“Sirius, what’s wrong?” I asked, lowering my knives. We had been sparring in the yard, but his strikes had lost their edge. His mind was clearly elsewhere.

  “…I am leaving,” he said at last.

  I frowned. “You leave all the time. This is your first time back in three weeks.”

  “No. Not like that.” He glanced around the yard, making sure no one but Thorn was near. His voice dropped lower. “I mean for a year at least. Maybe longer. My father is sending me away to train.” He hesitated, then added, “Part of it is… merging with my first shard. Along with the rest of the training he says I need for the responsibilities waiting for me.”

  I stared at him. For years, our friendship had been built on daydreams of slaying monsters and saving kingdoms. I had never thought about a future where those adventures were not ours together. It may have been childish, but it had been the beating heart of our bond.

  “What about adventuring together?” The question slipped out, half-plea, half-accusation.

  “Bryn, we are not even sixteen yet. We have our whole lives ahead of us.” He gave me a small, weary smile. “I still believe we will find time. But I cannot ignore who I am anymore. I have responsibilities. And if I am honest, you are the one who helped me see that. You yelled at me, showed me what I was, and forced me to grow up. So if you need someone to blame for my noble choices, blame yourself.”

  I huffed a laugh despite myself. “Well, if it worked so well, maybe I should yell at you again to shake you out of it.”

  We bantered for a few more minutes, trying to cover the tension in what he had said. But the mood shifted again when he looked at me with a seriousness that cut through the levity.

  “Bryn,” he said, “I can put a word in for you. If you want, I could get you into any guild, academy, or even a military unit in Velmine.”

  I blinked. “What? That is not possible. I am an orphan with no family, no name, no connections.”

  He shook his head. “I cannot explain, not fully. You have to trust me. One day I will be able to tell you more, but for now, my father says it is too soon.”

  Questions stormed in my mind. Why was he offering this? Who exactly was his father? How much of Sirius had been hidden from me all along? I did not even know where to start.

  “Can I think about it?” I finally asked. “Maybe talk to Asher before I decide?”

  “Of course.” His voice softened. “I will be back one more time next week before I go. You can tell me then.”

  The yard fell quiet, the words lingering between us. For the first time in years, the future no longer felt like something we shared. It felt like something pulling us apart.

  The sparing continued. The clatter of their blades rang through the yard, each strike crisp, each parry sharp. Yet beneath the rhythm of steel was another cadence, one they both felt. Grief stirred low within them, rising like a shadow that clawed its way upward. It gripped the heart before either could stop it, dragging a heaviness into every movement.

  I hated this feeling of grief. It seemed to always be sitting in the back of my mind as loss of my parents created a hole in my soul that was meant to be filled. This felt like I was losing one of the few things I had left in this world. I knew it was not suppose to be forever, but it felt that way.

  We finished our training in companionable silence. And then Thorn led Sirius back to wherever he was going.

  I was allowed outside the orphanage now and often ran errands for Mistress Elora. Deliveries, messages, odd jobs that kept me busy. Sometimes she let me visit Asher at his guild, as long as I made a few stops on the way back.

  Today, I found him at the range. Arrow after arrow hissed through the air, each one striking its mark. I still had never seen him miss.

  When his quiver emptied, he lowered his bow, spotted me, and came walking over.

  “What’s up, kid? Why do you look like someone just kicked your dog?”

  I tried to smile, but it faded. “Sirius told me he is leaving. Not just for a few weeks. For a year, maybe longer. I feel like I’m losing one of the few things I still have in this world.” My voice cracked at the last word.

  Asher set a hand on my shoulder. His grip was steady, grounding. “Bryn, grief is part of life. A part of growth. It can crush a man, but it also reveals what he valued most.” He paused, letting the words sink in.

  “To grieve means you first loved, or held something worth loving. That is why it hurts. Grief is both a treasure and a thief. You can acknowledge the pain, honor what you lost, and let it fuel you, or you can let it hollow you out.” His eyes grew distant, as if recalling faces I would never know. “I have seen men broken by grief, and I have seen others rise because of it. You will face this again, Bryn. Many times. And I do not doubt you and Sirius will meet again and even adventure together. But for now, this grief is part of your growth. Make sure you plant it in good soil.”

  I drank in his words like a man dying of thirst.

  He continued, softer now. “This is the time for you to discover who you are. Who you want to be. Others can sharpen you, but only you can choose the path you will walk.”

  We stood in silence for a while, his hand still resting on my shoulder. Finally, I spoke.

  The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

  “Sirius told me he could help get me into any guild, academy, or even the military in Velmine. Do you think that’s true? I always thought I would join you here as a Wild Warden, fighting monsters to protect the people of Velmine. But now…” My throat tightened. “Now I do not know. I did not realize I would have options. And I don’t know what to do with them.”

  Asher rubbed his chin, then crossed his arms. “If Sirius says he can open doors, I believe him. Here are my thoughts on the different options.”

  He paced slowly across the range. “Guilds each have their own specific focus. There are too many to list at the moment, but as an example, here are some options. The Strikers Guild is the sharpest blade if you want to master combat. They train men and women to hunt monsters, lead battles, and strike at threats the empire cannot ignore. They often work with the Velmine military.”

  “You have the Alchemists, who deal with potions, poisons, and the mixing of shard aether into tools. The Artificers focus on crafting weapons, armor, and machines. The Scouts train eyes and feet to track, to gather information, and to vanish when needed.”

