SHATTERED CROWN

CHAPTER 001: The mines.

Camyre’s pov

It was a normal day in the land of arcanis, a blissful and wonderful day as I liked to be optimistic about certain things. I was happy because why shouldn't I be?

I had my family by my side which was all that mattered, although they weren't my family they had adopted me when I was just a child, picking me up from the orphanage and I had lived with them ever since.

It was just me, Maxon and Sheryl, their children, Kolenor, who was the oldest, and their little twins, Avalon and Eleanor. They had treated me as though I was their child.

Their love and care have been my constant in a world that seemed to spin on quietly, far from the grand dramas of Arcanis’s capital.

My days are spent in the forge, shaping metal into useful tools and sturdy weapons. I must say that the work is demanding, but yet even with such stress applied, I find satisfaction in creating something useful from raw materials. This has been in my family through generations—The blacksmith’s craft. It runs in my veins and I take pride in honing my skills under father’s ever watchful eyes.

The village of Holsenberg has always been a haven of peace. The fields are fertile, the forests are dense and full of game, and the people are kind-hearted. Or at least, that was the way of things until the decree arrived.

The guards marched into the village, causing a stir among the villagers as they drew attention with their entourage, horses neighing softly as they came to a stop.

The guards were at a standstill as the doors were opened by the coachmen, the courier stepped out of the box's carriage, a dwarfed man who stood barely a foot tall, his eyes hidden by the brim of his hat.

The sealed parchment bore the crest of the royal family, and as the courier left, the atmosphere grew tense. My foster father, a man of few words, read the decree aloud to the village council.

The royal family, facing pressing issues in the capital, had demanded that our village contribute labor to the kingdom’s mines. The once-quiet village would now be part of a greater, more daunting effort to extract resources for the crown.

There were complaints and grumbles as everyone didn't seem too happy with this news, Maxon calmed them down as he continued.

“It is mandatory that every household gives at least one male to the cause and failure to comply with these rules, is direct defiance to the crown and such people would be penalized,” not there was an uproar as my father handed the parchment absentmindedly to those who didn't believe what they had heard.

The new orders were sudden and unwelcome. The mines, situated at the edge of the kingdom, were rumored to be treacherous, and the thought of being pulled from our familiar routines filled the village with unease.

For me, it meant trading the forge within my father's shop for the cold, dark, and lonely depths of the mines.

As the days passed, the village prepared themselves, some having to ask those within their family who would represent them and others grumbling about the idea but the time for the guards to arrive was closing in.

There was no question as to who would be volunteering in my family, I had informed my father of this decision and he had opted against it at first but after seeing reason, he consented.

Kolenor wouldn't make it past the night as his body was still growing, I did not want to get started on Avalon, and my father needed to remain back and take care of them all.

I tried to maintain my usual optimism, but deep down, a gnawing worry grew. The work in the mines would be gruesome, and the fear of the unknown overshadowed the excitement of adventure.

My foster mother’s smile was strained, holding on to my cheek, “You'll be fine, okay?” She adjusted my coat and then Maxon patted me on the shoulders, his lips pressed in a fine line.

I could sense their unease but chose to focus on my apprehensions.

The day to leave had finally arrived, I had said my goodbyes and so I did not waste time before jumping into the carriage that would be taking us away, only glancing back briefly and waving at my family.

There were tears that were shed as each fathers left their children, the brothers left their sisters, and most of all, the mothers saying goodbyes to their sons.

We embarked on a long journey, and the path grew rougher as we approached the mine entrance. The dark maw of the mine seemed to swallow the light, casting a long shadow over us as we rode further in.

There were quite a number of us and we were handed our tools to get to work which was even more taxing than I had imagined. The air was thick with dust, and the narrow passages seemed to close in around us.

I was assigned to a team tasked with breaking down ore and transporting it to the surface. The physical strain was intense, but I found a strange sense of solace as I worked my way deeper and deeper. Better to get accustomed to it now than later.

One afternoon, as I dug deeper into a particularly stubborn vein of ore, my pickaxe struck something unusually hard.

At first, I thought it was another stubborn boulder, but as I cleared away the surrounding debris, an unusual feeling swirled in my chest, something I had never felt before.

I squinted as I dropped the pickaxe and tried pulling whatever it was out with my bare hands, dusting what appeared to be an intricately carved box, so small to fit into the palms of my hands.

Curiosity overcame me, as whatever was inside seemed to pull at me, luckily it didn't have a lock so I clicked it open.

What was inside wasn't what I expected, however. I felt dizzy as I continued to stare at a tiny pearl that seemed to glow.