Deyva had always been a quiet village—too quiet for a boy like Kael.
As the sun rose over its mossy rooftops, whispers began to spread like wildfire. Old men leaned over cane-stiffened knees, and children pressed their faces to windows. Not because someone had died.
But because someone had awakened.
"He has a mark," a farmer murmured to his wife.
"Clanless Kael? That's not possible," the baker scoffed, dusting flour from his sleeves.
By the time Kael stepped into the town square, the entire village was watching him like he was some cursed painting come to life.
The mark on his palm was faint, but it shimmered in the light — not a standard clan emblem, but something swirling and chaotic, like fire caught in a storm. It pulsed in rhythm with his breath.
Kael hated attention. But worse than the whispers was the silence of Master Ryden.
The old man stood near the Soulstone — a tall, jagged crystal that had sat in the square for generations. It tested a person's soul to see if they were worthy of awakening.
Kael stepped forward.
"Place your hand," Ryden said, voice low.
Kael obeyed. The moment his palm touched the stone, energy surged out like a shockwave. Dust spiraled into the air. The stone cracked, then glowed brighter than it ever had.
Gasps filled the square.
Nyra pushed through the crowd, wide-eyed. "Kael, that mark... It's not from any clan."
"I know."
Ryden narrowed his eyes. "Step away."
Kael did. The Soulstone's glow faded, leaving behind a deep fracture—something that had never happened in Deyva before.
"What does it mean?" Kael asked.
"It means," Ryden said quietly, "you are no longer invisible."
Later, Kael sat on the roof of his cottage, legs dangling over the edge. Nyra joined him, tossing him a piece of dried fruit.
"Is this good?" she asked.
Kael stared at his hand. "I think it's trouble."
"Same thing, really."
They both laughed.
But down below, in the shadows behind the village walls, a figure watched them through a veil of smoke. He wore robes far too clean for a traveler and eyes far too sharp for a merchant.
He smiled.
"So the Fool stirs the Soulstone... just as the scrolls said."