Gold haze collapses around Elion, and the office of Orythiel Draemnor settles into view. Beyond the closed door, Saadia, Lydia, and Oskar remain in the Academy corridor, while Drokthar stands beside the elder mentor.
No weapon moves, and no spell gathers. Orythiel’s luminous eye travels over Elion’s stance, his steady breathing, and the dark eyes that no longer carry the Heartgarden’s fading gold.
Orythiel Draemnor
You return changed, though not damaged. Your posture carries trained restraint, and your eyes have released the borrowed light.
Drokthar Volundar
The resonance is quieter than before. Whatever Kheros taught you, it settled into the body instead of erupting through it.
Drokthar studies Elion with his visible eye, then glances toward the sealed reliquary chamber behind them. Its wards remain intact, humming faintly through the office floor.
Orythiel Draemnor
Tell me the final lesson Kheros gave you. Then explain what you experienced when he removed the fault that hindered your learning.
The calm question leaves the room open to Elion’s account. Outside, his companions wait beyond the door, and neither elder presses him for an answer.
“How do you know i met Kheros? It sounds so unbelievable, yet Grand Mentor and Archmage, you both say it as if it was normal… Orythiel answers that he received a raven at his window that had a letter on it from Kheros, explaining you were with him in another realm. As unbelievable as it sounded at first, said Orythiel, the raven emanated a mana that i had never felt in the past. Something that must be possessed by someone or something that is not or isn’t from Eryn anymore. That’s what made me believe it. I then spoke about it to the Archmage. The Archmage then simply added that he trusts the Grand Mentor so he believed what the Grand Mentor said. Elion is surprised because he was not aware that Kheros had done something like this…”
SUCCESS (Legendary Reasoning, rolled -2)
Elion Draemnor
How did you know I met Kheros? It sounds unbelievable, yet you both speak of it as though it were ordinary.
Orythiel Draemnor
A raven came to my window bearing a letter from Kheros. It said you were with him in another realm.
Orythiel’s luminous eye remains fixed on Elion. The memory seems clear, but the explanation leaves a precise uncertainty: why would Kheros arrange a message before Elion returned?
Orythiel Draemnor
I doubted it at first. Then I felt the mana radiating from that bird. It was unlike anything I have known, as though it belonged to someone or something no longer of Eryn.
Orythiel Draemnor
That convinced me. I told Drokthar, and he trusted my judgment. Thus, he accepted the account without requiring further proof.
Drokthar Volundar
I trusted the Grand Mentor. That was enough for me, though the message itself remains extraordinary.
The answer confirms how they believed him, but not why Kheros sent the raven without warning Elion. That unanswered detail remains lodged in the room’s quiet.
✓ Quest Accepted
Learn why Kheros sent the raven
“Interesting i thought to myself… He must have thought that the person here would remain for me… In that case i said, before you ask me questions, Where are Saadia, Lydia and the new guy i met when i first came here… what was his name again? Yes! Oskar. Where are the three of them?”
SUCCESS (Legendary Reasoning, rolled +1)
Elion Draemnor
Before you ask me questions, where are Saadia, Lydia, and the new guy I met when I first came here? Oskar. Where are the three of them?
Orythiel Draemnor
They remain just beyond the office door, in the Academy corridor. Saadia and Lydia have been waiting quietly, while Oskar has been asking Drokthar about the training grounds.
The closed door separates Elion from their familiar voices and shifting footsteps. No ward prevents him from leaving the office, and the corridor remains close beyond it.
Drokthar Volundar
They are unharmed. I kept them outside while Orythiel spoke with you, though the orc has shown considerable impatience to see what changed.
Orythiel Draemnor
You may join them now, Elion. Your questions about Kheros can wait until you have reassured your companions with your own eyes.
Orythiel turns toward the door, and its wards loosen with a soft chime. Through the opening, Saadia, Lydia, and Oskar look back toward Elion from the corridor.
✓ Quest Accepted
Tell the Academy elders what Kheros taught him
“I step into the corridor to meet with Saadia, Lydia, and Oskar. They are shocked on how much i’ve changed. Saadia comments on my hair that i cut. She asks where are my dreads, why do i look more imposing. Then she stops herself, mumbles something and simply says that she’s glad that i’m back. Lydia smiles, fist bumps me, and tells me that she’s happy to see me. Oskar simply looks at me and comments that i look stronger and more confident in myself.”
SUCCESS (Great Agility, rolled +2)
Elion steps through the loosened doorway into the Academy corridor. Saadia, Lydia, and Oskar turn toward him together, their familiar faces registering the change in his bearing.
