"Have you heard the tidings?"
Whispers echoed quietly through the long, vaulted stone halls of the Cathedral of Valanta.
"The southwest region near Harlen is being placed under total lockdown."
"Aye, the rumors reached me as well," another knight replied, instinctively lowering his voice as they walked. "I marvel at what prompted the High Council to make such a sudden decree."
The two men continued down the corridor, the rhythmic click of their heavy armored boots echoing against the floor. "They say something is deeply amiss within those borders," one of them murmured, glancing around cautiously before continuing. "Whatever transpires there, it is becoming a genuine peril to the surrounding free cities. The elders of the villages where the followers of the God of Sacrifice dwell have chosen to completely isolate themselves from the rest of the kingdom."
"A grim business," the second knight frowned, adjusting the strap of his gauntlet. "I only pray that whatever darkness takes root out there does not creep toward the capital."
Nuri listened from the shadows of a stone archway as the two guards passed, a strange, heavy sensation settling deep within his chest. In all seventeen years of his life, he had never once heard of an entire province being shuttered because of an unexplained phenomenon. Just what was happening out in the wilderness?
No matter how intensely he pondered it, the number of strange incidents seemed to be multiplying by the day, one disaster closely following another, almost as though the world itself were fundamentally fracturing. As though something enormous, ancient, and unstoppable were drawing near. There had even been frantic rumors circulating among the lower districts recently: heretical whispers that the gods had turned their faces away from humanity, and that their divine blessings were actively beginning to wane. The radical preachers claimed that was the exact reason these unprecedented calamities kept occurring.
Nuri knew it wasn't true, at least, logically speaking. The chosen individuals who possessed the blessings of the heavens were still invoking and wielding their powers without any visible hindrance. Nothing tangible had altered. Yet, despite that logical reassurance, a small seed of doubt had already taken root within his heart. And it stubbornly refused to be uprooted.
Before he realized it, Nuri had arrived outside the captain's private solar. Captain Caelan had specifically requested his presence, and that reality alone made him incredibly nervous. Ever since the catastrophe at the sanctuary, he found himself feeling strangely defensive and uncomfortable around authority figures.
Knock.
Knock.
"Enter."
Caelan's voice sounded unusually tired. Nuri blinked in surprise. That was rare, exceedingly rare. Caelan was the kind of legendary warrior who could battle anomalies for hours on end without breaking a sweat or losing his composure. To hear even a trace of physical exhaustion in his tone felt entirely unnatural.
Nuri pushed open the heavy oak door, then immediately froze. Alina was already inside. So was Elina.
Why were they all summoned here?
Quietly, he moved to stand beside his sister, shooting her a sharp, questioning look: Do you know what is happening?
Alina subtly shook her head in return, her gaze remaining fixed ahead: No idea.
For a brief moment, Nuri studied his sister's profile. Something about her demeanor had felt completely different lately, ever since the raid on the cathedral. She seemed quieter, more distant, as if her mind were wandering through deep and perilous thoughts. Yet, he still could not quite divine the underlying reason why.
"Thank you all for coming on such short notice," Caelan said, sitting behind a massive desk piled high with neatly organized parchment ledgers and official missives. His silver hair looked slightly disheveled, as though he had been frantically scouring through ancient records for hours without a single respite. "I hope you have both had sufficient time to rest," his gaze shifted gently toward Nuri and Alina. "I know what you witnessed at the cathedral could not have been easy for either of you."
Neither sibling spoke, the suffocating weight of the memory hanging over them like a shroud.
"Unfortunately, this will not be the last difficult trial you witness as members of the Knight Order," Caelan's expression softened slightly, his voice dropping an octave. "You will see deeds that inspire you. You will see things you absolutely loathe. You will witness mortals at their absolute best, and sometimes, at their most horrific worst."
For a fleeting second, the captain's gaze seemed to drift past them, turning distant and almost melancholic, as if looking back at a ghost from his own past. "But I hope you learn from those experiences. Your eyes must remain open."
