Page 68 of The Last Remaining Light

Elowynn blinked, her lips parting.

The accuracy of the statement stunned her into silence.

Because stars! That was exactly it! At Lumenshire, knowledge had been her safe haven, encouraged beneath old observatory lanterns and sea winds. Here within Veylspire, brilliance and knowledge carried serious weight. It brought attention and political consequence; Elowynn still didn't know how to exist comfortably beneath that kind of scrutiny.

Especially not with Master Vaelor watching her every move.

The thought soured her mood in an instant. Vaelor had become an increasingly persistent presence throughout her studies over the last several moons. While he was never openly hostile or overtly cruel, he was keen-eyed and strict. He also seemed to appear—rather conveniently—where important discussions unfolded regarding the Conclave or current theory, always offering carefully phrased guidance that felt simultaneously complimentary and dismissive.

House Selvicta always valued restraint.

The Conclave would suit you best.

History over ambition.

Every conversation with him felt like a subtle attempt to place Elowynn within boundaries he had already chosen for her.

Elowynn loathed it, which only became more complicated because she genuinely admired much of the Conclave’s philosophy. She believed the currents deserved respect and meticulous understanding before attempts at manipulation. Too much remained unknown to treat them as something that could simply be controlled.

But the Collegium fascinated her too.

Their engineering halls hummed with the workings of innovation impossible to ignore. Astrylite systems throughout Veylspire had revolutionized observatory work and daily life entirely. Resonance railways, the harmonic stabilizers, automated star mapping systems—these things existed because someone dared push farther.

Elowynn often thought that perhaps this was what troubled her most.

Both factions were right.

And both were wrong.

The realization had begun slowly reshaping how she approached her studies altogether.

Instead of aligning herself solely with the Conclave as Vaelor clearly expected, Elowynn had started attending Collegium lectures as well during her free bells. Initially out of irritation and spite, but then it became out of genuine curiosity.

And now? Now she found herself standing between both philosophies, studying the contradictions where they overlapped because truth rarely belonged entirely to one side.

That understanding had changed everything.

“Elowynn.”

She blinked.

Lora waved a hand dramatically in front of her face. “You disappeared again.”

“Sorry. I was thinking,” she said.

“A dangerous hobby in this city,” Lora mumbled.

Elowynn ignored her. Then finally, she blurted out what she had been thinking. “I think the factions need each other.”

Lora paused with a sugared berry halfway to her mouth. After a moment, she finally popped it in, chewing thoughtfully.

“You know,” she began, “you've been here just over half a turning and are already suggesting the factions are wrong about each other. That is practically a declaration of war.”

Elowynn stared at her and laughed breathlessly.

Guess she should get her armor on.

Later that evening, Elowynn stood before twenty-three scholars trying very hard to look confident. The upper harmonic lecture hall rose around her in huge concentric terraces beneath a crystalline observatory dome illuminated by resonance overhead. Summer thunderstorms rolled in the distance beyond the city, and every so often, a flash of lightning made the hall explode in light.