The horses ran through the darkness.
Behind them, the glow of imperial torches moved between the trees.
Closer.
Closer.
Adrian kept his eyes on the road ahead.
The stranger rode beside him, guiding them through paths that no ordinary traveler would have noticed.
Edmund followed closely.
Tomas guarded the rear.
“How many?” Adrian asked.
Tomas glanced back.
“At least twenty.”
“More are coming.”
Edmund frowned.
“How can you tell?”
“The torches.”
Adrian looked over his shoulder.
“The first group is moving too quickly.”
“They’re scouts.”
His eyes returned to the road.
“The main force is behind them.”
The stranger nodded.
“He’s right.”
Adrian looked at him.
“You knew they would come.”
“I suspected.”
“That’s different.”
The man gave a tired smile.
“With the Empire, it usually isn’t.”
The road suddenly ended.
Adrian pulled the reins.
His horse stopped inches from a steep drop.
Tomas nearly collided with him.
“What happened?”
Adrian looked down.
There was no road ahead.
Only a cliff.
The stranger dismounted.
“Follow me.”
He walked toward the rock face.
Adrian stared.
There was nothing there.
Then the stranger pressed his hand against a particular stone.
A faint click echoed through the forest.
Part of the rock shifted.
A narrow opening appeared.
Tomas stared.
“A hidden door.”
The stranger nodded.
“Valedon has many.”
Adrian dismounted.
“How many people know about these passages?”
“Enough to keep them secret.”
“That’s not an answer.”
The man looked at him.
“That’s the point.”
Adrian entered first.
The others followed.
The stone door slowly closed behind them.
The sounds of the Empire disappeared.
The passage descended sharply.
Unlike the tunnels beneath Adrian’s ruined kingdom, this one was clean.
Maintained.
Someone had been using it.
Adrian ran his fingers across the wall.
There were fresh scratches in the stone.
“What are these?”
The stranger looked.
“Marks.”
“From what?”
“People.”
“Recently?”
“Very.”
Adrian stopped.
“So Valedon isn’t simply hiding.”
“No.”
The stranger looked into the darkness.
“It’s alive.”
After nearly twenty minutes, the passage widened.
A faint blue light appeared ahead.
Tomas squinted.
“What is that?”
They emerged from the tunnel.
Adrian stopped.
For a moment, he couldn’t speak.
A valley stretched before them.
Hidden between enormous mountains.
Thousands of trees covered the slopes.
A river crossed the valley.
And beyond it…
A city.
Stone walls surrounded a collection of buildings.
Towers rose above the rooftops.
Smoke curled from chimneys.
Lights burned in windows.
People moved along the streets.
Adrian stared.
Valedon was alive.
Not ruins.
Not abandoned villages.
A kingdom.
Hidden from the world.
Edmund stepped beside him.
His eyes widened.
“I thought…”
He couldn’t finish.
The stranger looked at him.
“You’ve been away a long time.”
Edmund slowly shook his head.
“Twenty years.”
“And you still remember.”
Edmund stared at the city.
“How could I forget?”
They descended toward the valley.
The first people they encountered stopped walking.
Then another.
Whispers spread.
“Who are they?”
“Travelers?”
“Look at the royal crest.”
“Ardyn…”
The word traveled through the streets.
Ardyn.
Adrian’s name followed.
Some people stared with curiosity.
Others with fear.
A few bowed their heads.
Adrian noticed something.
No one looked surprised to see armed strangers.
They looked surprised to see him.
As though they had been expecting him.
They reached the city gates.
Six guards stood above the entrance.
Their armor was old but well maintained.
Their weapons were pointed downward.
The captain stepped forward.
“State your name.”
The stranger answered.
“Edmund.”
The captain immediately recognized him.
Then his eyes moved toward Adrian.
He froze.
“Is that…”
Adrian stepped forward.
“Adrian Ardyn.”
The guards exchanged looks.
The captain lowered his weapon.
Then he knelt.
The others followed.
Tomas looked stunned.
Adrian’s expression hardened.
“Stand.”
The captain rose.
“You shouldn’t be here.”
Adrian looked at the city behind him.
“That’s what everyone keeps telling me.”
The captain looked toward the northern mountains.
“The Empire is coming.”
“I know.”
“They will find us.”
“Not if we move first.”
The captain stared at him.
“You don’t understand.”
Adrian stepped closer.
“Then explain.”
The captain hesitated.
“Valedon has survived because the world believes we are dead.”
“And now?”
“Now the lost prince has walked through our gates.”
He looked toward the city.
“That changes everything.”
Inside the city, Adrian noticed how different it was from the world outside.
There were no imperial banners.
No soldiers marching through the streets.
No nobles displaying wealth.
People worked.
Farmers carried baskets.
Blacksmiths repaired tools.
Children ran through the streets.
But there was something else.
Everywhere Adrian looked, he saw weapons.
Hidden beneath coats.
Mounted beside doors.
Stored inside shops.
Valedon wasn’t peaceful.
It was prepared.
Tomas noticed it too.
“This entire city is an army.”
The stranger nodded.
“Not an army.”
“A people.”
Adrian looked at him.
“There’s a difference.”
“Here, there is.”
They were taken to an old stone building overlooking the city.