Saadia
Your hair. You cut it. Where are your dreads? And why do you look so much more imposing now?
Saadia
I... Never mind. I’m glad you’re back.
Saadia stops herself, then offers him a relieved smile. Lydia steps forward with her shield at her side and raises a fist toward him.
Lydia
Good to see you, brother. I’m happy you’re back.
Lydia’s fist meets Elion’s in a firm greeting. Beside her, Oskar studies him openly, his broad orcish frame still and attentive.
Oskar
You look stronger. More confident in yourself, too. Whatever happened in there, it changed you.
“I smile and i tell them that im glad to see each one of them. I make eye contact especially with Saadia, thinking to myself that she’s as pretty as ever. Then i add that they’ll want to enter the office of the Grand Mentor, because he’s going to explain everything to the three of them, plus the Archmage and the Grand Mentor.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Reasoning, rolled +3)
Elion smiles at them, his gaze passing warmly over Lydia and Oskar before resting on Saadia. Her familiar beauty catches his attention as clearly as ever.
Elion Draemnor
Saadia is as pretty as ever.
Elion Draemnor
I’m glad to see each of you. You should enter the Grand Mentor’s office. I’m going to explain everything to all three of you, along with the Archmage and himself.
Saadia
Then let us hear it together. I have questions, and I suspect your answers will create several more.
Oskar
Good. I want to know what happened in there, and whether I can train under the same masters someday.
Lydia nods, and Saadia reaches for the office door before anyone can hesitate. Its loosened wards welcome them, while Orythiel and Drokthar wait inside with the explanation already prepared.
“As they close the doors behind them Students from the Mana Academy gather to see what’s going on. Elion looks back and sees them. With his heightened senses from his training with Kheros, he senses their mana and sees that he could only hold his own against some but the majority where still stronger than him. He thought to himself that he still has a long way to go, before closing the door. Then, The Archmage, The Grand Mentor, Saadia, Lydia and Oskar all gather in front of Elion, ready to hear. Elion examines them and starts: Okay. First i had 4 visions if i’m not mistaken. It was quite unclear at some times. First one, i Saw a fight between Kheros, a dragon that seemed to obey Kheros against another man That was named Kravuun. Kheros attacked Kravuun and then transformed into a dragon, literally. Kheros’s Companion, the other Dragon, was named something along the line of Rahgolviing. The man Kravuun then also transformed into a dragon. A fight exploded. This is only the first part.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Reasoning, rolled -1)
As the doors close, a cluster of Mana Academy students gathers in the corridor, their robes whispering as they peer toward Elion. He turns and senses their mana, recognizing that only some are within his present reach while most remain stronger.
Elion Draemnor
I still have a long way to go.
Elion closes the door and faces the assembled circle: Orythiel, Drokthar, Saadia, Lydia, and Oskar. They stand ready, their attention fixed entirely upon him.
Elion Draemnor
Okay. I had four visions, if I remember correctly. They were unclear at times. In the first, I saw Kheros fighting a man named Kravuun, alongside a dragon that seemed to obey him.
Elion Draemnor
Kheros attacked Kravuun and then transformed into a dragon, literally. His companion, the other dragon, was named something like Rahgolviing. Then Kravuun transformed into a dragon as well, and the fight exploded. That is only the first part.
Orythiel Draemnor
A man becoming a dragon after Kheros revealed that form changes the meaning of the vision. Continue carefully, Elion. Every name and sequence may matter.
Saadia
You said Kravuun transformed as well. Was he answering Kheros, or was the change already waiting within him?
“Don’t worry Grand Mentor, everything will be detailed. And Saadia, i believe Kravuun’s transformation was within him. Because to be more precise, he was a Dragon King. Being so strong and powerful, they were among the mightiest of Eryn. Well Kheros was among those Dragon Kings but betrayed them. They were 5 Dragon Kings, 6 Including Kheros. They all had a Humanoid form, and the ability to become a dragon. To continue on the story, Well Kheros ended up winning against Kravuun with the Help of Rahgolviing. Though, even tho Kheros had the help of another Dragon to fight Kravuun, even though they were two against one, Kravuun injuried the Hero so badly. Here were his abilities: Existential Erasure — deletion of material, conceptual, and mnemonic existence. Capabilities: • Null Roar: erases entities from all planes. • Void Singularity: expands absence zones where light and mana cannot exist. • Oblivion Touch: direct contact deletes object and memory simultaneously.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Reasoning, rolled +1)
Elion Draemnor
Don’t worry, Grand Mentor, everything will be detailed. Saadia, I believe Kravuun’s transformation was within him. He was a Dragon King, one of Eryn’s mightiest beings.
