Shadow wings

A coincidence?

Ferndall could already see flames and smoke twisting like serpents into the dark night sky. As he and Laxus approached the scene, his worst suspicions were confirmed: the building engulfed in flames was the same library they had visited only hours earlier. Night patrol guards had formed a containment spell around the structure, holding the fire at bay while Luna, Mary, and Marelin worked to extinguish it. Luna and Mary expertly controlled the fire with magic, while Marelin cast ice spells to smother the flames. Ferndall hurried to one of the guards, his voice tight with concern. "Have you searched the building for survivors?" The guard, his face tense from the effort of holding the spell, shook his head. "No, sir. We've been struggling just to keep the fire under control. Entering now would be too dangerous. This wasn't accidental—it's clear magic was involved. Someone likely wanted to destroy evidence... or kill." Ferndall's jaw tightened as he turned back toward the inferno. "I'm going in." "My prince..." the guard began, but another voice cut through, calm and measured. "There's no need," said Gall, leaning casually against a nearby wall. His voice seemed strangely calm, considering that his library was burning ablaze before his eyes. The elf took a few steps forward so that the light of the fire shone on his face, which was previously hidden by the shadows of the night. He stepped forward, the light of the fire illuminating his elven features. A faint smile played on his lips. "I anticipated something like this," Gall said quietly. "It seems I'll have to take you up on your offer after all."

The prince went over to the blonde and said: ,,I expected you to be in the library, after all, you said you wanted to do some research, so I was worried." Gall laughed softly. ,,How sweet of you to worry about me. Would you have carried me out, if I would have been injured?" he said smiling, but before Ferndall could react, he continued in a more serious tone: ,,As I said, I was already expecting an attack like this, so I did my research elsewhere. So there's no reason to worry about me. And of course I got all the relevant things from the library before I left."Ferndall nodded and turned back to the building behind him, the fire was now almost gone, Ray and Laxus where talking to guards from the night patrol and the others were just making sure that the fire wouldn't start to burn again. Ferndall and Gall waited until the others were finished, then went over to explain the situation. They were surprised to see Gall outside, as they had also expected him to be in the library. After Gall explained the situation, they set off for the castle. On the their way, Marelin asked: "Gall, if you knew something was going to happen, why didn't you come straight to the castle with us?" Gall smiled and replied: "It's actually quite simple: If I would have gone straight with you, they probably would have tried another method of getting rid of me, something like to assassinate me. This would be more difficult to prevent and would have been a higher risk for everyone present.""But won't they try that if you come with us now?" Ray asked. "Oh, don't worry about that, I've already taken care of it." the blond said.

When they arrived at the castle the others went to bed. Ferndall and Gall were still looking for a free room for the elf, finally they found a spare one that was in the same corridor as the prince's room.After Ferndall had taken care of everything, he went to his room and laid down on his bed. Exhausted he immediately fell into a deep sleep.

Ferndall stood high above the houses and shops of Necropolis. He had a good view over the streets below him. Suddenly he saw two shadows chasing through the narrow streets. Ferndall tried to move but he couldn't. He could barely see anything, but as the shadows moved onto a larger street, Ferndall could see who it was: a young man was being pursued by the demonic beast that Ferndall had encountered bevor, and it seemed as if the distance between them was decreasing rapidly. Ferndall tried to free himself from his motionless state, but in vain. Suddenly everything went black.

When Ferndall's vision cleared, he found himself on a small side street, close to the location where he had last seen the man and the demon. As Ferndall looked around, a shock ran through his body: he saw a ritual similar to what he had seen before. Several demonic creatures crouched around the ritual circle. Suddenly it lit up brightly and Ferndall's vision went black again. When he could at last realize something, he found himself in a large hall. In front of him was an ornamented altar and a sword was placed on top of it. The hilt of the sword was wrapped in leather and inscribed with symbols that the prince did not recognize. The blade looked old but was still sturdy. There was red discoloration on the side and tip of the blade. Ferndall couldn't say for sure if it was blood or something else.