Part - 1
Veylen awoke to the familiar softness of velvet sheets and the pale glow that eternally lingered beyond the high glass panes. There was no sun, no true dawn.
"You've been summoned to the training hall by Ser Aurelius, my prince."
Veylen frowned, rubbing the weariness from his eyes. "Again?"
The maid only offered a small smile and exited.
With a sigh, he rose and began dressing. As he stepped out of his chambers, two guards fell in behind him, the same ones assigned to his door since his return.
"Is it Grandpa?" Veylen asked without turning.
"Yes, my prince," one replied. "He said you're not to walk unguarded until after the New Moon."
"Fine, fine. Just follow, but don't act without my say."
They gave short nods. Veylen led the way through the winding halls until they reached the expansive training grounds, a half-sheltered courtyard of pale stone and obsidian columns, open to the skies of eternal twilight.
There were a few knights training, but among them stood Ser Aurelius, dressed not in his usual armor but in a simple black shirt and loose, pajama. Upon seeing Veylen, he turned to the others.
"That's enough for today. Clear the yard."
The soldiers bowed and dispersed without question.
Aurelius approached, arms crossed. "Did you complete the punishment given by the Councilor?"
Veylen nodded, already tired. "Yes. And my hand is still sore from it."
"Good. But that doesn't excuse you from training."
With a reluctant grunt, Veylen stepped forward and drew one of the practice swords well-worn, but balanced.
Aurelius picked up another. "Ready?"
And they began.
The first few strikes were simple: cautious, testing. Aurelius moved like a shadow clean, fluid, always in control. Veylen mirrored his stance, eyes sharp, responding faster than he ever had before.
He ducked under a slash, twisted, and delivered a precise strike to Aurelius's shoulder, which the knight parried with ease.
Then a quick exchange followed slashes, counter-slashes, a lunge.
Aurelius stepped aside just in time.
But then Veylen shifted, swept low, and nearly caught him off balance. The knight blinked, surprised.
"That was new," Aurelius muttered. "You've been practicing."
Veylen didn't respond he was focused, silent, eyes like still water.
Another series of attacks followed. Veylen blocked a high strike, parried low, then feinted and came in from the left. The rhythm was uncanny precise, unnatural even. For a boy who had always been noble, trained but never truly tested, he moved now with a kind of intuition that didn't belong.
Still, Aurelius remained superior. He deflected, turned, and in one smooth motion disarmed the prince, sending the practice sword clattering to the ground.
Veylen exhaled. "Tired, remember?"
Aurelius gave a rare smirk. "You're getting better."
At that moment, the doors to the training hall opened. Alric and Kaelis entered, halting as they saw the end of the duel.
"We missed the fun," Alric said with a grin.
Kaelis's eyes were fixed on Veylen more thoughtful, more still.
The two approached. Alric clapped Veylen on the shoulder.
"Impressive. Didn't expect you to move like that."
"Did Grandpa send you too?" Veylen asked.
They both chuckled.
"Only till the New Moon," Alric said. "After that, we're not ordered to guard you as closely. Still... we'll be keeping an eye on you."
"You too, Kaelis?" Veylen asked.
Kaelis bowed his head slightly. "I apologize if my presence disturbs you."
"It's okay," Veylen muttered. "Only a few hours left."
He turned away. "I'll take a bath."
And with that, he left the hall. Aurelius followed after him without a word, a subtle frown tugging at his brow.
Behind them, Kaelis remained still, his gaze lingering on the empty space where Veylen had stood.
Part - 2
Veylen returned to his quarters and submerged himself in the bath, allowing the warm water to loosen the residual tension from training. After drying off, he approached the mirror to dress. As he raised his tunic, his motion halted.
There behind him in the mirror a shadow flickered.
He turned quickly. Nothing.
No motion. No sound.
Meanwhile, Kaelis left the training hall at a brisk pace, his footsteps echoing sharply against the stone corridor. He spotted Ser Alric near the main stairway and hurried to intercept him.
"Ser Alric," Kaelis called, slightly breathless. "Something's wrong."
Alric paused, expression tightening. "What do you mean?"
Kaelis lowered his voice. "It's the prince. I sensed something strange as though a second presence lingers near him. But I saw no one."
Alric's brow furrowed. "You're certain of this?"
"No," Kaelis admitted. "My ability isn't fully refined. I haven't mastered it yet, and what I felt wasn't clear. But it was unlike anything I've sensed before."
Alric folded his arms, thoughtful. "If it's not an immediate threat, we'll wait until after the New Moon Oath. We'll have time to investigate further. Still, speak with Elyria. Better to be cautious."
Kaelis nodded. "Understood. I'll find her."
As the realm's eternal dusk dimmed further a subtle shift in Vel Atherra's already muted sky Kaelis located Elyria at the Holy Palace. Only a few hours remained before the ceremonial New Moon Oath would commence. Veylen, Ser Alric, and the High Priestess were already making their preparations.
"Elyria," Kaelis said, urgency in his voice. "We need to talk."