The room grows still as Elion’s account gives the vision a firmer shape. Orythiel’s luminous eye narrows, while Drokthar turns fully from the reliquary wards.
Elion Draemnor
There were five Dragon Kings, six including Kheros. Each possessed a humanoid form and the power to become a dragon. Kheros betrayed the others.
Orythiel Draemnor
That confirms the old structure. The Dragon Kings were not merely dragons with human disguises. Their humanoid forms were part of their true nature, and Kheros stood among them before his betrayal.
Elion Draemnor
Kheros defeated Kravuun with Rahgolviing’s help. Even two against one, Kravuun injured Kheros terribly. His power was Existential Erasure: he could delete matter, concepts, and memories.
Elion Draemnor
His Null Roar erased entities across planes. Void Singularity created zones where light and mana could not exist. Oblivion Touch deleted an object and the memory of it together.
Saadia
Then Kravuun was not simply powerful. He threatened the meaning of existence itself. What happened to Kheros after that injury, and why did he survive when memory itself could be erased?
Quest Complete
Tell the Academy elders what Kheros taught him
Skill Upgrade: Arcana Great→Superb
“Well Saadia, Kheros has a power called Golden Voice. It lets him learn special incantations capable of doing anything. Once he learns them, he could simply pronounce them and they would happen. At his peak, i even believe he could invent incantations. So it was a fight of two beings almost touching the state of divine, brawling. After Kheros defeated Kravuun, he went to treat his wounds the best he could but to no avail, he was deeply wounded. He used a scroll of Traveling, teleporting him to a place that i was not expecting, the Castle of the First Vampire, Eleance. He knocked on the door and was met with a man with Onimous Blood Mana. The man had a pale skin colour. He had A wolf cut, and his hair colour was white. He had greyish eyes and was wearing a black robe. I’m going to be honest, he was a handsome man but he seemed terribly powerful also. Kheros Met with him. Eleance asked him who he was. Kheros presented himself and then discussed with him the possibility of an alliance.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Reasoning, rolled -2)
Elion Draemnor
Saadia, Kheros wielded Golden Voice. It let him learn incantations capable of doing anything, and at his peak, perhaps even invent new ones.
Elion Draemnor
So his battle with Kravuun was a clash between two beings almost touching divinity. Kheros defeated him, but Kravuun wounded him so deeply that even his healing could not save him.
Saadia listens without interrupting. Orythiel’s luminous eye remains fixed on Elion, while Drokthar’s hand tightens against his robes at the mention of power that could alter reality.
Elion Draemnor
Kheros used a Traveling scroll and appeared at the Castle of the First Vampire, Eleance. Eleance was pale, white-haired, grey-eyed, dressed in black, and carried an ominous Blood Mana.
Elion Draemnor
He looked handsome, but his power was terrifying. Eleance asked who Kheros was, and Kheros introduced himself before proposing an alliance.
Saadia
An alliance between Kheros and the First Vampire would explain how he survived long enough to reach that castle. Did Eleance accept it?
Orythiel Draemnor
You have recovered the vision’s sequence, but not its conclusion. The cost is that the details around Golden Voice remain indistinct: you know what it could do, but not which incantations Kheros had already learned.
“Well Grand Mentor, it is true that i do not know what Kheros learned. I couldn’t comprehend what i was seeing. Kheros was an outer worldly fighter. And Saadia Eleance studied Kheros’s reason, and accepted it. The reason is unknown, since he refused to tell Kheros also why he accepted it. So to give only the important Details, Kheros faced With Rahgolviing and Eleance the 4 remaining dragon kings. Their names was Vokuzan, Saakmir, Nahlviin and Yolmaar. The battle was beyond chaos. Eleance, even though he had blood mana, controlled Poison magic. He could transform into a gigantic snake. He was much bigger than the dragons, Even Kheros. To compensate for the fact he didn’t have limbs, his size gave him strength to choke, move quickly and generate an incomprehensible bite force. He could do Poison breath attacks, Inject venom into anything he bit, and his skin produced a type of venom that was weak at first but damaging over time.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Reasoning, rolled -2)
Elion Draemnor
I do not know what Kheros had learned. I could not comprehend every vision. He was an otherworldly fighter, and Eleance studied his reasons before accepting the alliance, though he never explained why.
Elion Draemnor
Kheros, Rahgolviing and Eleance then faced the four remaining Dragon Kings: Vokuzan, Saakmir, Nahlviin, and Yolmaar. The battle was beyond chaos.