Inside, several people waited.
An elderly woman stood at the center.
Her silver hair was tied behind her head.
She wore no crown.
No jewelry.
But everyone in the room respected her.
Her eyes immediately settled on Adrian.
For several seconds, she said nothing.
Then she whispered,
“Your father’s eyes.”
Adrian stiffened.
“You knew my father?”
The woman nodded.
“I knew him.”
“How?”
“Before the Empire erased your family.”
Adrian stepped forward.
“Then tell me what happened.”
The woman looked toward the others.
“Leave us.”
Everyone obeyed.
Tomas hesitated.
Adrian glanced at him.
“Wait outside.”
The door closed.
Only Adrian, Edmund, and the old woman remained.
“Your father came here once,” she said.
Adrian’s eyes widened.
“When?”
“Shortly before the fall of House Ardyn.”
“Why?”
“He was searching for someone.”
“Who?”
The woman didn’t answer immediately.
Instead, she walked toward an old wooden chest.
She opened it.
Inside were documents.
Letters.
Seals.
And a single black-covered book.
Adrian’s heart began beating faster.
“The Chronicle?”
“No.”
She lifted the book.
“This is what your father left behind.”
Adrian stared.
“Why?”
“Because he knew he might not return.”
She handed it to him.
Adrian opened the cover.
The first page contained a single sentence.
He read it silently.
Then his expression changed.
“What does it say?” Edmund asked.
Adrian looked up.
“It says…”
He paused.
Then read the words aloud.
“Trust no throne.”
Silence.
The old woman continued.
“Your father believed the Empire wasn’t acting alone.”
Adrian closed the book.
“Who was helping them?”
The woman looked directly into his eyes.
“That is what the Chronicle was meant to reveal.”
Adrian’s grip tightened.
“Where is it?”
The woman didn’t answer.
Instead, she looked toward Edmund.
“Did he tell you why you were followed?”
Edmund shook his head.
“No.”
The woman sighed.
“Then you still don’t understand.”
Adrian frowned.
“Understand what?”
“The Chronicle wasn’t stolen.”
Adrian froze.
“What?”
“It was given away.”
“By whom?”
The old woman looked toward the window.
Far beyond the city walls, the mountains disappeared into darkness.
“By your father.”
Adrian stared at her.
“My father gave the Chronicle away?”
“Yes.”
“Why would he do that?”
“Because he knew the Empire was already searching for it.”
“Then why hide it in Valedon?”
“He didn’t.”
Adrian’s eyes narrowed.
The woman continued.
“He sent it somewhere else.”
“Where?”
She looked back at him.
“Somewhere even Valedon cannot reach.”
Adrian’s jaw tightened.
“Then why did Edmund find evidence that it came here?”
“Because the people carrying it wanted the Empire to believe it had.”
Adrian suddenly understood.
A decoy.
A false trail.
The hidden passages.
The stolen documents.
Everything had been designed to mislead whoever was searching.
“The Chronicle isn’t in Valedon.”
“No.”
“Then where is it?”
The woman gave him a solemn look.
“Your father left one final clue.”
Adrian waited.
“What clue?”
She pointed toward the black book.
“Read the last page.”
Adrian turned the pages.
Most were filled with notes.
Names.
Locations.
Fragments of conversations.
Descriptions of battles.
Then he reached the final page.
There were only three words.
Adrian stared at them.
He read them once.
Then again.
Edmund stepped closer.
“What does it say?”
Adrian slowly answered.
“Follow the bell.”
The old woman closed her eyes.
“So he finally chose you.”
Adrian looked up.
“What does that mean?”
Before she could answer—
A bell rang across the city.
Once.
Deep.
Powerful.
Every person outside stopped moving.
Adrian turned toward the window.
A second bell rang.
Then a third.
The old woman’s expression changed.
“That’s impossible.”
Adrian looked at her.
“What?”
She walked toward the window.
Her face had gone pale.
“The northern watchtower.”
“What’s wrong with it?”
“It only rings when the Empire breaches the outer valley.”
Adrian’s hand moved toward his sword.
Tomas burst through the door.
“Adrian!”
He stopped.
“The northern gate is under attack.”
Edmund stood.
“How did they find us?”
The old woman looked at Adrian.
“They followed you.”
Adrian’s expression hardened.
“No.”
He looked toward the distant mountains.
“They followed the road.”
Then he looked back at the woman.
“And now they know Valedon is alive.”
The third bell continued echoing through the valley.
People rushed into the streets.
Weapons were drawn.
Doors slammed shut.
Defensive positions formed.
The hidden kingdom was waking.
Adrian walked toward the doorway.
The old woman called after him.
“Prince Adrian.”
He stopped.
“If you fight for Valedon tonight…”
Adrian looked back.
“What?”
“You may never leave.”
Adrian’s eyes moved toward the city.
Then toward the mountains.
He remembered the ruined walls of his own kingdom.
The refugees.
The children.
His promise.
“I didn’t come here to hide.”
He drew his sword.
“I came here to find the truth.”
Outside, another bell rang.
This time, it wasn’t the warning bell.
It was the war bell.
And across the hidden valley of Valedon…
Thousands of people answered it.
————————-The End ————————–
Next : The War Bell of Valedon
By : Zenryth