THE AURELIAN CHRONICLES SHARDS OF DAWN

Chapter 5 Detention and Dirty Secrets

Two Orc Gladiators stepped out from the darkness of the tunnel. Their bodies were covered in thick green muscles that bulged disgustingly. Each of them carried a giant steel axe. Their heavy breaths puffed out like starving wild bulls.

Arthur gripped his broken sword tightly. His hands were shaking violently. His torn arm muscles throbbed painfully. The blue screen in front of his eyes blinked bright red, counting down the rest of his life. Ten seconds until absolute death.

"Wait," a cold and sharp voice cut through the tension in the arena.

Prince Kaelen jumped down from the upper railing of the stands and landed perfectly on the red sand. His silk robe rustled softly. Kaelen glared straight at Instructor Vane, who was standing up there with a face full of rage.

"What are you doing, Prince Kaelen," Vane snapped. The bald instructor's neck veins popped out. "Get out of the arena. This human must be executed for destroying academy property."

"You are the one who should use your brain, Vane," Kaelen answered casually but full of threat. "Headmaster Alaric needs this human boy alive. He is an anomaly connected to a sacred artifact. If you let these two green pigs chop his neck

off, I will make sure my uncle hangs your head on the main gate tomorrow morning."

Vane ground his teeth. His hand squeezed the handle of his spiked whip until his knuckles turned white. He knew Kaelen was not bluffing. The highest Elf General would not hesitate to kill a lowly instructor for political ambition.

"Pull the Orcs back," Vane finally ordered with a hoarse voice.

The two Orcs growled in disappointment, then turned around and walked back into the dark tunnel. The giant iron gate was closed with a loud thud. Arthur dropped his broken sword onto the sand. His legs gave out, and he fell to his knees while panting heavily.

"Do not think you are off the hook," Vane yelled, pointing at Arthur and Kaelen. He then pointed his index finger at the corner of the stands where Lyra and Finn were being held. "Including you two. The human girl who threw the torch, and the fat kid who brought it here. You are all getting detention. Clean the entire underground armory until it shines. No magic."

Vane shifted his gaze to the back row of seats in the stands. "And wake up that drunk weasel. He is the one responsible for supervising the four of you."

Two hours later, stuffy air smelling of rust and iron dust filled Arthur's lungs.

The underground armory of Ignis Academy was incredibly spacious and dark. Its stone walls were mossy. Hundreds of worn out wooden racks lined the room. Stacked on top of those racks were thousands of old swords, shields, and spears

that were severely rusted.

Arthur sat leaning against a wooden crate filled with steel helmets. His arms still felt completely numb. Lyra was scrubbing an iron shield using a rag that had already turned black. In another corner, Finn was sweeping the stone floor

with nervous movements. Kaelen stood not far from them, staring at a dirty sword with a disgusted expression, as if the object was dragon crap.

Meanwhile, Bramble was lying asleep and snoring on top of a pile of wheat sacks in the corner of the room. The giant weasel hugged his empty alcohol bottle tightly.

"This is all because of you, Arthur," Lyra threw her rag to the floor in frustration. "I am being forced to scrub rusty shields, wtf. We literally almost died this morning."

"You were the one who threw an iron torch onto that monster's back, damn it," Arthur replied casually. He stretched his stiff neck. "If you had just stayed quiet, I would be the only one getting punished."

"I saved your life, asshole. You should be thanking me."

"Okay, thanks." Arthur answered briefly without an ounce of guilt.

Kaelen snorted quietly hearing the argument. The silver haired Elf picked up a rag, then threw it back onto the table. "I cannot believe I have to be in this dirty room with primitive monkeys like you guys. This is an insult to royal dignity."

Arthur immediately turned to glare at Kaelen. His eyes narrowed cynically. "Royal dignity, you say. If you are really such an important prince, why are you getting punished with us. You are just an ornament here, aren't you."

Kaelen glared at Arthur with a murderous look. "Watch your mouth, human. I went down to the arena earlier to save your life from Vane."

"Saving my life, or did you just want to show off that you can threaten your own teacher." Arthur smirked mockingly. "Your ears are too long, Kaelen. That is why you are deaf to your surroundings. You think you look cool acting all mysterious

like that."

"Your brain is too small to understand the politics of this world, primitive monkey." Kaelen walked closer to Arthur. His posture was upright and challenging. "I could slice your neck right now, and not a single person would care."

"Try it, wtf," Arthur stood up as well, even though his body still ached. He stared straight into Kaelen's silver eyes. "You think I am scared of a spoiled fairy whose clothes are made of silk."

Clang.

A heavy metallic sound slammed against the stone floor incredibly hard. Lyra had just slammed down the iron shield she was holding. The noise echoed throughout the armory, making Finn flinch in fear.

