The celebration was brief, as House Valemir traditions rarely leaned into spectacle. Power was earned in silence. Glory was claimed in shadow.
Kaelen sat quietly in the Hall of Echoes, flanked by flickering shadow-lamps and towering ancestral statues. The halls were empty save for one man—his father, Duke Aerion Valemir, clad in the dark ceremonial armor of their house.
"You did well," Aerion said, his tone calm yet warm.
Kaelen remained quiet, his mind still echoing with the sensation of awakening. "I… felt something," he said. "A will. Watching. Waiting."
"That was the Shadow," Aerion replied. "It does not speak, not as other Aspects do. It observes. It chooses. And now, it watches through you."
Kaelen clenched his hands. The rune on his palm had faded slightly, but the sensation remained—a cold tether wrapped around his soul.
"I didn't awaken the Void," he said softly.
"No," Aerion confirmed. "And I'm thankful for that."
Kaelen looked up, surprised.
"The Void is not strength, Kaelen. It is hunger. Endless and unyielding. You awakened the true Aspect of our line. The one that sees, binds, and breaks." He stepped forward and placed a hand on Kaelen's shoulder. "The Shadow serves. But only one who controls it."
Kaelen nodded, still uncertain.
Later, in the private family chambers, Lady Lysara pulled him into an embrace. She smelled of lavender and starlight—comforts of home. "You made us proud," she whispered.