Chapter 5: Flames of War
647 Words
While Eldoria prepared for the royal union with curiosity and tension, other forces in the world stirred with fury.
In the depths of the Seravellian mountains, General Corvak—the brother of the late King Vanyel and usurper of the Seravellian court—pounded his fist on the war table.
“She dares return in light, wearing my brother’s crest, and bind herself to an Eldorian dog?”
His advisors stood silent.
Corvak’s face twisted into a snarl. “This is not peace. It’s poison. And we will purge it.”
He gave the order.
Troops loyal to Corvak, not to Elira’s brother King Rhaedon, began to move in secret. They crossed the marshes and forests that skirted Eldoria’s southern border.
Their goal: sabotage the Rite of Unity, destroy Elira, and plunge both kingdoms back into bloodshed.
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In Eldoria, Elira’s coronation dress was being sewn with threads of peace. She stood atop the eastern balcony of the palace, watching the sun dip beyond the horizon.
Kael joined her, his face drawn.
“There’s been an attack,” he said. “A Seravellian scouting camp on the border. Five dead. Eldorian guards among them.”
Elira closed her eyes. “Corvak.”
“We must go. Now. Before it escalates further. If we don't stop him, others will strike in your name.”
She turned to him. “You realize we’ll be riding into a trap?”
He nodded. “Then let’s bring our own.”
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Kael and Elira departed with a small group of loyal knights—Sir Brenn among them—and several of Elira’s hidden guard. The trail led them to Ravelthorn Keep, an old Seravellian fortress now claimed by Corvak’s rebels.
On the road, they passed villages caught in terror. Families fleeing. Crops burning. Elira wept for her people. Kael held her hand tighter.
The final day of travel was marked by storm. Thunder cracked overhead as they reached the Keep.
They planned the infiltration under cover of darkness.
But Corvak was waiting.
They were ambushed at the gate. Arrows rained from the battlements. Kael fought like a man possessed, his sword flashing through shadow. Elira stood beside him, leading her guard through corridors of blood and fire.
Inside the Keep, Kael and Elira were separated.
Kael faced Corvak’s commander in the courtyard—an armored brute with a serrated axe. The battle was brutal. Steel clanged, blood splashed, and Kael nearly fell.
But he rose, again and again, until the axe shattered on his sword, and he felled the brute with a final cry.
Meanwhile, Elira confronted Corvak himself in the great hall.
He looked older than she remembered, but no less cruel.
“You should have died like the rest of them,” he spat.
She raised her blade. “You should have stayed in the shadows.”
They fought—uncle and niece, royalty and usurper.
Elira took a wound to her side, but pressed on. She knocked the sword from his hand and held hers to his throat.
“Do it,” Corvak sneered. “Kill me, and prove you’re no better.”
She hesitated.
Then Kael entered, bloodied but standing.
“She’s better than you’ll ever be,” he said.
Elira lowered the blade.
“Chain him,” she ordered. “Let him live to see peace win.”
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They returned to Eldoria with the rogue general in chains. The people of both kingdoms gathered to watch Elira and Kael ride side by side through the capital gates.
The tide had turned.
The king of Eldoria and King Rhaedon of Seravelle—Elira’s younger brother—met under heavy guard at the border.
There, with Kael and Elira present, they signed the first treaty in a century.
But the true union would be forged not by pen, but by vow.
The Rite of Unity would proceed.
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