The Chains Beneath the Crown
The wind over Glayvern carried the scent of rain. Clouds rolled above like armies waiting to descend.
Kael stood by the lake's edge, staring at his reflection. He barely recognized himself now. Not in face, but in presence.
"I was just a boy," he whispered to the water. "Now I'm a symbol of someone I never met."
Lireen stood silently behind him, arms crossed, watching. She hadn't left since their encounter. She slept outside the Sanctum, refused any offer of comfort. Her loyalty was to the capital but something in her gaze said she was watching Kael for more than orders.
"You carry his echoes well," she said finally.
Kael didn't respond. He crouched, touched the surface. Light shimmered from his fingertips.
"You knew Ardynus?"
Lireen shook her head. "Only through records. His name is buried in the forbidden annals. A hero and a traitor, depending on who you ask."
Kael's brow furrowed. "What did he do?"
Lireen hesitated. "He tried to break the chains."
---
The next morning, Kael was summoned to the town's old hall where an envoy from the capital awaited.
He stepped inside to find five robed figures. One among them bore a golden emblem: the mark of the Crown's Eye.
"Kael of Glayvern," the lead man spoke, voice echoing. "You are hereby summoned to Arcanhelm, by order of the High Council."
Kael remained still. "On what grounds?"
"Suspicion of awakening forbidden arts. Possession of unregistered relics. And... being a vessel of a known heretic."
The last charge made Lireen shift uncomfortably beside him.
Kael's grip on the book tightened. "So they want to chain me before I even understand what I am."
The envoy stepped closer. "You are not accused. Yet. But if you resist, we will have to act."
Kael looked at Lireen. "Is this why you came? To soften me before they struck?"
Her lips parted, but no answer came.
Kael turned to the envoy. "I will come. But not in chains. Not in silence."
---
That night, Marien wept quietly as she packed his satchel.
"I always knew," she said, brushing his cheek. "That you were never meant to stay."
Kael hugged her tightly. "I'll return."
"Don't promise what you can't control. Promise me only that you won't lose yourself."
---
Outside the town, a black carriage awaited. Lireen sat atop it, hand on hilt.
Kael took one last look back.
Children played in the field. Smoke rose from bakery chimneys. A normal world.
And then he stepped inside.
Toward a world where crowns masked chains, and where his every breath might be a rebellion.
---
Teaser:
> "They say the capital is safe behind its walls... but what if the real prison is built from lies?"
Kael's journey takes him into the heart of the Empire. What secrets lie beneath Arcanhelm's marble towers? And what price must be paid for truth?
To be continued...
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