"On to your posts," Kael commanded. Over fifty silver-armored knights nodded, then marched away, heading to their positions, both at the front and back of the audiences.
Every minute the noise around the circular arena had grown louder as the citizens filled the seats. It was almost noon, but there was light snow falling fromthe gloomy sky.
A thick, dark tent had roofed the small grandstand. Kael stood on the dais beside Councilor Rowan with his team on his back. While the old councilor ate his lunch, Kael observed the audience, trying to find the face of his brother in the arena. He was certain that the Forgotten Winter had already arrived, as he sensed the strange, powerful presences around. But he needed to be patient until the enemies would show themselves. His plans were ready for anything that would happen.
“Sir Kael.” Grand Knight Bryle and Sadon just came, taking their positions on the other side of the councilor. They had been Rowan's guards ever since, popularly known as the Grand Duo, and both were members of The Order of the Grand Knights in Crown Galacer.
“Is everything set?” Kael raised a brow at Sir Sadon.
“All City Gates are closed … and we have the entire mile radius outside the arena covered … they’ve got nowhere to run, Sir Kael.”
With no intention to reply, Kael tilted his head to the side. "Eyes and ears open," he reminded to his three subordinates standing behind him. Cedric, Dain and Ryia nodded and then brought their eyes back into observing the people around the arena.
‘The favor is ours…’ Kael thought. ‘If they will take the bait after the tournament, then my plan will work perfectly … and if they somehow attack the councilor now … we’re still prepared.’
The tournament had started and the wild cheers thundered around the arena. The announcer, a middle-aged man wearing black winter clothing, entered the wide circular stage at the center.
"For our first match … we have Merek from Vale … and Caston the Blackdog!"
The two warriors appeared in the stage, and then they drew out their swords. At the sound of the bell, they started fighting, the clanging sound of the two blades overwhelming the loud yells of the audience.
Kael sighed, shaking his head. The tournament started with distaste for him. Those foolish warriors just kept on hitting their swords against each other … and … nothing else. No tactics … no plans … no tension … just complete nonsense movements coming again and again and again.
‘Oh gods, help me with this,’
Kael thought, raking his hair backward. He needed a real fight.A few matches had been called, and then it was time for the next match. Kael's eyes were suddenly caught by the blue-cloaked participant stepping into the circular ring. The young man carried himself like a true warrior, and the confidence in his movements had made Kael see through that cloak. He could see a young, but a seasoned warrior.
"Arth from Frostwood … and Barak of Winterrun!"
‘Arth? Interesting name,’
Kael thought with one eyebrow raised. Arth’s back was on him, so Kael had yet to see the face.The people were loud enough to cheer for Barak; perhaps a famous one for his fitted body shape. When the bell rang for the start of the match, Barak immediately drew out his own sword, while Arth, however, just stood in his place, not moving any muscle. Kael could say that Barak was taller than the young man. From a normal person’s perspective, it would seem that Arth was in a great disadvantage. However, one could not predict the outcome of a battle by mere visual speculations only.
Barak lunged forward, giving a heavy swing of his cleaver sword. Arth turned out to be swift enough to evade the attack—and it only took him one step to do it. The big man grunted like a bear as he continued giving strong blows, but his attacks could not even hit the young man. The wind blew harder around the arena, created by the force Barak was exerting.
“Fight me!” Barak yelled, his face dark and angry. He rotated his body and spun one leg, aiming a strike at the side, but Arth crossed his arms to block the kick. Then it all happened in a manner of seconds. While Barak's one leg was still on air, Arth dropped himself, both hands on the ground, then he swept the big man’s other leg with a slide kick. With both legs on air, Barak lost his balance, causing his enormous body to slam hard against the stone floor.
The big man shouted a curse, wincing as he got back on his feet. Barak pulled off a stance, reeling back, the next he charged, driving the point of his sword to Arth's legs. But with his light body, Arth took a jump, higher than the big man to dodge the sword. He landed on Barak's shoulders and then locked his strong legs around the big man’s neck, then he twisted. A loud bone crack snapped from his neck. The audience gasped as Barak fell to the ground, dead, with his eyes wide open.
Arth stood up, wiped his blue cloak, then walked out of the circular stage.
"A ... Arth from Frostwood wins the match!"
