Chapter-6: The Echoes of Ash
Tomris looked at me for what felt like a lifetime, then suddenly, she burst out laughing.
"Ha... ha-ha-ha! For a moment, I actually believed you!" She grinned, leaning back, but as she lifted her gaze to meet mine again, her laughter died in her throat. I wasn't smiling.
"You're serious," she said, her frown deepening.
"I am," I replied flatly, turning away to close my closet with a sharp click.
"Damn... you're dead serious!" Her eyes widened, and a whirlwind of unspoken possibilities filled the space between us. Tomris knew the rumors as well as anyone; the whispers of the explosion that had tore through Arcanumgard five years ago, erasing the heart of the province. She knew the chilling speculation that not just the fortress, but the entire ruling lineage had vanished in the smoke.
"The rumors... they said the entire Arcanum family was wiped out," she whispered, her voice barely audible. "That the barrier protecting the North collapsed, leaving it open to constant Umbral attacks—concentrated like nowhere else in the world..."
As she spoke, the floodgates opened. Memories of that horrific day—the day that had stripped everything from me—surged back in a violent wave.
I saw the explosion again. The great Stronghold, once an immovable mountain of stone, turning into a heap of rubble in seconds. I remembered Nanny Sigrid running toward me, screaming for me to leave. I remembered struggling, trying to break free from a man's iron grip as he forcefully threw me onto Nyx's back.
"Survive!" he had roared.
Who was he? I couldn't remember. I had memorized a thousand details from that night, but his face remained a blurred shadow in my mind. Then came the sounds—explosion after explosion echoing through the streets as buildings crumbled like parchment. Nyx didn't stop galloping; we fled into the darkness, the wind howling in my ears. Sigrid was right beside us on her horse, her face pale as death.
When I finally came to, I was lying with my head on her knees. She was trembling, stroking my hair with a shaking hand. I bolted upright, scaring her.
"I... we should go back! We can't leave like this!" I had screamed, my voice cracking. "They must still be there... we have to help! Eric... Lira... Arion! We have to find Arion! He probably hadn't even reached Arcanum yet..."
I didn't finish. Sigrid slowly shook her head, her eyes red from weeping.
"He arrived in the late afternoon," she whispered. "He was in the meeting with the Duke and Duchess. Commander Dominic had just arrived... and then the blast happened."
Tears blurred my vision. I sobbed, my chest heaving. "The twins? They were with Nanny Martha, right? I have to go back for them!"
I turned toward Nyx, desperate to mount, but Sigrid's next words hit me like a physical blow.
"I had just left tea in the Duke's office and was heading to the kitchen when I saw them..." She choked back a sob. "They were all in the Great Hall, Aelis. All of them."
The silence that followed in my memory was worse than the explosions. I had fallen to my knees, dying inside as I wailed into the cold night air. "Who? Who could do this? Why?"
Back in the present, I swallowed hard, forcing the emotions back into the dark corner of my heart. I looked at Tomris, my gaze cold and determined. I had lied to her about my name, but I could still tell her a half-truth, couldn't I?
"I don't know exactly what happened five years ago," I said, my voice steady now. "I just know I left that place and never looked back. But I will do one thing: I will help my homeland reclaim its name and its power."
Tomris was silent for a moment, her expression softened by a look of genuine worry. "I don't know what to say... it must have been so hard. Did you escape with only your family?"
"Only my nanny," I replied, my voice tightening. "I don't know who or what did it, but they took everyone from me." I clenched my hands into fists until my knuckles turned white.
She watched me closely, her voice dropping to a whisper. "I'm sorry for your loss."
I didn't answer. I couldn't. Before the silence could become too heavy, a sharp knock sounded at the door. I went to open it.
"Girls, are you done yet? The other Vanguards won't leave us any food if we don't hurry, and we'll be stuck sweeping up crumbs!" Felix retorted from the doorway.
"I don't know about the food, but he's already eaten my ears and my brain for dessert," Silas added. He was leaning against the opposite wall with his arms crossed. He wasn't wearing his veil anymore, revealing a face as rugged and steady as stone.
Tomris chuckled, her somber mood lifting. "And you're still hungry?" She turned to Felix with a smirk. "Easy, boy. There are only three hundred and eighty-five people who passed the Vita. There will definitely be food for you."
Felix turned to Silas, deadpanning. "Ha-ha. So funny."