She turned toward him, sensing his unease. "What's happened?"
He relayed the strange sensation he had experienced, the feeling of another presence near the prince, and Alric's advice to report it.
Elyria's expression hardened. "You should have told me immediately. This could be more serious than you realize. If we can't verify his state, we must take action."
"I didn't want to raise alarm over something uncertain," Kaelis said quietly.
"You're a seer, Kaelis. Uncertainty is your domain and your burden. Come with me."
They made their way to the Church's inner sanctum reserved for a few.
At the threshold, Elyria halted. "We need to confirm your vision. You'll perform the sight-ritual."
Kaelis hesitated. "I'm still an apprentice. I haven't mastered it, and invoking the Sight alone...."
"I'll guide you. But we must try."
Reluctantly, he agreed. Very few knew the truth of what Kaelis was seers born with the ability to perceive fragments of the future. Only Elyria, the High Priestess, and Kaelis himself knew the full extent of his gift.
Elyria began to chant softly, drawing delicate sigils in the air with her fingers, glowing faintly with moonlight-infused magic. Kaelis knelt, touching his palm to the chilled marble floor and breathing in slowly as the ritual began.
Elsewhere, within a solemn chamber of pale stone veined with silver, the New Moon Oath commenced.
Dozens of candles cast elongated shadows along the chamber walls. At the center, atop a short dais, sat a ceremonial basin carved of luminous white stone.
The High Priestess stood before it, her arms raised, reciting ancient incantations etched into the room's perimeter words lost to all.
Veylen stepped forward with calm detachment. Ser Alric gave him a nod.
He unsheathed a ritual blade and, without hesitation, drew it across his left palm. Blood flowed steadily, drizzling into the basin below as the chant intensified.
Minutes passed. The chant concluded.
The oath was sealed.
Alric stepped closer. "It's done. You may rest now, my prince."
Before Veylen could respond, the ground quaked beneath them.
A deep rumble reverberated through the chamber. Candles flared and sputtered. Fissures split across the basin's surface.
Then without warning a wave of cold, radiant light surged through the room. An immense, ethereal figure began to coalesce from the shadows.
It towered over them, robed in rippling currents of light and night, crowned with a crescent halo that shimmered like moonlight on water.
Nirash.
The Moon God.
The Lord of Twilight.
Part - 3
The chamber trembled the moment he appeared.
Nirash.
A towering ethereal figure, vast enough to graze the ceiling of the sanctum. His form shimmered like moonlight trapped in water, and his eyes twin voids rimmed with pale fire cut through flesh and soul.
The High Priestess dropped to her knees instantly. Though she had never seen the Moon God, she knew. Every thread of her being cried out in recognition. Her voice wavered but found its rhythm in devotion:
"O Twilight King, Herald of the Pale Moon, Warden of the Endless Dusk, Lord of Mercy, and Guardian of..."
"SILENCE."
The word rang out like a god's hammer striking stone. His voice was deep primordial with weight of centuries. She fell silent, frozen.
Then came his judgment:
"The oath has been broken. The ritual basin has been defiled."
The High Priestess blinked, stunned. "What? No, my lord the prince completed the ritual..."
She turned to point but the prince was gone.
The Counselor stood behind her, just as lost.
Nirash's gaze bore into them like a curse.
"You pitiful mortals. You were fooled by that brat."
The High Priestess felt her breath catch. Her knees buckled, and her veil dipped low over her face. But even with her eyes hidden, one could see the terror in her.
"Please, my lord... no. You cannot do this. We've worshipped you faithfully for generations. Don't turn away from your followers."
"The oath is broken."
It was not a sentence it was a funeral bell.
But Nirash paused. Slowly, his burning gaze shifted to Halric.
"There is a way I might yet let it pass."
He extended a hand not gentle, but deliberate.
"Halric. Kneel. Accept me as your lord. And your land shall be spared."
The High Priestess looked to Halric with desperation. "Please... Halric. For all of us."
Halric's eyes didn't move.
He didn't even glance at her.
He stared directly at Nirash.
"You already know my answer. It hasn't changed. It never will."
Nirash's form rippled with fury. The air grew heavier.
"You arrogant fool! You, who serve a false god! I am giving you a final chance save your prince, your people, everything you love. No rituals needed. Swear your undying loyalty to me, and I will make you my apostle."
Halric exhaled. Then, calmly:
"You know what I would say. 'If it wasn't for him, you'd have never acknowledged me.' And now? I can't look away. Now, my loyalty belongs to the prince. Not the kingdom. That comes second."
Nirash roared. A divine fury thundered through the walls. But just as quickly as it came it faded.
He straightened, his voice softening with mockery.
"Forgive me... for acting out of character."
His smile was cold enough to kill.
"Then you know what must come. This kingdom's fate is sealed."
He lifted his hand to the heavens.
The High Priestess, now trembling, fell once more into a bow.
"Mercy... Lord Nirash... I beg of you."
"Hmph. I am the god of mercy."
His tone was almost amused now.
