CHAPTER 69: SHADOW FEN MARSHES MISSION 1

The morning sun hung low over Sanctum School, its pale light filtered through a shroud of thick, slate-gray clouds that seemed to press down on the sprawling courtyard.

Kelvin stood at the center of the Tide’s Crest, followed by Lyra and Darius, his pulse was hammering in his chest like a war drum.

Beside him, their beasts waited, restless and alert: Xerion, the End-Tyrant moved like a restless torch, Salaris, the shadow-cloaked raptor and Rhoam, the earth-shaking panther with his iron-plated paws pressed divots into the cobblestones with every subtle shift.

The courtyard was busy with the tamers that gathered, students and instructors alike and they formed a semicircle around the raised dais where Headmaster Torin stood.

His presence was commanding, his silver robes rippled faintly as he raised a hand to silence the crowd. His voice rolled out, deep and resonate.

"A den of zombies has taken root in the Shadowfen Marshes," he announced as his piercing eyes scanned the assembly. "Their numbers swell with dark magic and their hunger grew bolder. The villages beyond our gates are in peril. This mission falls to the Tide’s Crest—Kelvin, Lyra, and Darius."

A ripple of sound swept through the crowd, a tapestry of reactions that is woven from awe and envy. Kelvin felt the weight of every stare, his skin prickled under the scrutiny.

To his left was a younger tamer, a wiry boy with a sparrow-like beast that perched on his shoulder, whispered loudly to his hearing, "The Crest? They are barely out of the pits!"

The words stung, but Kelvin kept his gaze forward, his jaw were tightened. Across the courtyard was a grizzled mentor with a scarred face, and he nodded approvingly and said. "They have got fire in them," he muttered to no one in particular. "Let’s see if it burns bright or burns out."

Then came the voice that Kelvin had been scared to hear, a sharp, mocking laugh from the edge of the crowd. "Well, well, the golden trio gets the glory," sneered Zack, a rival tamer with a sleek, venomous serpent that coiled around his arm.

His dark eyes glinted with malice as he stepped forward with his beast hissing softly. "Don’t trip over your own flames, Kelvin. Marshes don’t take it kindly to amateurs."

Kelvin’s hands curled into fists, but before he could retort, Lyra’s cool voice cut through the tension. "Save your venom, Zack. We will let our results speak." Zack smirked but said nothing more and went back into the crowd as the headmaster resumed.

"This is not a small task," Torin continued with his tone very sharp. "The Shadowfen is treacherous, muddy, toxic, and alive with threats. Your unity will be your strength. Prepare well for failure is not an option."

The assembly dispersed and tamers went back to their duties, but the air remained thick with anticipation. Kelvin’s boots echoed on the cobblestones as he walked with Lyra and Darius toward the mission briefing room as their beasts trailed after the like shadows of their own resolve.

His mind was occupied with a storm of excitement and dread. They had faced rogue beasts in training, sparred with rivals like Zack, but this was different. Real lives were hung in the balance, farmers, children, families who didn’t know about the Tide’s Crest from a whispered rumor.

"Are you okay, Kelvin?" Darius’s voice broke through his thoughts."Yeah," Kelvin lied while he forced a smile. "Just... taking it in."

Lyra glanced at him and said. "This is more than a mission." "Those villages, they are counting on us to come back alive with answers to their problem." Her fingers paused and tightened briefly and Kelvin saw the tension in her frame, the way her shoulders squared against an invisible weight.

Darius clapped his hands together and said. "Then let’s give them something to cheer up about! Zombies don’t stand a chance against us." His bravado rang loud, but Kelvin knew him too well, Darius’s humor was a shield, a way to bury the fear gnawing at them all.

The briefing room awaited for them with a stark contrast to the open courtyard. Its stone walls were cool to the touch. A long table dominated the space was filled with maps, glowing runes, and stacks of weathered scrolls.

Master Kaelus stood at the head of the table, His eyes were softened as the trio entered, but his voice held no room for weakness.

"This isn’t a training exercise," he said and tapped a map with a calloused finger. "The Shadowfen Marshes is a death trap with quicksand pits, toxic fumes, and undead that don’t tire. These zombies aren’t mindless; dark magic fuels them, makes them cunning. You will need more than brute strength."

Kelvin swallowed hard with his eyes tracing the map’s jagged lines. The Shadowfen sprawled like a black stain across the parchment, its edges were bleeded into the surrounding villages.

He had heard the stories, a place where the veil between life and death frayed, where the air carried whispers of lost souls. "What do we need to do?" he asked, with his voice steadier than he felt.

Kaelus’s finger slides along a winding path. "Knowledge is your first weapon. Study the terrain, know about every sinkhole, every ruin. Learn their weaknesses. Then prepare your beasts—they will need to move as one. The den is deep, and you will be tested at every turn."

Lyra stepped forward with her mind already whirring. "We should play to our strengths," she said, her tone clipped and precise. "Kelvin, Xerion’s fire can burn through their ranks. Darius, Rhoam’s earth can shield us from ambushes.

Salaris and I can scout ahead, strike from the shadows." Her fingers fidgeted with her gauntlet, which was a rare tell of her nerves.

Darius nodded and his grin faded into something more focused. "This sounds solid so, let’s make it work."

The next few hours dissolved into a haze of preparation. Kelvin hunched over the maps, his eyes burned as he memorized every detail, the quicksand pits were marked in red ink, the crumbling ruins that might hide enemies or offer respite.

His finger paused over a faint, smudged line near the den, barely legible. Squinting, he decoded the faded script: *"Collapsed tunnel that is unstable."* A hidden danger, or a shortcut? His heart raced at the possibility, but he kept it to himself, filing it away for later.

Across the room, Lyra sat down on the floor with her legs crossed, surrounded by scrolls. She muttered under her breath, her silver hair fell into her eyes as she took notes.

"Dark magic cores," she said suddenly and looked up. "If we can destroy those cores, the zombies might collapse as well but I need to confirm this now."

Before anyone could respond to her, she was on her feet and immediately she slipped out to consult the Sanctum’s librarian, a reclusive scholar named Mistress Elara, whose knowledge of forbidden lore was unmatched.

Darius at his own end, tested his soulstones and their faint hum filled the room as he synchronized them with Rhoam.

Each stone pulsed with a dull green light that attuned to the panther’s earth-shaking power.