Starborn Ashes
Explosion underground
Experiment Room 12, Underground
Ren is lying on a cold stone floor. His body is trembling. Chains hold his wrists. He’s too thin. Too pale. His lips are cracked. His voice is barely there.
Ren Alderis (MC)
[whispering]
… Is it… over?
Mage 1
[coldly]
He’s still alive?
Mage 2
How? He shouldn’t have lasted ten seconds with that much mana pressure.
Ren blinks slowly. There’s dried blood under his nose. His breathing is shallow.
Ren Alderis (MC)
I… I didn’t mean to survive…
They ignore him. The glowing mark on his wrist pulses faintly—just enough to be noticed.
Suddenly, the air crackles. The ground shakes. A surge of magic bursts from Ren's body, wild and out of control
Ren Alderis (MC)
[terrified]
N-No… please… stop—!
Explosion. Screams. Then silence
The lab is in ruins. Walls scorched. Tables shattered. A faint hum of leftover magic buzzes in the air. In the center of it all—Ren lies motionless, small, and broken
Mage 1
[coughing, crawling from the rubble]
H-He’s… still breathing?
Mage 2
[staring at Ren’s wrist in horror]
The mark… Look.
The mark glows gently, like a heartbeat. It pulses with something ancient—not human.
Mage 1
[whispers]
That’s not just any spell mark. That’s a Crest of the First Circle…
Mage 2
He’s a vessel. The power was reacting to him.
Mage 1
Not reacting. Belonging
Mage 2
[voice flat, cold]
Send word to the Council.
The experiment failed—but the subject survived.
Mage 1
We can't keep him here
Mage 2
Then send him to the Academy and tell them to keep him under observation
Author
it's my imagination
Meeting
High Council Chamber – Hours After the Explosion
Six robed figures sit around a circular table. Magic-infused crystal screens float before them, showing Ren's unconscious form.
Author
Don't fall for the council members😹
Eldric (Council head)
So. The experiment lived.
Theris (Councilwoman)
No… he survived. That’s different
Varn (Councilman)
He shouldn’t have. The mana levels were enough to shatter a mage’s core.
Eldric (Council head)
And yet his pulse remains.
The crest is active. That changes everything
Dren (Councilman)
[voice low]
We agreed never to use First Circle seals again…
Theris (Councilwoman)
[glancing at him]
Agreements change when opportunity rises.
Varn (Councilman)
The Dravenhart heir is at the Academy.
Eldric (Council head)
Exactly. If Ren’s power reacts violently again, only he can suppress it.
Dren (Councilman)
[gritting teeth]
You’re not telling them everything, are you, Eldric?
Eldric (Council head)
… Some truths are too dangerous for now.
Let the Academy observe him.
The mark will awaken in time.
Theris (Councilwoman)
[smiling faintly]
And when it does… we’ll see if he’s a key—
—or a weapon.
Council head and Theris alone
Eldric (Council head)
If the boy ever remembers what he really is…
Not even Kael Dravenhart will be able to stop him.
Author
this is our generation
Author
but in another universe
Author
where Technology and Magic both are used
Author
but Magic is more popular
Author
those people who were not able to use magic invented Technology
Going to Academy
Ren is unconscious, curled in a corner. His wrists are chained lightly, more for tradition than safety. His breathing is shallow. Two lower-ranked servants sit across from him, arms crossed.
Servant 1
Why are we even wasting a carriage on him?
Servant 2
[scoffs]
They say he’s ‘important.’ Doesn’t look like it. I’ve seen plague rats with more life in their eyes.
Servant 1
Experiment freak. Should’ve just buried the lab with him in it.
Servant 2
Need to drag him to the carriage now.
Outside the underground facility, just before dawn. The sky is gray. A black Academy carriage waits with a single driver on standby. Those two servants drag Ren forward, barely conscious, his feet dragging on the dirt.
Servant 1
Careful with it. Council said not to bruise him more than he already is.
Servant 2
Doesn’t matter. Look at him—like a wet leaf. He won’t last a week.
They shove Ren into the back of the carriage like discarded laundry.
Servant 1
Honestly, waste of a carriage. Should’ve shipped him in a crate.
Carriage driver
[from the front, calm but firm]
That’s enough.
The servants blink, taken aback. The driver’s eyes are sharp, serious.
Carriage driver
Council said to deliver him in one piece. That includes his dignity.
Servant 2
[muttering as they walk off]
Dignity? With that thing?
Servant 1
You’ll see. The Academy will rip him apart.
They leave. The door closes. Inside, Ren stirs faintly but doesn’t open his eyes yet.
Carriage driver
[murmuring, almost to himself]
Poor kid… whatever you are, I hope you make it out.
Carriage driver
* starts the carriage *
The carriage rocks gently. Ren stirs. He flinches as if in pain, blinking against the sunlight peeking through the curtains.
Ren Alderis (MC)
[softly]
…Where…
The driver, hears the whisper through the front window. He leans back slightly, offering a small smile.
Carriage driver
You’re awake. That’s good
Ren Alderis (MC)
[voice trembling]
W-Where… are we going…?
Carriage driver
To the Academy. You’ve been chosen to study magic, little one.
Ren Alderis (MC)
[confused, eyes wide]
…Study? But… I’m not… I didn’t do anything…
The driver doesn’t answer immediately. Instead, he reaches behind his seat and slides a small paper-wrapped bundle through the window.
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