Chapter 19: The Training Ground
A slow clap echoed from the observation deck.
Kelvin looked up, sweat mingling with soot on his brow. His breath came in shallow pulls, his muscles were burning with the aftermath of his overdrawn resonance.
Xerion stood beside him with steam rising from his obsidian-black scales, his wings were tucked and he narrowed his eyes toward the clapping figure above.
From the deck, a tall figure stepped forward- elegant, armored in gold-trimmed black, and smiling with a dangerous sort of grace.
"Impressive," the man said, his voice was like a steel dipped in honey. "I see the rumors were not just an exaggeration."
Kelvin rose to his feet with wariness flaring in his chest. "Who are you?"
The man placed a hand over his heart in a mock salute. "Elias Kael. Grand Tamer of the Dominion Sanctum. I’ve been dispatched to observe... anomalies. Especially yours, in particular."
Instructor Nalia appeared beside Elias with a tight expression. "You weren’t expected until the Equinox Trials."
"And yet," Elias said, eyeing Kelvin with something between admiration and predatory interest, "here I am."
Kelvin’s instincts reveled. There was something off about Elias, too smooth, too calculated. Even Xerion shifted slightly, flames flickering low around his claws.
"I have heard of you," Kelvin said. "You tamed the Storm Leviathan at sixteen. Commanded a triple-tier convergence against the Abyssal Bloom."