2026-07-09 07:25:01
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CHAPTER 9 — SECRETS BENEATH THE KINGDOM
The ancient map did not remain still. The moment the last beam of light emerged from the crystal, the stone platform beneath Richard's feet trembled again. Thin golden lines spread across the engraved continents like rivers of molten sunlight, illuminating mountains, forests, and kingdoms that no modern cartographer could have drawn with such impossible precision.Then the glowing points began to move. One by one, they pulsed beneath distant kingdoms scattered across the continent. Caelan took an involuntary step backwards. "...Those lights weren't there a moment ago." Richard's eyes never left the map. "No." His voice was barely above a whisper. "They're responding to something." Captain Seraphine rested one hand on the pommel of her sword while carefully studying the shifting lights."Can you read it?" "I don't know yet." Richard slowly knelt beside the map.Unlike the symbols carved throughout the library, these markings rearranged themselves each time he focused on them. At first,
CHAPTER 8 — THE FORGOTTEN LIBRARY
The first scream came from beneath the city. Richard had barely finished examining the newest plague victim when the stone floor beneath the infirmary trembled. Shelves rattled, glass bottles toppled from wooden tables, and frightened patients looked toward the ceiling as dust drifted from the ancient beams overhead. The trembling lasted only a few heartbeats. Then it stopped. No one spoke.The uneasy silence that followed felt heavier than the tremor itself. Captain Seraphine's hand instinctively settled on the hilt of her sword. "What was that?" Before anyone could answer, an elderly city archivist pushed through the crowded doorway. His grey robes were covered in dust, and his breathing came in uneven gasps. "Captain... there's been a collapse beneath the eastern district." He looked directly at Richard. "It happened below the oldest quarter of Grayhaven." Richard frowned."The oldest quarter?" The archivist nodded urgently. "There are tunnels beneath the city. "I've spent forty ye
CHAPTER 7 — THE CITY OF DEATH
The smell reached them long before the city walls came into view. Richard tightened his grip on the reins as a foul mixture of decay, stagnant water, and smoke drifted through the morning air. Even the horses became restless, snorting uneasily and slowing their pace as if instinct warned them to turn back. Captain Seraphine Valcrest rode at the front of the column, her expression growing more severe with every passing mile.Grayhaven should have been alive. It was one of the kingdom's busiest trade cities, where merchants from every province gathered to exchange grain, cloth, timber, and precious ores. Travellers often described its streets as so crowded that one could cross the market without ever touching the ground if one stepped from cart to cart. Now...The gates stood open. No merchants waited outside. No guards challenged approaching travellers. Only silence greeted them. A silence so unnatural that it made every knight instinctively reach for their weapons. "This doesn't feel
CHAPTER 6 — VISITORS FROM THE CAPITAL
The thunder of galloping horses shattered the uneasy calm surrounding the village temple. Every conversation stopped at once as dozens of villagers turned toward the eastern road. Dust billowed into the morning air, rising above the rolling hills like a gathering storm. The sound grew louder with every passing second until armoured riders emerged from the haze, their polished silver breastplates flashing beneath the sunlight. Each rider bore the royal crest of the Kingdom of Asteria, a soaring phoenix surrounded by seven stars.The Royal Knights had arrived. A tense silence settled over the village square. Farmers instinctively removed their hats, children hurried behind their parents, and even the temple priests straightened their robes. Everyone understood what the arrival of the Royal Knights meant. The matter had reached the capital.At the head of the formation rode a young woman upon a magnificent white warhorse. Her silver armour was engraved with elegant blue runes that shimme
CHAPTER 5 — TRIAL BEFORE THE TEMPLE
The first stone struck Richard before the temple guards reached him. It glanced off his shoulder with enough force to leave a sharp ache, but he neither flinched nor turned toward the frightened villager who had thrown it. The accusation spoken by the village priest had spread through the settlement with astonishing speed, transforming yesterday's cautious hope into fearful suspicion.Only hours earlier, the villagers had stood speechless before fields that had produced healthy green shoots after years of barren harvests. Mothers had wept with relief, children had laughed while running between the rows of new crops, and even the oldest farmers had stared at the earth in disbelief. Now those same people watched Richard from a distance as though he carried a contagious curse."The temple has judged him."Then he must have used forbidden magic." No ordinary traveller could change the land overnight."Richard quietly studied their faces. He did not see hatred. He saw fear. Fear had always b
CHAPTER 4 — THE IMPOSSIBLE HARVEST
The laughter had not faded by morning. Instead, it followed Richard wherever he walked through the village like an invisible shadow. Children pointed at him from doorways while whispering to one another. A pair of elderly women paused in the middle of drawing water from the communal well just long enough to shake their heads in pity before resuming their conversation. Farmers carrying worn wooden tools cast doubtful glances in his direction, and several openly chuckled as though the previous day's promise had become the village's favourite joke."That's the outsider."The one who claims he understands farming."I heard he doesn't even have mana."What can a scholar teach people who have lived on this land their entire lives?"Richard heard every word. Years ago, those whispers would have dug beneath his skin and lingered there for days. The academy had taught him how cruel ridicule could become when repeated often enough. Back then, every insult had felt like proof that perhaps everyone e
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