Whispers of the Aether Realm

Chapter 3: The Veil of Secrets

Arabelle barely slept that night. Every time she closed her eyes, the image of Lord Thallan's lifeless body and the glowing Aether mark haunted her thoughts. By dawn, she had decided to take action. Raiden had promised to lead the investigation, but she couldn't sit idly by while dark forces conspired within the palace.

The palace halls were silent as Arabelle made her way to the lower levels, where few dared to venture. The royal library lay deep within the castle, a forgotten place where ancient texts and tomes of forbidden knowledge gathered dust. Thallan had spent many hours there researching the Aether, and if anyone had left behind a clue to his work, it would be there.

She descended the narrow stone staircase, the air growing colder as she went deeper. The only light came from the flickering lanterns lining the walls, casting eerie shadows across the stone.

When she finally reached the library, Arabelle paused. The enormous iron doors stood before her, engraved with ancient runes, a testament to Valoria's long and turbulent history. Taking a deep breath, she pushed them open.

The library was as vast and foreboding as she remembered. Rows upon rows of bookshelves stretched into the darkness, filled with knowledge from centuries past. Arabelle knew the layout well—Thallan had often brought her here when she was younger, teaching her how to navigate its labyrinth of books.

Her eyes scanned the room, searching for anything that might point her in the right direction. Then, in the farthest corner, she spotted it: a desk cluttered with scrolls and open books, abandoned in haste. It was Thallan's.

Arabelle hurried over, her heart pounding in her chest. Thallan's notes were scattered across the desk, along with books on ancient magic and theories of the Aether Realm. She skimmed through the pages, her pulse quickening as she realized what he had been working on.

Thallan had been investigating a forgotten ritual—an ancient spell meant to open a gateway between Valoria and the Aether Realm. But the notes were incomplete, as though he had been interrupted before he could finish.

"What were you trying to do, Thallan?" Arabelle whispered to herself as she sifted through the papers.

One word kept appearing in his notes, written in a hurried scrawl: **the Veil.**

According to the text, the Veil was the barrier between the mortal realm and the Aether. It had been created centuries ago by a group of powerful mages to prevent the horrors of the Aether from spilling into Valoria. But Thallan's notes suggested that the Veil was weakening—and that someone had found a way to exploit its cracks.