Dawn arrived quietly over the Northern Highlands.
A pale silver light filtered through the mist, turning every blade of frost-tipped grass into glittering needles. The wind carried a sharp chill — the kind that bit through cloaks and crept into bone if one stood still too long.
Veer Arclight stood atop a flat stone, arms crossed, golden eyes scanning the horizon as the final moments of his watch rotation faded.
Nothing unusual.
No wingbeats.
No distant shriek of the Sky Reaper.
Still… the silence itself felt watchful.
He exhaled slowly.
"Good," he muttered. "Another night without becoming bird food."
Behind him, four small tents rested in a semicircle. Inside them, the rest of the group slept — exhausted from the previous day's march and the lingering tension that never quite left their nerves.
Veer clapped his hands once.
"Rise and shine, heroes!" he called. "If you don't wake up now, I will personally pour cold water on your faces. And trust me — it's freezing."
A groan came from one tent.
Another shifted.
Moments later, Tara Noxley pushed the flap aside, her dark hair messy but her sharp eyes already alert.
"You're loud."
"And you're welcome," Veer replied. "Your guardian lightning prince protected you all night."
She rolled her eyes.
Avdhoot emerged next, movements slower than usual but controlled. Though he showed little outward fatigue, the mana strain from recent battles had not completely left him.
Meira followed, stretching carefully.
"Any trouble?" she asked.
"None," Veer said. Then grinned. "Which is disappointing. I had three heroic speeches ready."
Akshay, still recovering, sat near the fire pit, wrapped in a thick cloak.
"Please, no speeches before breakfast," he murmured.
That earned the first laugh of the morning.
They lit a small controlled flame using a mana spark — just enough to warm preserved rations.
Dried grain cakes.
Salted root slices.
A thick herbal brew, Meira insisted, would "help circulation," though Veer claimed it tasted like boiled leaves and regret.
Still, warmth spread through their bodies.
For a moment, it almost felt like an ordinary expedition.
Almost.
Avdhoot unfolded the enchanted map. Its faint glow shifted as tiny runes adjusted to their position.
"We move deeper today," he said. "The herb clusters lie beyond this ridge. But remember — Siddhant's group should be operating in the same zone."
"Alliance or conflict?" Veer asked.
"That depends on them."
Tara tightened the straps on her gloves.
"I've been working on a new mana distribution technique," she said. "Less burst… more flow. If the air gets heavy again, it should help conserve energy."
Avdhoot nodded once.
"Good. You may need it."
They packed quickly.
Within minutes, the camp vanished — no trace left behind except faint footprints soon erased by drifting frost.
And then they stepped into the forest.
The trees here were older.
Thicker.
Their bark shimmered faintly with dormant mana veins, and the canopy allowed only fractured sunlight to pass through.
Every sound carried strangely.
Crunching leaves echoed too long.
Breaths seemed louder.
Even the wind whispered like something alive.
Veer walked slightly ahead.
"So," he said casually, "if we run into Siddhant, do we greet him politely or dramatically?"
"Politely," Meira answered.
"Dramatically," Tara said at the same time.
Avdhoot said nothing.
Veer smirked.
"I vote dramatic."
They continued until the ground abruptly changed.
What had been firm soil softened… darkened… then shifted underfoot.
Avdhoot raised a hand.
"Stop."
Before them stretched a wide expanse of thick, bubbling mud — nearly thirty meters across.
The surface trembled.
Not with wind.
With movement.
Veer leaned forward slightly.
"…Tell me that's just swamp gas."
A wet plop answered him.
Then another.
Small shapes began rising from the mud — round, slick creatures no larger than hunting dogs, their bodies formed entirely from viscous clay.
Two glowing pits served as eyes.
Their mouths opened like tearing sludge.
"Mudball monsters," Tara whispered. "They only live beneath marsh layers… how is this here?"
"Mana concentration," Avdhoot said quietly. "It reshapes ecosystems."
One creature snapped its jaws.