Elion Draemnor
Eleance wielded Blood Mana but controlled poison magic. He could become a gigantic snake, larger than even the dragons. His size gave him immense strength, speed, and a crushing bite.
Elion’s recollection gives the battle a clearer shape, but the effort consumes the room’s attention. Several finer details slip away before he can separate them from the vision’s destruction.
Elion Draemnor
Eleance breathed poison, injected venom through his bite, and carried venom in his skin. It began weakly, then damaged anything that remained in contact with him.
Orythiel Draemnor
That is enough to establish the alliance’s battlefield shape. Eleance compensated for lacking limbs through scale, constriction, mobility, and sustained poison. But your memory still cannot tell us why he accepted Kheros.
Saadia
And if Eleance studied his reasons before agreeing, then the answer may lie in what Kheros refused to reveal, not in the battle itself. We should preserve that distinction.
“Maybe, though i do not believe for it to be such an important information. Either way, Eleance Died in the fight, and Kheros along with his Dragon Rahgolviing, died in the fight. They won though. And that was everything within the first Vision i think. The Third and fourth Vision simply explain who are the dragon kings, for the Third vision, and the fourth who’s Kheros. If you have any other questions, ask, if no, i will continue on the second vision”
SUCCESS (Legendary Reasoning, rolled +0)
Elion Draemnor
Perhaps the reason Eleance accepted Kheros is not important. He died in that fight, and Kheros and Rahgolviing died as well. They still won. That is everything I remember from the first vision. The third vision explained the Dragon Kings, and the fourth explained Kheros. If you have other questions, ask. Otherwise, I will continue with the second vision.
The room absorbs the conclusion in silence. Orythiel’s luminous eye remains steady, while Saadia lowers her gaze, weighing the deaths behind Elion’s account rather than the spectacle of the battle.
Orythiel Draemnor
No further question is necessary for the first vision. You have separated what you witnessed from what you could not comprehend, and that distinction makes the account more valuable.
Saadia
Then the victory was not survival. It was the completion of their purpose, purchased by all three of their lives. Continue when you are ready, Elion.
Drokthar folds his hands into his sleeves and turns from the reliquary wards toward Elion. Lydia and Oskar remain attentive beside Saadia, leaving the room’s focus entirely with the visions.
Orythiel Draemnor
Proceed with the second vision. Tell us what you saw in its order, even where the meaning remains uncertain.
The assembled listeners settle into silence again, prepared to receive the next fragment of the ancient history carried back from Kheros’s realm.
“The second vision is simple. I saw the fight between Yolmaar the dragon king against Eryn the First Archmage of The Mana Academy, and Lyoros, the first grand mentor, alongside a man wielding the same powers as you, Grandfather, i said while looking directly in Orythiel’s eyes. Yolmaar had came back to life, Centuries after the defeat against Kheros’s crew. Then i continue and say that they Defeated the dragon king, But the casualties were so heavy it was incomprehensible. I then add that these Dragon Kings are something else. Though i must add something. I look directly at Orythiel, then turn to the Archmage. I then say that i was shocked to see that the Corpse of Yolmaar the dragon king was buried beneath our feet’s, right now at this instant. It is used to power the Mana Academy. It is used as a fuel, i say leaving Saadia, Lydia and Oskar in shock. Orythiel and the Archmage look at me straight in the eyes, never denying the facts.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Reasoning, rolled +1)
Elion Draemnor
The second vision was simpler. I saw Yolmaar, the Dragon King, fighting Eryn, the First Archmage, Lyoros, the first Grand Mentor, and a man wielding powers like yours, Grandfather.
Elion continues while the assembled listeners remain fixed on him. The vision’s battlefield takes shape in the room through his account: Yolmaar had returned, an immense adult male dragon with bronze scales, a broad horned head, and four ragged wings, had returned centuries after Kheros’s company defeated him.
Elion Draemnor
They defeated Yolmaar again, but the casualties were so heavy that the scale of them was incomprehensible. These Dragon Kings are something else.
Elion Draemnor
There is something else. I was shocked to see that Yolmaar’s corpse was buried beneath our feet, here and now. It is used to power the Mana Academy. It is used as fuel.
Saadia goes rigid. Lydia’s hand closes around her shield strap, and Oskar stares toward the floor as though the stone beneath him has become suddenly transparent.
Orythiel Draemnor
We will not deny it, Elion. Yolmaar’s remains lie beneath the Academy. The oldest wards draw power from what survived his destruction, and the truth has been concealed from nearly everyone who studies here.
Drokthar Volundar
The Academy was built around that source. We call it a foundation in our records, never a corpse. Your vision saw through the language we use to protect the institution from what that truth means.