The wind howled softly outside the tall arched windows of the Academy of Mystara. Rain lashed against the panes as though nature itself sensed the awakening storm within Vahn Romanoff.
In the three years since Leslie's death, Vahn had carefully pieced together fragments of her research, hidden clues from her journals, and traces of forgotten knowledge. With each passing day, his control over the lightning element grew sharper—quieter, more precise. Not just raw power, but subtle manipulation: guiding current through metal, vibrating particles to disrupt sound, stimulating nerves for split-second reflexes. Leslie had once said lightning was the element of perception and motion. He was beginning to understand.
Yet knowledge without action was a silent sword. And Vahn, for all his planning, was still confined in a world of masks and politics.
It was in the ancient wing of the academy, beneath a sealed observatory unused for decades, that Vahn arranged his first meeting. Elias, his mentor and the only professor who seemed to look past his quiet demeanor, had suspected Vahn's hidden talent. Tonight, Vahn would reveal the truth—but only a sliver of it.
Elias stood in the dust-cloaked room, arms crossed, eyes narrowing as Vahn stepped out of the shadows.
"You've been hiding something, boy. Care to explain why I found modified Source Circuits in the alchemy lab that match lightning resonance signatures?"
Vahn didn't answer right away. He placed Leslie's research journal on the table and flipped to a diagram—neural pathways enhanced with lightning conduction overlays.
"This is what my sister died for," he said. "And it's what will change everything."
Elias studied the pages. His expression shifted from suspicion to awe.
"If this is accurate…" he muttered. "These enhancements could make lightning users the fastest reactionary fighters alive. They could even detect lies by reading micro-signals from muscles and nerves."
Vahn nodded. "But if the wrong people get it, it becomes a tool for control, not freedom. Leslie knew that. That's why she hid it."
Elias closed the journal slowly. "You want to continue her work."
"I want to finish it," Vahn said, his voice calm but unwavering. "And I want to find who betrayed her."
Elsewhere in the capital, new laws regarding elemental research had passed in the High Council. Lightning affinity tests were now mandatory at all academies, and several elite families had already begun breeding alliances to consolidate their children's bloodlines for lightning affinity. Vahn saw the signs of corruption spreading, exploiting the very knowledge Leslie had pioneered.
The Luminaries, supposed champions of light and order, had recently sanctioned "Observation Initiatives" for all promising students. Vahn wasn't fooled. It was surveillance under another name.
He had to move faster.
Late one night, while reviewing the private journal, Vahn stumbled upon a passage written in code. He decrypted it using a cipher Leslie had taught him as a child—a game they used to play during winters.
The passage read:
"If you are reading this, then I have failed. The corruption in the Luminaries runs deeper than I feared. Solaris knew. He tried to stop them, but they silenced him. The Eclipsed One was a pawn, not the master. The true architects of the Chaos Era never left."
Vahn's hands trembled.
His entire worldview shifted. The peace that followed the death of the two great champions wasn't real peace. It was a mask, maintained by the victors who rewrote the ending.
His sister hadn't just been researching elemental science. She had stumbled onto a secret war, one still being fought in the shadows.
Vahn began gathering like-minded peers under the guise of a study group. There was Elira, a water affinity prodigy with a mind for strategy; Kael, a fire user disgraced by his house for questioning the Luminaries; and Juno, a scholar with rare Earth-Seer abilities who could glimpse memory echoes from objects.
They met in silence, in basements and hidden catacombs beneath the academy. They called themselves The Veil.
Each week, Vahn shared pieces of Leslie's research. With Juno's help, they confirmed through her visions that Leslie had been meeting with a secret envoy—one bearing the crest of the High Council. That was Vahn's final proof. Her murder hadn't been random.
It was sanctioned.
Vahn knew the Awakening Ceremony was only months away. On that day, his power would be officially recognized. The world would no longer see him as a quiet noble boy. He would become a threat.
He had until then to uncover the full truth, strengthen The Veil, and expose the rot at the heart of the Luminaries.
But for now, he returned to his dorm window, gazing over the storm-laced capital.
Lightning does not ask permission to strike, he thought. It simply does.
And so would he.