The road south had not been used in years.
Grass grew between the broken stones.
Roots pushed through the old paving.
Branches hung low over the path, forming a dark tunnel beneath the trees.
Adrian rode at the front.
Edmund followed several paces behind.
Tomas brought up the rear, constantly looking over his shoulder.
They had been riding for nearly an hour.
No one spoke.
The mountain was already disappearing behind them.
But Adrian could still feel its presence.
The Founder’s Chronicle.
Valedon.
The strange crest.
The hidden passages.
Too many questions.
And now, for the first time, they had a direction.
South.
Toward a kingdom that supposedly no longer existed.
“We should stop.”
Edmund’s voice broke the silence.
Adrian looked back.
“Why?”
“Because we’re riding blind.”
Tomas nodded.
“He’s right.”
Adrian looked ahead.
The forest seemed endless.
“We’re not completely blind.”
Edmund raised an eyebrow.
“We know where we’re going.”
“We don’t know what is waiting for us.”
Adrian slowed his horse.
“That’s why we stop here.”
They moved off the road and into a small clearing.
The horses were tied beneath the trees.
Tomas immediately began checking the surrounding area.
Edmund pulled out the old map.
He spread it across a fallen tree.
“This road used to be the main trade route between Ardyn and Valedon.”
Adrian studied the faded lines.
“Used to be?”
“Before Valedon disappeared.”
“How long is the journey?”
“Normally?”
Edmund pointed toward the southern edge of the map.
“Three days.”
Tomas frowned.
“And now?”
Edmund looked at the forest.
“Maybe five.”
“Why?”
“Because most of the bridges are probably gone.”
Adrian nodded.
Then he noticed something.
A small mark had been drawn beside the road.
Not a town.
Not a river.
A symbol.
The same unfamiliar crest.
Adrian’s eyes narrowed.
“What’s this?”
Edmund looked down.
His expression changed.
“I don’t know.”
“You’ve seen it before.”
Edmund hesitated.
“Once.”
“Where?”
“On the chest carrying the Chronicle.”
Silence fell over the clearing.
Adrian slowly looked back at the road.
“So we’re not simply following an old road.”
Edmund shook his head.
“Perhaps someone wanted the road remembered.”
They continued before noon.
The forest gradually changed.
The trees became older.
Larger.
Some were so wide that three men would have struggled to wrap their arms around them.
The road narrowed until it became little more than a trail.
Adrian noticed footprints.
He raised a hand.
Everyone stopped.
Tomas dismounted.
He crouched beside the trail.
“Boots.”
“How many?”
“At least six.”
Edmund examined the prints.
“They’re fresh.”
Adrian looked ahead.
“Imperial?”
Tomas shook his head.
“No.”
“How do you know?”
“Their boots aren’t military.”
Edmund added,
“And they’re traveling south.”
Adrian’s eyes narrowed.
“Following the same road.”
Tomas looked at him.
“Could they be survivors?”
“Maybe.”
“Or bandits.”
“Maybe.”
Edmund sighed.
“Either way, we should avoid them.”
Adrian nodded.
“Agreed.”
They left the road and continued through the forest.
By late afternoon, the group reached a stream.
The water was shallow.
Clear.
Adrian dismounted.
He knelt and examined the mud beside the bank.
More footprints.
But these were different.
Bare feet.
Small.
Several sets.
Tomas looked confused.
“Children?”
Adrian followed the tracks with his eyes.
They disappeared into the forest.
Then he noticed something else.
A piece of cloth caught on a branch.
Dark blue.
Edmund took it.
His expression became troubled.
“What?”
Edmund turned the cloth over.
A faded silver symbol was stitched into it.
Adrian recognized the shape.
“Valedon’s royal crest?”
Edmund nodded.
“Yes.”
Tomas looked toward the forest.
“If people are still using this road…”
“Then Valedon may not be as empty as we thought.”
Adrian folded the cloth.
“Exactly.”
Night came quickly.
They made camp beneath a rocky overhang.
No fire.
No unnecessary noise.
The horses were kept farther from the road.
Adrian sat against the stone wall, studying the map.
Edmund sat across from him.
Tomas was asleep.
For several minutes, neither man spoke.
Then Edmund said,
“You should turn back.”
Adrian looked up.
“Why?”
“Because whatever is in Valedon…”
“It survived for a reason.”
Adrian returned his gaze to the map.
“You’re afraid.”
Edmund gave a quiet laugh.
“Very.”
“Of what?”
“The people who might still be there.”
Adrian folded the map.
“You said your family died when Valedon disappeared.”
“Most of them.”
“Then who survived?”
Edmund stared into the darkness.
“I don’t know.”
“That’s what scares you?”
“No.”
He looked at Adrian.
“What scares me is that I might know.”
A distant sound interrupted them.
A branch snapped.
Adrian immediately reached for his sword.
Tomas woke.
Edmund stood.
Everyone listened.
Nothing.
Then another sound.
Closer.
Adrian raised his hand.
Wait.
The forest remained silent.
Suddenly—
A stone struck the ground beside Tomas.
He jumped back.
“Attack!”
Adrian grabbed his shoulder.