"That one's not bad," High Councilor Rowan spoke in a low tone, playing with his fingers. "What do you think, Sir Kael?"
"He’s far more experienced than any young warrior at his age would be," Kael replied, narrowing his gaze to the young man. But then, his eyes widened after finally seeing Arth's face turned to him. Their eyes met.
“Bloody hell …” Kael stormed his eyebrows, seeing the young man's ocean-blue eyes. ‘Is he ... what I think he is? No ... this is impossible. Those blue eyes could be fake.’
Kael was lost in his thoughts for a moment, but he was then interrupted when the bell rang for the next match. It was another set of tedious matches for him. His interests were still drawn to Arth earlier, since he had sensed something familiar from the young warrior, but he could not determine what exactly.
The match of Tristan came, so Kael got his attention back on the ring. After his observation of the earlier fights, he could predict that Tristan and Arth would be the ones left for the finals.
The bell started the match, and as what Kael had expected, Tristan had already owned the round with a single move, slashing his opponent's neck in just a blink of an eye. The audience fell speechless, both in surprise and amazement as the match had ended in less than five seconds. One moment the bell rang, and now Tristan's opponent was on the ground, with dark blood spurting endlessly from his open throat.
The knights scurried in to clean off the stage from all the blood, before the next match began.
"Your subordinate is without a doubt a talented one, Sir Kael," Councilor Rowan said.
"He never disappoints," Kael replied shortly without giving a glance.
"Hmm … I might need someone like him in my guards … What you say?"
Kael eyed the councilor with a blank expression and then shook his head slightly. "He's one of my team now, Rowan. Find your own man."
The councilor gave out a loud snort. "Not a big deal, I should say. I already have two of the strongest Grand Knights in the capital," Rowan said, pointing a thumb towards Bryle and Sadon standing beside him.
The sun had almost settled when the elimination rounds finished. In the end, Kael’s prediction was never wrong. Tristan and Arth were indeed the grand finalists.
Minutes after, the announcer came to stand at the center of the ring. "On my right … entering the stage … is Arth from Frostwood!"
The crowds responded with thundering cheers.
"On to my left … is his opponent … Tristan from Cold Hills!"
The yells grew louder in every second as the two warriors entered the ring. Arth was on his blue cloak while Tristan had his cerulean one. From Kael's perspective, Tristan's advantage was his speed. But still, he had only known a little about Arth, so he was yet to be certain of who would win the tournament.
"Now this is interesting," Councilor Rowan said, clapping his hands in excitement.
Kael’s lips formed a smirk as he looked at the two young warriors, facing one another in the ring. "Yes, it is."
“Let the match begin!” The championships of the tournament started after the sun had settled. Arth’s ears were struck by the people’s screams, cheering all around him. Torches circled the stage, giving light to the entire arena. Throughout the tournament, Arth managed to make it to the finals without breaking a single sweat. His previous opponents had simply been too dumb, so he never got to use his sword. But now that Arth would be facing a strong opponent, he knew that winning this final match would never be easy. ‘Tristan from Cold Hills village … He’s the guy I saw yesterday when we went here in the capital… the dual blade wielder,’Arth thought, eyeing his fiercely-looking opponent. Tristan stood a bit taller, with lighter skin than Arth. His bright, gray-colored eyes burned with passion and sense of duty. “I guess he’s a knight in the capital,” Arth whispered to himself. “You’re q
After a few seconds, he searched around for Robert and Alice, but their seats had already been emptied. The people were all heading home, so the archways in the arena were fully crowded. Arth panicked, having no idea what to do. Should he find Robert and Alice first? But he couldn’t just let the councilor return to the Upper Ring. This was his only chance while the councilor would still ride on his carriage. Upon several thoughts, he finally decided to follow the councilor. The painful sting on his wounded arm and cheek worsened as the cold wind blew against him. He did a simple dressing for the injury in his arm while he jogged out of the arena. His hands were painted with dark red from all the blood, which caught the attention of the people. But this was no time to think of his appearance. His mission must come first before anything else. Nightfall came as Arth stepped outside the arena. An enclose
