Valebright: The arcane batalion

Chapter3

Three days after the imperial envoy’s visit, a restless tension had settled over Valebright Keep like a gathering storm. Scouts reported Asterian forces massing at the eastern border, and dark whispers slithered through the servants’ quarters: some lesser lords had already bent the knee, betraying their own blood for the promise of survival.

Aries could no longer endure the suffocating silence.

That afternoon she hurried through the east courtyard on her way to find Caelan, hoping her younger brother might sneak her into the training yard for another secret sword lesson. As she rounded the corner near the guardhouse, she froze at the sound of two off-duty guards speaking in low, urgent voices.

“…recruitment drive up north near Ironspine Pass,” the older guard muttered. “The Northern Defense League is taking every volunteer they can get. They don’t care if you’re highborn or lowborn, man or woman, young or old. Just bring a blade and the will to fight. They’ll train you proper—drill you from dawn till dusk in formations, swordwork, archery, and survival tactics. Word is Lord Commander Hawthern himself is leading the effort. Harsh bastard, but fair. They say he turned a bunch of farm boys into soldiers in under a month last season.”

“Aye,” the second guard replied, spitting on the ground. “Heard they turned away no one last week. If the Asterians push through the pass, those volunteers will be the only thing standing between us and chains. Better to die with a sword in your hand than cower behind walls while the empire picks us apart one keep at a time. My cousin joined up two days ago. Says the training is brutal but real—they’re forging proper fighters up there.”

The first guard grunted. “It’s a damn sight better than sitting here waiting for the axe to fall. Too bad we’re stuck guarding these walls. Someone has to stay and watch over the keep.”

Aries pressed herself tighter against the cold stone wall, heart hammering so loudly she feared they would hear it. They’ll take me, she thought fiercely. They have to. She stayed hidden until their footsteps faded, then let out a shaky breath. A dangerous, exhilarating plan had already taken root.

She continued toward the training yard, forcing her steps to stay light. When she found Caelan practicing alone, sweat darkening his tunic, she called out with a practiced smile.

“Still swinging like a windmill, little brother?” she teased, picking up a wooden sparring blade.

Caelan grinned, wiping his brow. “Better than you, stormcloud. Last time you nearly took my head off—again. Come on, let’s see if you’ve improved.”

They sparred for nearly an hour, trading blows and laughter. All the while Aries kept her secret locked tight behind her teeth. Between clashes she asked casually, “Have you heard anything new about the border?”

Caelan parried her strike. “Only that Father’s been in closed meetings all day. He won’t tell me anything. Says I’m too young to worry.” He rolled his eyes. “As if fourteen makes me blind.”

Aries’s wooden blade connected with his shoulder—lighter than she intended. “Maybe he’s right. Maybe we should just… wait and see.”

Caelan snorted. “Since when do you wait for anything? You’re the one always dragging me into trouble.” He lowered his sword, studying her. “You alright? You seem… distracted.”

“I’m fine,” she lied, flashing him a bright grin. “Just thinking about how I’m going to beat you next time.”

She hated deceiving him, but she couldn’t risk him trying to stop her—or worse, insisting on coming with her. This was something she had to do alone.

That night, beneath a sky bruised with thunderheads, she made her choice.

She packed a small satchel with spare clothes, dried meat and bread, a waterskin, and the silver lightning-bolt pendant her mother had given her on her twelfth birthday. Since she still had no idea how to summon or control the stormlight churning inside her, she also took the short sword she had secretly practiced with—a plain, well-balanced blade she had borrowed from Caelan months ago. Steel was honest. Steel did not demand magic she could not yet command.

On her pillow she left a note in hurried, defiant script:

Father, Mother—

I cannot stay hidden while war gathers at our gates. I will learn to fight with a sword and protect our home on my own terms. Do not follow me.

I will return when I am strong enough.

— Aries

Her hand trembled as she set the parchment down. For a moment she pictured Caelan’s easy, teasing smile and her mother’s gentle touch. “I’m sorry,” she whispered to the empty room. “But I have to do this alone.”

