Chapter 12: The Road To Exile
902 Words
Chapter 12: The Road to Exile
Dawn arrived without birdsong.
The capital of Eldoria, once alive with the cheerful cries of merchants and craftsmen greeting a new day, now stood wrapped in an uneasy silence. Thick mist rolled through the streets, and every gate remained closed.
Armed soldiers lined the walls.
Mages stood atop the towers with staffs in hand, constantly feeding mana into the ancient barrier that surrounded the city like a shimmering dome.
No one knew whether it would be enough.
The enemy they feared was not an invading army.
It was a man.
---
Aiden had not slept.
He sat alone in the palace garden, watching the first rays of sunlight filter through the trees. The roses were in bloom, their fragrance carried by the morning breeze, yet he found no peace in their beauty.
His thoughts kept returning to the same words.
A daughter.
He closed his eyes.
He tried to remember her face.
Her voice.
Even her name.
Nothing.
Only a faint feeling remained—a warmth in his chest that was quickly swallowed by an aching emptiness.
He wondered if she had laughed like ordinary children.
If she had inherited his eyes.
If she had ever waited for a father who never came home.
Aiden clenched his fists.
"If you're still alive..."
he whispered to no one,
"...I'm sorry."
---
"You've been apologizing to ghosts."
The familiar voice made him look up.
Mira stood at the entrance of the garden, leaning on her old wooden cane.
Aiden's eyes widened.
"Mira?"
He hurried over.
"What are you doing here?"
She smiled gently.
"I've been walking this world longer than you think."
Before Aiden could ask what she meant, she reached into her cloak and produced a small leather pouch.
"I've been keeping this for years."
She placed it in his hands.
"It belonged to the people who left you at the orphanage."
Aiden's heart skipped.
"My... parents?"
"I don't know."
"They never showed their faces."
"They came in the middle of the night."
"They carried a baby wrapped in a blue blanket."
"They begged us to protect him."
Her voice softened.
"They were crying."
Aiden slowly opened the pouch.
Inside lay a faded silver pendant.
Its surface was scratched with age, but one symbol remained perfectly clear.
A crown surrounded by seven stars.
The same symbol he had seen in fragments of his memories.
The moment his fingers touched it—
A whisper echoed in his mind.
"Protect him... no matter what."
A woman's voice.
Gentle.
Filled with love.
Aiden gasped.
His vision blurred.
For a single heartbeat, he saw golden hair dancing in the wind.
Kind emerald eyes.
A warm smile.
Then...
The memory vanished.
He dropped to one knee.
Tears rolled silently down his face.
"I almost saw her..."
---
Later that morning, the Royal Council gathered one final time.
King Alaric stood before a map of the continent.
His finger rested on a mountain range near the northern border.
"There is only one place left."
Lucien nodded immediately.
"The Sanctuary."
One of the nobles frowned.
"I thought it was only a legend."
"It isn't."
Lucien looked toward Aiden.
"It is where the last followers of the Immortal King disappeared after the Eternal War."
Seraphina crossed her arms.
"You think they'll help us?"
"I don't know."
"But they know truths the rest of the world has forgotten."
King Alaric rolled up the map.
"Then your path is decided."
He looked directly at Aiden.
"You must leave today."
Aiden lowered his head.
"I understand."
"No."
The king stepped closer.
"I don't think you do."
He placed a hand on Aiden's shoulder.
"Exile is not punishment."
"It is survival."
---
By noon, the palace gates opened.
A small group stood waiting.
Aiden.
Seraphina.
Lucien.
Three horses.
Enough supplies for several weeks.
No army.
No royal escort.
The fewer people who knew their destination, the safer it would be.
As Aiden prepared to leave, he noticed hundreds of citizens gathered outside the palace.
No one shouted.
No one protested.
An old woman stepped forward first.
She bowed.
"Thank you."
Then a young father carrying his son did the same.
"Thank you for saving my family."
One by one...
The people of Eldoria bowed.
Merchants.
Soldiers.
Children.
Even those who still feared him could not deny what he had done.
Aiden stood speechless.
He had expected suspicion.
Instead, he was met with gratitude.
He bowed in return.
"I promise..."
His voice carried across the silent square.
"I'll make sure the next battle never reaches your homes."
---
As the three travelers rode away from the capital, none of them noticed the hooded figure standing atop a distant hill.
The stranger watched them through calm silver eyes.
A raven perched upon his shoulder.
"Interesting..."
he murmured.
"So the king walks the earth once again."
The raven let out a low cry.
The stranger smiled.
"Don't worry."
He adjusted the ancient sword strapped across his back.
"We'll meet him soon."
He turned and disappeared into the forest without leaving a single footprint.
Far away, the wind carried only one name.
Kael.
A name no one in the kingdom had heard for a thousand years.
A name that had once been spoken alongside the Immortal King's as that of his greatest swordmaster... and the only man whose loyalty had never been questioned.
Until the day the world ended.
End of Chapter 12
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