“Wait.”
Another stone flew from the darkness.
Then another.
Not arrows.
Stones.
Tomas looked confused.
“Who attacks with rocks?”
A voice answered from the trees.
“People who don’t want to kill you.”
Three figures emerged.
Two adults.
One child.
All carrying bows.
The older man kept his weapon aimed at Adrian.
“Leave.”
Adrian didn’t move.
“We’re travelers.”
The man laughed.
“No one travels this road anymore.”
Edmund stepped forward.
“We’re looking for Valedon.”
The man’s expression changed.
The bow lowered slightly.
“Why?”
Adrian answered.
“Because we’re looking for the truth.”
The man stared at him.
Then his eyes moved to Edmund.
He froze.
“Edmund?”
Edmund’s face went pale.
“You…”
The man lowered his bow completely.
“You’re alive.”
The man approached slowly.
He was older than Edmund by perhaps ten years.
His clothes were worn.
His face carried several scars.
But around his neck hung a silver pendant bearing the crest of House Vale.
Edmund stared at it.
“Where did you get that?”
The man smiled bitterly.
“I was born with it.”
Adrian stepped forward.
“Who are you?”
The man looked at him.
Then at the royal insignia on Adrian’s clothing.
His expression changed again.
“You…”
He took a step back.
“You’re Adrian Ardyn.”
Tomas immediately reached for his sword.
Adrian stopped him.
“How do you know my name?”
The man didn’t answer.
Instead, he looked toward the child.
“Go.”
The child disappeared into the darkness.
Adrian’s expression hardened.
“Where is he going?”
“To warn the others.”
“Warn them about what?”
The man looked directly at Adrian.
“That the lost prince has returned.”
The words hung in the air.
Edmund looked at Adrian.
Tomas looked between them.
The stranger lowered his bow.
“You shouldn’t have come.”
Adrian’s voice remained calm.
“Why?”
“Because Valedon isn’t dead.”
Edmund took a step forward.
“What happened?”
The stranger’s expression darkened.
“We didn’t disappear.”
“We were hidden.”
“By whom?”
The man looked toward the southern forest.
“By the same people who took your Chronicle.”
Adrian’s hand tightened around the map.
“So you know about it.”
The man nodded.
“We know exactly where it is.”
Adrian stepped closer.
“Then take me there.”
The man shook his head.
“You don’t understand.”
“Then explain.”
The man looked toward the darkness beyond the trees.
“The Chronicle wasn’t brought to Valedon to protect it.”
Adrian’s eyes narrowed.
“Then why?”
The stranger hesitated.
“Because it contains something the Empire must never find.”
A cold silence followed.
Tomas swallowed.
“What?”
The man looked at Adrian.
“The truth about the fall of both kingdoms.”
Adrian’s expression changed.
“Both?”
The man nodded.
“Valedon didn’t disappear twenty-eight years ago.”
“It was erased.”
“By the same people who destroyed House Ardyn.”
Adrian felt the world grow strangely quiet.
For years, he had believed his family’s destruction was the work of an imperial campaign.
A political decision.
A war.
But now…
Someone was suggesting something far more deliberate.
The stranger stepped closer.
“And if you truly want to know what happened to your kingdom…”
He pointed toward the southern mountains.
“You’ll have to enter Valedon.”
Adrian mounted his horse.
“Then we go at dawn.”
The man stared at him.
“You don’t understand what you’re walking into.”
Adrian looked south.
“I’ve already lost a kingdom.”
His hand tightened around the reins.
“I’m not afraid of losing another.”
The stranger watched him for a long moment.
Then he gave a faint smile.
“Perhaps that’s why they were afraid of you.”
Adrian looked at him.
“Who?”
The man’s smile disappeared.
“The people who have been watching you.”
A cold wind moved through the forest.
Adrian’s eyes narrowed.
“Since when?”
The stranger looked toward the mountain.
“Since before you were born.”
Adrian said nothing.
Far away, hidden beyond the trees, a single horn sounded.
The stranger’s face changed instantly.
“They found us.”
Tomas drew his sword.
“Who?”
The man looked toward the northern road.
“The Empire.”
Adrian turned.
Between the trees, several distant lights appeared.
Torches.
Dozens of them.
Moving south.
Adrian’s expression hardened.
The Empire had followed them.
But this time…
They weren’t defending a ruined watchtower.
They were standing at the edge of a forgotten kingdom.
Adrian drew his sword.
“Wake the horses.”
Edmund moved immediately.
Tomas mounted.
The stranger looked at Adrian.
“What are you going to do?”
Adrian stared at the approaching lights.
A faint smile appeared on his face.
“Make sure they never reach Valedon.”
The horses surged forward.
Behind them, the imperial torches multiplied.
Ahead…
The southern road disappeared into darkness.
And somewhere beyond those mountains waited a kingdom that had supposedly vanished from history.
A kingdom that had been waiting for someone to return.
A kingdom that might hold the truth about everything.
Adrian rode into the darkness.
This time…
He wasn’t running from the Empire.
He was leading it somewhere.
————————–The End ————————-
Next : The Hidden Kingdom
By : Zenryth