Episode 3: "Cracks Beneath Calm"
Kael was now six.
To the villagers of Eldenbrook, he was just a cheerful, hardworking boy with a little too much curiosity and a knack for climbing things he shouldn't. But to Rurik and Mira, Kael was something more—someone who'd brought color back into their faded world.
"Kael!" Mira's voice rang from the garden. "Leave that chicken alone!"
Kael chased the squawking hen with a stick in one hand and a piece of bread in the other. "It stole my breakfast!"
Rurik chuckled from the forge, shaking his head. "One day, boy, that chicken's going to steal your dignity."
That evening, after the chores and laughter, Kael sat beneath the large willow tree at the edge of the village—the same place where he first saw fire dance in his palm.
His hand still tingled when he thought about that night. But since then, nothing. No fire. No wind. No strange voice.
It felt like a dream.
---
But everything changed two days later.
Kael had wandered to the stream near the forest to collect herbs for Mira. It was quiet. Peaceful. He dipped his hands into the water and smiled at the coolness.
Then—a shadow.
He turned.
A forest boar. Large, tusked, snarling.
It had strayed too far from the woods, drawn by the scent of berries near the stream.
Kael froze.
The beast charged.
Instinct took over.
His eyes burned gold.
Fwoom!
The water from the stream spiraled up like a snake and crashed into the boar's side, sending it flying into the bushes.
Kael stood, trembling, soaked, but unharmed.
His breathing was ragged. "I… didn't even move…"
The water had answered him.
Again.
---
That night, Kael couldn't sleep. The realization had hit him hard—he wasn't normal. But something inside him didn't want to be known. Not yet.
He didn't tell Mira.
He didn't tell Rurik.
He began practicing in secret.
Water. Then air. Then earth. And… shadows.
It was never more than a flicker. A breath. A pulse.
But it was enough.
At age seven, he could shift a stone, summon a breeze, freeze a cup of water.
But each time he pushed too hard, he heard the same whisper in the back of his mind:
> "Hide it. Not yet. They'll come if they know."
And Kael listened.
---
By age nine, he knew how to fake being ordinary.
He let others beat him in games. He played slow. Acted clumsy. Laughed when people called him average.
He let himself be normal.
But every night, alone, he trained.
And the power grew.
---
Elsewhere, in a hidden temple of an ancient Order, cloaked figures stood around a map. One of them pointed to a glowing mark near the southern villages.
"The child survived. His soul mark burns."
Another added grimly, "The first wielder of all four since the Emperor fell. We must not let him reach sixteen."
But far away, Kael was smiling as he watched fireflies dance in the night air.
Completely unaware that destiny had already marked him.
---