Aelia swung her sword in a massive overhead arc, putting her entire body into the blow.Jinto stepped aside, letting the blade smash into the floor, shattering a heavy stone tile.As Aelia struggled to wrench the blade free from the crater she had made, Jinto stepped onto the flat of her sword, pinning it to the ground.He looked her in the eye. "You are strong, Aelia. Maybe stronger than I am. But you are fighting with your eyes closed."He kicked her in the chest.The blow sent her stumbling back, relinquishing her grip on the sword. She staggered, gasping for air, unarmed.Jinto kicked the sword away, sending it skittering across the floor toward Theron’s feet."Pick it up," Jinto commanded, pointing to a decorative display of weapons on the wall. "Pick up another weapon. Or surrender."Aelia looked at her empty hands.She looked at Theron, who was watching her with an unreadable expression. She felt the shame b

Jinto Kyoran walked toward the stairs, his boots squelching in the mud and blood that coated the immaculate marble floor of the atrium.He moved with a slow, deliberate heaviness, like a man wading through deep water, his scarred chest heaving with every breath.The mana pressure radiating from him had settled into a dense, suffocating aura that made the very air taste of rust.Lord Commander Theron waited on the landing, looking down at his old friend with an expression that sat somewhere between pity and annoyance.He hadn't drawn his sword. He hadn't moved a muscle while Aelia tore the atrium apart."You look terrible, Jinto," Theron observed, his voice smooth and carrying effortlessly over the sound of the rain pounding against the shattered windows. "You really should have kept the cloak on. It hid the mileage.""I earned every mile," Jinto rasped, stopping at the base of the stairs. He wiped blood from his mouth with the back of his ha

Aelia Solara woke to the smell of sterile healing salves.Her body felt like it had been crushed under a falling mountain, every muscle fibre screaming in protest as she forced her eyes open.The Royal Infirmary ceiling greeted her, painted with pristine, mocking frescoes of the Sun God.She turned her head an inch, gasping as a sharp pain lanced down her neck."Do not move, Vice-Commander," a healer in a white robe murmured, rushing to her bedside with a glowing vial of green liquid. "You suffered absolute mana depletion. Another second of output, and you would have burned your own soul to ash."Aelia blinked, the harsh light of the room making her eyes water. The memories crashed back into her skull like breaking glass.The atrium. Jinto’s rusted sword. The blinding beam of holy light piercing his chest."The Lord Commander," Aelia croaked, her throat feeling like sandpaper. "Theron... is he...""You saved his life," the healer said, offering a warm, reverent smile. "Lord Commander T

The Hall of the First Knights was a cavernous expanse of polished white marble and vaulted ceilings designed to make men feel small.Today, the vast space felt even more oppressive than usual.Twenty knights stood in a perfect, rigid line facing the far end of the hall.They were not the standard rank-and-file guards who patrolled the perimeter. These men wore armour with distinct, personalised modifications—jagged pauldrons, reinforced visors, and heavy chainmail skirts.They were the direct underlings of the Knight Lieutenants, the brutal enforcers who had survived the purges of Fenris, the crushing drills of Brog, and the silent, lethal training of Nefeli.Many of their peers had been stationed elsewhere to maintain martial law in the city, but these twenty had been handpicked for this meeting.Lord Commander Theron walked slowly back and forth in front of them, his boots clicking rhythmically against the stone.Behind him, p

The heavy wax seal on the scroll bore the intricate, gilded crest of the Royal House of Veridia.In the damp, mildew-scented gloom of the Deep Lair, the pristine parchment looked almost offensive.Kaelen Yunis leaned over the map table, a pair of thick alchemical goggles pulled down over his eyes.He held a small eyedropper, carefully letting a single drop of clear, hissing liquid fall onto the edge of the royal seal. The liquid pooled, sparked briefly with a faint blue light, and then evaporated into harmless steam."No contact poisons," Kaelen announced, pushing the goggles up into his silver hair. He waved some kind of scanner over the parchment to check for ambient mana traps. "No explosive runes. No tracking hexes. It is exactly what it appears to be."Pyralis Cinderfall leaned against the stone archway, idly tossing a gold coin into the air and catching it. He wore a crisp new shirt he had scavenged, his metal arm polished and gleaming in the