Page 62 of The Last Remaining Light

His reedy smile had returned. Not kind. Satisfied.

Stars, she truly despised him already, and that only made her more determined not to become exactly what he expected.

“We shall see,” Elowynn said with a sickly-sweet smile.

Vaelor studied her with an assessing gaze before he inclined his head once more and continued across the bridge. “Indeed. I bid you a good sun, Scholar Selvicta. Scholar Vale.”

The moment Vaelor disappeared into the flow of scholars crossing the bridge, Lora exhaled a harsh breath as if she’d been holding it.

“Well,” she muttered. “That went substantially better than expected.”

Elowynn had lifted a single brow before glancing sideways at her. “What exactly was expected?”

“You didn't actually defer to him even once during that entire conversation.”

Elowynn stared, confused. “Was I supposed to?”

Lora almost sounded impressed as she snorted. “Most people tend to do as he says, when he says, how he says, because they want to impress him. You didn't!”

“I considered it briefly,” said Elowynn.

Lora barked out a harsh laugh. “No. You absolutely didn't.”

“No,” Elowynn admitted. “Not particularly, you are right.”

That only made Lora laugh harder. Despite herself, Elowynn almost smiled.

Almost.

They continued deeper into the Spire afterward, passing immense observatory chambers, each lined with rotating celestial models and resonance instruments far more advanced than anything she had ever seen at the Abbey. She thought she may have recognized some from Astermere, but she couldn't quite tell if they were the same.

Groups of scholars and engineers were clustered around glowing astrylite engines while the lower terraces thrummed with resonance technology. Elowynn knew that these were vast networks of resonance-driven machinery carrying light, heat, and power throughout the entire continent by using the energy from the aethercurrents. The reso-tech was visible everywhere throughout the city, and Elowynn attributed it to the Collegium’s influence.

Regardless of Vaelor’s obvious disdain for it, Elowynn found portions of the technology undeniably fascinating.

One enormous chamber near the outer terraces housed an astrylite rail system transporting resonance cores between observatory districts through crystalline conduits embedded beneath the city. Another contained mechanical star-mapping instruments capable of charting celestial rotations continuously while suspended resonance orreries turned in languid circles overhead, their rings gleaming in a luminous blue light.

Beautiful.

Dangerous.

Utterly brilliant.

She suddenly understood why the factions remained locked in endless conflict. Because the Collegium’s advancements truly were extraordinary.

And yet…something about the sheer forcefulness of it unnerved her.

The aethercurrents beneath Veylspire were older than the Great Vigil, their paths vast beyond comprehension. The very idea of forcing resonance into obedience instead of living in harmony with it felt fundamentally wrong.

Perhaps the Auric Conclave suited her better than she cared to admit. The thought alone made her want to march straight into the Collegium halls out of pure spite.

Later that evening, after an exhausting sun spent navigating archive orientations and observatory lectures, Elowynn finally escaped toward one of the more secluded, upper libraries overlooking the northern towers. Snow fell in glittering flakes beyond the expansive windows while lanterns cast their pleasant glow across endless shelves of manuscripts.

Finally. Peace.

Or so she thought.

“You are Lady Elowynn Selvicta.”