"And so, as my final act of mercy... I will let you have this Kingdom, this city of Astelvyr."
He waved his hand.
The world convulsed. Earth cracked, sky shimmered. An earthquake surged through the kingdom.
Stars blinked, and the twilight sky above Astelvyr rippled.
Then
Silence.
Astelvyr was gone.
Torn from Vel Atherra.
Fell down to Terra.
Part - 4
Halric stepped toward the arched doorway and signaled to the sentry stationed just beyond it.
"Summon Ser Aurelius and Alric to the strategy chamber immediately," he commanded with unflinching authority. "Dispatch riders to every watchtower and outpost. The prince must be found. Search every alley, every corridor, every shadow."
The guard gave a crisp salute, pivoted on his heel, and departed at once, the echo of his boots receding into the distance.
As the silence settled, the High Priestess rose from her seat in a blaze of fury. Her voice cracked through the chamber like a lash.
"You fucking bastard. You spineless, conniving coward."
Halric turned to face her, his eyes narrowing, the gentleness once associated with him now gone.
"Priestess Elenya," he said, his tone sharp as tempered steel, "you may be clothed in sanctity, but watch your damned mouth or you'll lose it."
Elenya froze, momentarily stunned. The ever-composed counselor had become something far colder, far more dangerous. And in that glacial glare, she saw not madness, but a grim resolve forged over years of silent endurance. Her indignation faltered. She knew, in some part of her, that her outburst had overstepped.
"Why, Counselor?" she asked, her voice now hushed, almost reverent. "Why didn't you act to protect the kingdom?"
Halric exhaled slowly, as though weary of carrying truths no one had dared to hear.
"You're still a child, Elenya," he said. "A girl dressed in prophecy. You speak of salvation, but know nothing of the cost. This kingdom your sacred Astelvyr was not built on faith alone. It was forged in secrecy, in compromise, and in blood. You do not yet understand the depths of what was given up to preserve this twilight. Nor do you comprehend why I, a man not born of these lands, was entrusted with its secrets. So do not lecture me on loyalty not until you've lived long enough to know the weight of betrayal."
Elenya's jaw clenched, but she did not retreat. "Then speak," she demanded. "Tell me why you turned your back on Astelvyr."
He studied her for a long moment, then lowered his gaze with a sigh.
"You want answers? Then let them all hear it. Gather the council. Let Ser Aurelius, Alric, and every voice of power come to the chamber. I will speak, and you will finally understand."
She gave a silent nod. Without further protest, the two figures left the hall together, walking in solemn unity toward the chamber.
Part - 5
Ser Aurelius and Alric stood together on the high parapet when the earthquake struck. The stone beneath them quaked with a violence they had never felt, and in an instant, the trembling ceased.
But what came after was even more alien.
They looked up and froze.
The sky had changed.
Gone was the soft, eternal twilight of Vel Atherra. In its place was a canopy of deep, endless black. Thousands of stars glittered like scattered embers, and thin ribbons of cloud drifted in a darkness they had never known. Neither man could speak for a moment.
"Is the Moon God displeased with us?" Alric whispered, shaken. "Why has the sky turned... like this?"
They had no answer. In truth, neither of them could comprehend what they were seeing. Vel Atherra had always existed in the still, silver hour between day and night. To its people, the concepts of daytime and nightfall had faded into myth. Generations had passed since anyone remembered the true origin of their realm. Terra was a forgotten name if it had ever been known at all.
But now, both knights thought of the same person.
"Prince Veylen," Aurelius said, and Alric nodded immediately.
They broke into a run, heading toward the sanctum where the ritual had taken place. As they descended through the winding corridors of the upper keep, two guards met them at a turn.
"Sers," one said, short of breath. "You are summoned to the strategy chamber. By order of
Counselor Halric."
The two knights exchanged a glance but nodded. They altered course at once, now heading toward the heart of the citadel.
As they passed through the outer halls, they saw crowds beginning to gather. The people of Vel Atherra nobles, commoners, merchants, children were staring at the changed sky. Murmurs spread like wildfire:
"Has the god abandoned us?"
"Is this the end?"
"What is this darkness?"
Aurelius clenched his jaw. Panic was brewing. Fear had taken root, and if left to grow, it would consume the city.
He turned to Alric. "We must get answers fast. Before fear becomes fury."
As they neared the chamber, the entrance was flanked by a group of noblemen members of the lesser branches of the royal line. The old coots, as many called them, though not to their faces. One stepped forward, his eyes blazing.
"What in the gods' name have you done? What was that quake? Are we under attack?"
Aurelius and Alric bowed respectfully, prepared to respond. But before they could speak, Halric's voice rang out from behind.
"Perhaps we should discuss this like civilized men. Save your accusations and your profanity for the chamber."
The noble flushed with embarrassment and backed away without a word.
Behind Halric walked the High Priestess Elenya. Her expression was tense but composed.
Together, the group entered the chamber. The time for secrets had ended. The truth was coming.
End of Chapter.