uniform matched the rest of us; high-collared black coat, crisp white shirt, charcoal slacks tucked into boots charmed against snow, but the moment she stepped on Aurelian ground, her cloak had changed. Ember red. Scorched black trim. Gold stitching that shimmered like flame. Her sigil, once fractured and lost to time, glowed faintly behind her left shoulder. Only those who truly saw her would see it at all.