  “The Wild Wardens, my guild, guard the borderlands as you know. We take contracts to cull beasts and keep people safe where the empire’s banners do not reach. Each guild sharpens a part of you, but what you gain in one you lose in another.”

  He let the words linger before moving on.

  “Then there are the academies. They open more doors than most realize. If you have a gift for magic, that is where it will be brought to life. They will teach you to channel aether, to wield shards without killing yourself, and to bend craft and knowledge together.”

  “You will meet minds sharper than steel, and if you survive the years of study, you will walk out with skills that can change the world. But academies are not kind to the weak. Many enter, not all leave. Some break under the pressure, others are consumed by the very things they are trying to master.”

  He paused, eyes narrowing slightly.

  “And then there is the military. The king’s legions train discipline like no other. If you want to learn to fight in ranks, to master weapons in every form, to understand strategy and command, that is where you go. The military will shape you into a soldier, maybe even an officer if you survive long enough.

  “You will not get the freedom of a guild, but you will gain unity, structure, and the chance to rise in rank. Outside of the Strikers Guild, no one trains martial skill better. But you also give up choice. In the military, you go where they tell you, fight who they tell you, and die if they command it.”

  He came back to me and crouched so his eyes were level with mine.

  “There are other paths too. Mercenary bands that drift between the cracks. Noble houses that take in promising talent as retainers. Even the priesthood, where orphans often find their way.”

  His hand tightened on my shoulder. “The truth is, Bryn, none of them are easy. None of them are safe. But whichever you choose, it will decide the man you become.”

  Asher’s gaze lingered on me, steady and searching. Then he spoke again.

  “If you want my counsel, I would tell you to aim for an academy. You are still young, and that time will let you learn more than any guild could give you right now. A guild can be joined later, once your path is clearer. The military may not be a bad option, but you will lose a significant amount of agency, and once you put on their colors, they are reluctant to let go. But an academy will test you, shape you, and open doors you cannot even see yet.”

  He gave my shoulder a final squeeze. “You carry something rare, Bryn. Do not waste it by rushing into the first fight you can find. Build yourself first. Then you can choose where you will stand.”

  This was a lot to take in, and I struggled to process it all. I knew bits and pieces from my reading and from conversations with Asher and Sirius over the years, but now the weight of choice rested on me.

  Why did making this decision feel so hard? Maybe because it was the first real one I had ever faced. The first time I would choose my own direction. It felt like a major step, and the pressure in my chest rose with every thought. Nearly every decision in my life until now had been made for me.

  It was almost crippling to be given the world of options when I had never been trained in how to choose. Outside of my knife work, my strange abilities, and the patchwork of knowledge I had devoured from books, I had very little to stand on.

  That was why the academies seemed to make the most sense. They could teach me what I lacked, fill in the gaps, and prepare me for more than I could reach on my own.

  “I think you are right,” I finally said. “I should go with one of the academies. Could you tell me about them, and what your thoughts are?”

  Asher’s eyes narrowed in thought, then he gave a slow nod. “There are three main academies you should know about, each with its own purpose.”

  “The first is the Velmine Academy. It is where talented commoners with aetheric potential are sent to begin their studies. It teaches the basics of magic, discipline, and how to handle aetheric energy from lesser shards to alchemy ingredients. Most who graduate go on to serve in guilds or the empire in some way. It is the most open of the academies, but also the most limited. It will build a foundation, but you will always be measured by that ceiling.”

  He shifted his stance and continued. “The second is the Martial Academy. Its focus is magical craft, combat, and war. It functions much like the Strikers Guild, and is tied closely to the Velmine military. In times of war, they serve as an additional magical branch, bolstering the legions. At minimum, they train the empire’s magical units, keeping them sharp. This academy is important because it balances the power between the nobles and the guilds. Graduates are respected, and the training is brutal but effective. If you want to become a fighter who wields magic as readily as steel, this is where you would go.”

  His voice grew quieter, more deliberate. “And then there is the Noble Academy. It does not open its doors to just anyone. Only those of noble blood are admitted, and even then, much of what is taught is knowledge guarded by the houses. What is shared there is only a portion, but it is more than any outsider could normally gain. If Sirius can truly get you in, that would be my recommendation. It would be the hardest of them all. You would be seen as an outsider every day you walked those halls. But if you endured, you would come out with knowledge and access no commoner could hope to touch. When you finished, you could still seek what the other academies or the guilds have to offer. But you would begin with many of the advantages the nobility protect for their heirs.”

  He held my gaze, steady and firm. “It will not be an easy road, Bryn. But it might be the one worth taking.”

  My stomach twisted as I listened. The Noble Academy. Just the thought of stepping into a place like that made my palms sweat. Outsider was too small a word for what I would be there. I could almost hear the whispers already, the laughter, the suspicion.

  Yet the way Asher laid it out, it did make the most sense. If Sirius could truly get me in, then it was an opportunity no one else in my position would ever see. I would be a fool not to at least consider it.

  “I… I do not know,” I admitted, rubbing the back of my neck. “It makes me nervous. I can barely imagine myself in a place like that. But what you said makes sense. If Sirius can really get me into the Noble Academy, then maybe that is where I should go.”

  I drew in a slow breath, trying to settle the pressure in my chest. “I think I need some time to let this sink in. To think through all of it. I should head back with the things Mistress Elora needs.”

  Asher gave a slight nod of approval. “Good. Do not rush. I will support whatever decision you make. There is no bad option, but they will all shape your future in different ways. When the time comes, you will know what to do.”

  With that, I turned toward the road, the world suddenly feeling both larger and smaller than it ever had before.