Another rolled forward with surprising speed.
Then ten more surfaced.
Veer cracked his neck.
"Well… good morning to you too."
"Do not get dragged in," Meira warned. "The suction alone can break bones."
Tara stepped forward, palms glowing faint blue.
"I'll stabilize sections. Move only where I mark."
She pressed her hand toward the ground.
Mana spread outward like invisible threads.
The mud hardened — not fully, but enough to bear weight for seconds at a time.
"Go!" she called.
Veer darted first, light on his feet.
A mudball lunged.
Lightning flashed.
CRACK.
The creature exploded into wet fragments.
"Ha! Clay pigeon!"
Three more surged.
Avdhoot moved.
No wasted motion.
He shaped a blade of mana from a single hand and struck once — clean and precise. The mana passed through them without resistance, and their unstable cores dispersed instantly, collapsing into nothingness.
Behind them, Meira guided Akshay carefully.
Another creature leapt toward Tara.
Before it could strike—
A pulse of fractured mana erupted from Avdhoot's free hand.
The shockwave flattened the mud, blasting the monster backwards.
Within moments, they reached solid ground.
Breathing hard.
Splattered.
Alive.
Veer looked down at his boots.
"…I just cleaned these."
Tara laughed softly — rare, but genuine.
As they pressed deeper, the forest changed again.
The mana grew dense.
Not violent.
Just… oppressive.
Each breath required effort.
Akshay slowed first.
Then Meira.
Even Veer's usual energy dulled slightly.
Tara placed two fingers against her wrist, focusing.
"Switch your breathing rhythm," she instructed. "Draw slower. Let the mana pass instead of resisting it."
They obeyed.
Gradually, the pressure became manageable.
Still exhausting.
But manageable.
After nearly an hour, Avdhoot raised his hand again.
"There," he said.
Nestled beneath a silver-barked tree glowed a cluster of Starlight Bloom — delicate flowers emitting faint luminescence.
They harvested carefully using the specialised tools.
Then, Ironleaf Bark from nearby trunks.
Objective one — complete.
Yet fatigue crept in.
Veer finally dropped onto a fallen log.
"If we don't eat now," he declared dramatically, "I will perish. And history will remember that the great Veer Arclight was defeated by hunger."
"You said that yesterday," Tara replied.
"And I survived. Learn from my resilience."
Avdhoot studied the group.
Sweat.
Shallow breathing.
Slower reactions.
"Break," he decided.
No one argued.
They sat in a loose circle, opening preservation containers.
Warmth spilt out as the enchantments released stored heat.
For a few minutes, no one spoke.
Just eating.
Recovering.
Existing.
Then Veer nudged Akshay.
"When you're fully healed, you're carrying me next time."
Akshay snorted faintly.
"In your dreams."
"Rude."
Even Avdhoot allowed the corner of his mouth to lift.
But the pause could not last.
He stood first.
"We move."
Not long after resuming, Meira noticed something.
"Footprints," she whispered.
Fresh.
Two individuals at least.
Tara crouched.
"Precise cuts on nearby stems… herb harvesting."
Veer's eyes brightened.
"Finally."
The forest thinned slightly ahead.
And then—
Voices.
Low.
Alert.
Avdhoot stepped into the clearing.
Two figures froze.
A tall boy with sharp features turned instantly, hand moving toward his weapon.
Beside him stood a girl clutching a herb container.
Recognition flickered across both sides.
"Siddhant Choudhury," Avdhoot said calmly.
The boy's gaze hardened — calculating, proud.
"Mira," Meira said, offering a small nod in greeting.
Tension hung in the air like drawn steel.
Then Veer broke it with a grin.
"Well," he said, stretching his arms, "look at that — we finally found them."
Silence followed.
Not hostile.
Not friendly.
Something far more uncertain.
Two groups.
One dangerous forest.
And somewhere above the endless canopy…
A predator still ruled the skies.
The highlands had just become smaller.
[End of Chapter 15]