“You’ve grown so big now … little Ali, and your hair … keeping it long as always, eh?” The grand knight cocked his head, a smirk forming on his lips. He had the same white hair, black eyes, and light skin. Their family indeed had decent looks and beauty. But the evil smirk on her brother was like the one you would see from a mad villain. “Call me by that name again and I’ll torment you worse than you can ever think of, before you end up just like father … just like that devil,” Alice’s spat, her black eyes becoming vicious. Arth had never seen her as serious as this before. He could sense the overflowing hatred and resentment in her eyes. “Get the councilor now,” Alice said, turning to Arth. “We’ll handle these two.” Arth looked at her with worried eyes. “Are you sure?” “We don’t have much time. You need to kill our target now.” “But what about—”
The worst became even worse. Arth shivered in fear, his lips still parted in shock. The ones standing ahead of him were the formidable foes he would not want to face. The glorious members of the Frostguarde had crushed the ground after jumping from the flying beast in the sky. Reinforcements of knights and cavalries from the Upper Ring had also just arrived, halting behind the elite group. It was indeed … a trap. Arth swallowed hard the lump on his throat. He could not believe that Tristan was a member of the Frostguarde. All five of them were dressed in cerulean-colored cloak, even the Divine Knight himself. One of them had a middle-aged face of a man, holding a long blue spear. Another member was a red-haired lady wielding a brown staff. That was all what Arth could notice, as his arms were already trembling with fear and exhaustion. Divine Knight Kael removed the hood of his cloak, revealing his black hair fixed backwar
“You’re all screwed, now.” Robert still had the guts to tease his opponent, though he was already on the ground, coughing with blood. “Curse you, rebels!” The grand knight went outrageous, stabbing his broadsword against Robert, but then … The sound of thunder clapped and rumbled throughout the skies. They all paused and looked up. The dark clouds began to glow with yellow light, illuminating the open grounds of the bailey. Something big was about to happen … something that was truly beyond what they expected. The glorious judgment from the heavens had finally come. Thousands of golden arrows fell from the clouds, like rain, with glowing drops, but these drops were as deadly as life-ending catastrophes. “Let’s move!” Arth immediately helped Robert to get up. Then the three began to rush back towards the Lower Ring. As they hasted, Arth looked back, seeing
After six hours of riding nonstop, they finally reached their hideout in White Forest. As soon as Arth stepped inside through the main door, he immediately brought Alice straight to her room. The space inside was slightly bigger than Arth's bedroom. It was more comfy and warm. The usual, sweet scent of Alice greeted him as he went inside. Every time he got close enough with Alice like this, her aromatic, flowery smell had made Arth remember of the flowers back in Frostwood village. Giving him a weird but good feeling, he wished that he would always be close to her like this … always. Arth carefully placed her on the soft bed. His hands were still covered with dried blood, so he washed them first before he returned to her. He got a small towel and a bucket of warm water to clean the dirt on her skin. “I was so worried,” Arth sighed and shook his head slowly. He soaked the towel and gave a gentle wipe
“Three hundred and seventy-eight knights …” King Terrowin’s voice echoed around the dark throne room, then silence followed; a dead, cold silence. He stood from his blue crystal-made seat and then climbed down the wide steps. “One grand knight …” the king continued. Kael was in front, kneeling, with his head looking down on the blue floor. He had just returned from their huge loss after their encounter with the Forgotten Winter. And being alone with the Cold King made his heartbeat race, as if chased by death itself. “And another one of my High Councilors …” Kael closed his eyes, shamed. He went against looking at the king’s face. He had already triggered the devil's outrage, and it’s about to explode unto him. Silence filled the throne room once again. The only thing Kael could hear was his chest pounding hard. His palms were freezing. How fortunate Kael was that they were both alone, for if not … he could never face anyone anymore. His failure was a huge disgrace that he might
"I still can’t believe that was my last chance to enjoy walking around the capital in public!” Robert complained while stirring the boiling soup on the pot. “Now we’re all wanted in every corners of Glacia.” “At least we came back in one piece,” Arth replied as he was chopping the vegetables on the kitchen counter. “Yeah, we’re now close to our goal anyway. We just have to kill the last councilor before we make our step in taking down the king,” Robert said, wiping his hands on his apron, then he went to prepare the plates. “Do we really have to kill all councilors? I mean … are all of them really that bad?” “By the time King Terrowin sat on the throne, he immediately replaced the good councilors with the corrupt ones … evil friends of his. That’s when corruption began to spread in the kingdom.” “So if we eliminate the fourth councilor, we can now kill th