The Forbidden Coalition

It is late at Veyr Academy, and the city beyond its concealed windows is still bright with traffic. Beneath the archive, you stand in a passage that is absent from your student map. An open recess holds a small black prism, its surfaces shifting without catching the light.

You lift it. The magical energy stored beneath your skin answers with an unfamiliar pulse. Your phone vibrates with three incoming notifications: your mentor, your most resourceful associate, and the rival who rarely contacts you without a reason. Then a fourth conversation opens, without a name or number.