Aries slipped out through the servants’ gate, using the old oak beside the outer wall to climb down. The instant her boots hit the soft earth beyond the keep, she ran—chest tight, throat burning—without daring to look back until the warm lights of Valebright Keep had been swallowed by the night.

Dawn found her several miles north on a narrow forest road. Her legs ached fiercely and the sword bumped awkwardly against her hip with every stride, but she kept moving. She gripped the hilt tighter. Steel doesn’t wait for permission.

She had been walking for hours when hoofbeats thundered behind her. Aries spun, drawing the short sword with both hands, pulse roaring in her ears.

It was Caelan.

He reined his gray mare to a skidding halt, face flushed with a fierce mix of anger, fear, and relief. At fourteen he was already tall for his age, but right now he looked like a scared boy trying to play the part of protector. He vaulted from the saddle and seized her shoulders, fingers digging in.

“Aries! Have you lost your mind?” His voice cracked with emotion. “Father is tearing the keep apart. Mother found your note at first light and hasn’t stopped crying since. What were you thinking—running off with nothing but that sorry blade?”

Aries yanked free, jaw clenched, eyes blazing. “I’m thinking that if the empire comes, hiding behind stone walls won’t save us! I overheard the guards yesterday talking about the Northern Defense League near Ironspine Pass. They’re taking everyone—noble or common. They’ll train me properly. I’ll fight—with steel, and whatever storm is trapped inside me.”

Caelan dragged a hand through his tousled blond hair, worry etched deep into his young face. “You’re fifteen, Aries. I’m only a year behind you and even I know this is madness. You barely know which end of a sword is which. What if imperial scouts find you first? What if that power inside you explodes and no one is there to help you?”

“Then I’ll learn the hard way,” she shot back fiercely, though her voice wavered. “Father wants to lock me away like something shameful. The empire wants to rip the power out of me and turn me into a weapon. This is my life, Caelan. I won’t be useless. And I have to do this alone.”

Her brother stared at her for a long, aching moment, torn between fear and love. “You could have told me,” he said quietly, voice thick. “I would have tried to talk you out of it… or gone with you.”

“I know,” she whispered. “That’s why I didn’t.”

Finally he let out a shaky breath and unstrapped a small pouch from his saddle.

“At least take these.” His voice was rough with unshed tears. “Extra coin, a better map, healing herbs… and this.” He pressed a small silver whistle into her palm, closing her fingers around it. “Blow it if you’re in real danger. I’ll come—Father’s orders be damned. Just… promise me you’ll be careful, Aries. Don’t you dare die out there.”

Aries’s eyes stung with hot tears. She threw her arms around him, burying her face in his tunic. “Tell Mother I love her,” she whispered. “And tell Father… I’m not running away from him. I’m running toward the fight he won’t let me join.”

Caelan hugged her tightly enough to bruise. “Just stay alive, you stubborn stormcloud. And try not to get yourself killed with that rusty excuse for a sword.”

She laughed through her tears—a bright, defiant sound—then pulled away, turned, and continued north along the misty road. Caelan remained mounted, watching until she vanished around the bend. Dread sat heavy as lead in his chest.

Back at Valebright Keep, Duke Aldren stood rigid in the great hall, crushing Aries’s note in his fist until his knuckles whitened. “She’s gone,” he rasped, voice thick with self-reproach. “My daughter has run off to war with nothing but a rusty blade because I refused to let her fight.”

Lady Elowen sat nearby, eyes swollen and red, fingers twisting the fabric of her robe. “Aldren… what have we done?” she whispered brokenly. “She’s only fifteen. Our stormborn girl…”

Caelan stood beside them, pale and silent, the silver whistle still burning in his memory. He said nothing about the extra supplies he had given her.

Outside, distant thunder rolled across the northern hills—low, ominous, and growing louder.

Aries Valebright was no longer waiting for permission.

Armed with only a sword, untested courage, and a heart too fierce to stay caged, she had broken free.