"Sarcasm. I learned it from you," Silas gave him a rare, light smirk before pushing off the wall. Tomris followed, still smiling. Felix stood there, frozen for a second by Silas's unexpected comeback.
I smiled as I stepped past him. "Let's go, or are you already full from eating Silas's brain?"
I started down the hall, leaving him behind.
"Not you too, Elaine! Wait for me!" he called out, hurrying after us.
We reached the Refectory, and the sheer scale of it stole my breath for a moment. It was a vast, stone-walled chamber with arched ceilings lost in the shadows. Rows of heavy oak tables stretched across the floor, illuminated by massive iron chandeliers dripping with beeswax. The air was thick with the scent of spiced stew, fresh bread, and the rowdy energy of nearly four hundred cadets.
"I thought they wouldn't segregate like this... but it seems our Commander was right," I mumbled. "People here are arrogant. They don't just eat; they compete for the very air they breathe."
Tomris leaned closer. "It's not just arrogance, Elaine. It's a statement. Look at the center tables—those are the prime spots. The closer you sit to the hearth, the more power you're claiming. And right now, the Eastern Vanguard has taken the warmest seats."
"As long as I get food, the place I sit doesn't matter," said Tomris.
As we started eating, I felt a cold gaze on me. I lifted my head but didn't see anyone. I shook my head and continued.
"They will divide us into squads tomorrow, I guess," Tomris said, taking a piece of meat from her plate.
"Probably," I replied, still feeling chilly. Who was watching me? Do they know me? Impossible.
"I don't care," Felix said, chewing his food. "As long as we are in the same squad." Silas nodded in agreement.
I kept glancing around. "Elaine, what are you doing? If you keep this up, you're going to miss the meal," Felix's voice sounded somewhere in the back of my head, just as I saw HIM.
He was tall, with broad shoulders and a muscular build. Dark hair, and his eyes... they were of different colors: the left eye amber, the right eye smoky-grey. He stood in his obsidian uniform, leaning against a stone column near the wall.
"Elaine?" I turned back to Tomris and noticed three pairs of curious eyes. "What?" I asked, but when I looked back, he was gone.
"Is everything alright?"
"I just felt someone's gaze on me."
"Probably new cadets scanning each other to see who's a real threat. But don't worry, we'll show them we're a real pain to deal with," Felix said.
The next day, we gathered in the center of our Vanguard for the squad assignments. Fortunately, all four of us were assigned to the Fourth Squad. It already had five Reidars, and now seven new cadets joined them.
"Rookies, try not to lag behind or show any weakness," said a blond guy from our squad. "Because if you do, you'll get yourself killed. You want to become a Reidar? Then earn that title."
"Come on, Castian. Don't be so harsh on them," another Reidar approached us—a guy with light brown hair. "This is your captain, Castian Valerian. Just try not to disappoint him."
Castian shoved his hand away, but the other guy just smiled. "I'm Zenon, call me Zen. And these two ladies here are the twins, Allegra and Morganna. And this guy is Ian. Welcome to our squad."
After the introductions, we headed to the common arena for our first class in Veritas: 'Lethal Arts' by Magister Cassian Locke.
"Do you think it's called 'Lethal Arts' because cadets die while training?" Tomris asked.
"Maybe. Or maybe we'll just be forced to fight until we can't anymore," I said, stepping onto the arena as the cadets from other Vanguards began to gather.
We stepped onto the sands of the arena, joining the hundreds of cadets from other Vanguards. At the center stood a man who didn't need a suit of armor to look deadly. Magister Cassian Locke wore a crisp, obsidian-black Reidar uniform, the fabric hugging a frame built for speed and precision. On his chest, a row of silver insignias glinted under the sun—marks of rank and battles I couldn't yet name.
"Silence!" Locke's voice wasn't a shout, but it cut through the chatter like a blade. "Today isn't about teaching you how to hold a sword. Today is about me finding out which of you is a liability and which of you is a weapon."
I felt that chill again. That prickle on the back of my neck. I looked past the Magister, toward the line of elite students standing behind him as observers.
There he was.
The dark-haired man from the Refectory. He wasn't leaning against a column now. He stood tall, arms crossed, his amber and smoky-grey eyes fixed directly on me.
"First pair," Locke announced, his gaze landing right on our group. "Step forward."