"You two are so damn loud," Lyra snapped, her face turning red. "I am already tired, hungry, and you two are fighting like kindergartners fighting over a toy. You, Arthur, stop provoking people. And you, long eared prince, stop calling us monkeys. Do you want me to smack both of your faces with this shield."

Finn nodded slowly from the corner of the room. "L-Lyra is right. W-we should work together to clean this place up so we can get out quickly and eat dinner."

Arthur wiped his face roughly, then sat back down on the wooden crate. Kaelen rolled his eyes and leaned against the cold stone wall. The room fell silent for a moment. Only the sound of Bramble's loud snoring from the pile of sacks could

be heard.

Crash.

An empty glass bottle flew through the air and shattered to pieces right on the wall between Arthur and Kaelen. Glass shards scattered across the floor.

"Shut your mouths, you little punks," Bramble's raspy voice echoed. The weasel scratched his belly, which was covered in leather armor, then closed his eyes again. "I am trying to sleep. If I hear you guys making noise again, I will cut

out your tongues one by one and use them as fishing bait."

Arthur and Kaelen glared at each other for a second before turning their faces in opposite directions.

Lyra picked up her rag again. She stared at Kaelen, who had just been standing quietly all this time. "So, prince. Why did you help Arthur. You saw exactly how your friends acted in the canteen earlier. Why are you so different from them."

Kaelen remained silent for quite a while. He stared at his own palms, which were completely clean without a speck of dust.

"Because I am sick of it," Kaelen answered quietly. His voice no longer sounded arrogant, but rather full of restrained hatred. "You think the Elves are radiant, holy beings like in this academy's history books. Total bullshit. My kingdom is rotten to the core."

Arthur raised his eyebrows, intrigued. "Rotten how, exactly."

"My uncle, General Valerius. He and the pureblood nobles are secretly selling our lower class citizens as forced labor in the dwarven mines to buy weapons from the black market." Kaelen kicked a rusted sword near his foot. "They talk all about honor and pure blood, but they are willing to sacrifice anyone for power. They let shadow monsters cross the borders as long as the price is right."

Lyra furrowed her brow. "They are working with Malakor's forces."

"I do not have solid proof yet," Kaelen looked at Lyra seriously. "But I know there is a massive flow of funds from this academy to the eastern region, where Malakor's iron tower is located. Headmaster Alaric knows too, but he turns a blind eye because he needs funding from my uncle."

Finn stopped sweeping. His eyes widened in horror. "B-but if Malakor fully awakens, all of Eldoria will be destroyed. Why would they do that."

"Greed, wtf," Arthur cut in quickly. He looked at Kaelen with a gaze that was far different from before. There was no more mockery. "Greedy people do not care if the world burns to the ground, as long as they get to be kings ruling over a pile of ashes."

Kaelen nodded slowly. He returned Arthur's gaze. "That is why I hate my own race. And when I saw you brave enough to fight a Gargoyle without magic and spit in Vane's face in the arena earlier, I realized I needed a crazy guy like you to destroy the rotten system in this academy."

"I am not your hero, Kaelen," Arthur replied coldly.

"I do not need a hero," Kaelen smiled cynically. "I need a bastard who is not afraid to die. And you fit the bill perfectly."

Arthur snorted softly. He glanced at Lyra, who was also smiling faintly. Somehow, this brief conversation in a room reeking of rust caused the invisible barriers between them to slowly crumble. A cynical elf prince, a manipulative girl, a cowardly fat kid, and a magicless human who had almost died twice in one day. This was the most pathetic group in Eldoria, but Arthur felt he could trust them.

Suddenly, an overwhelming heat stung Arthur's right palm.

The burning sensation was far more brutal than when Alaric grabbed his hand this morning. Arthur immediately gripped his own wrist. He gritted his teeth to hold back the scream caught in his throat. The crystal shard shaped scar on his skin

glowed a bright, blood red right through the gaps of his fingers.

"Arthur, what is wrong," Lyra immediately ran over. She saw her best friend's face turn drastically pale.

The blue system screen exploded in front of Arthur's eyes. But this time, it was not blue or red. It was pitch black with white text vibrating violently, like a broken television screen.

[System Error. External Entity Intervention Detected.]

[Mental Firewall Failed. Forced Connection Accepted.]

Along with that text, Arthur could no longer hear the voices of his friends in the armory. The room around him faded into absolute darkness. The air turned freezing cold.

Inside his head, a voice echoed, incredibly deep and heavy. The voice scraped against his sanity like rusty nails dragging across thick glass.

"You bleed for them, little human," the voice whispered softly but full of venom. "But in the end, they will all betray you. Bring me their blood tonight, or I will burn your soul to ashes."

Arthur screamed, clutching his head, as black blood began to drip slowly from his nose.