His focus returned to the young siblings. "You both possess tremendous potential. That is the exact reason I brought you into the Order myself. And I hope one day you will become knights that the entire kingdom can look up to with pride."
Nuri felt a sudden flush of embarrassment coloring his cheeks. Coming from anyone else, it might have sounded like cheap, empty flattery meant to motivate green initiates. But coming directly from Captain Caelan, it felt completely genuine.
"So why did you call us here, Captain?" Elina asked first. Unlike the siblings, she seemed entirely comfortable questioning her superior directly, completely bypassing the rigid formalities of the vanguard.
Caelan folded his hands together on the desk, the atmosphere in the room immediately turning serious. "I have a mandate for you. I want the three of you to travel to the southwest villages near Harlen."
Silence blanketed the room. Nuri stared at him in disbelief. What? Wasn't that the exact location where the quarantine was currently being enforced?
"I appreciate the trust, Captain," Alina said carefully, her voice measured and calm. "But why send us? This would be our first official assignment outside the capital city walls."
Caelan nodded understandingly. "I know. Which is exactly why I weighed it very carefully before making this decision." He leaned back slightly in his carved chair. "I believe the unrest out there may be directly connected to the hooded man."
The siblings immediately stiffened at the mention of the mastermind. Since the cathedral incident, that mysterious figure had remained burned into the back of their minds.
"You are the only individuals who saw him up close and survived," Caelan continued, explaining his tactical logic. "That makes your firsthand perspective incredibly valuable to the crown's investigation." Then, he glanced toward Elina with a faint, knowing smirk. "And you won't be alone. Elina is more than capable of protecting both of you if the situation turns dire."
"Hey," Elina crossed her arms, huffing slightly as she puffed out her chest. "I heard that, Captain."
Caelan completely ignored her protest. The siblings exchanged a long, heavy glance. This assignment felt incredibly important, far more critical than a simple scouting expedition. Why send them specifically? And why send them directly into the sovereign territory of the God of Sacrifice? The followers of that particular deity were infamous throughout the realm for being intensely insular, fiercely secretive, and deeply suspicious of any outsiders. Nuri could not shake the nagging feeling that there was some vital piece of information Caelan was intentionally withholding from them.
Yet strangely... he did not want to refuse. Because beneath the lingering fear and beneath the heavy uncertainty, there was another feeling rising up within him: a burning curiosity. The desperate desire to know the absolute truth of this world, no matter how painful it might turn out to be.
"I understand if you do not wish to go," Caelan's voice interrupted his swirling thoughts, offering a gentle out. "This is entirely your choice. I will not force either of you into the wild."
Nuri looked at Alina. Alina looked back at him. Neither spoke, and neither needed to; after a lifetime of surviving together, they already understood each other's minds perfectly.
"We will go," Alina answered firmly for both of them.
Caelan smiled faintly, a look of profound relief crossing his tired face. "Good. You have permission to depart before nightfall. I wish all three of you a safe journey."
And just like that, the brief council ended. A few minutes later, the trio found themselves walking out into the corridor. The long stone hallway felt strangely vast and quiet after everything they had just been told.
Elina stretched her arms high above her head, letting out a relaxed, dramatic breath. "Well!" she grinned brightly, her vibrant red ponytail swaying behind her as she spun toward them on her heel. "I know we haven't worked together much before, but let's do our absolute best out there!"
The bright sunlight streaming through the high cathedral windows caught in her golden eyes. There wasn't a single trace of doubt or hesitation in them, only absolute confidence and genuine kindness.
Alina smiled warmly in return, extending her hand. "Agreed. Let us have a prosperous journey."
Elina immediately grasped it and gave it a firm, vigorous shake.
Nuri watched the friendly exchange in silence. Then, a sudden, completely unrelated thought occurred to him.
Alina. Elina.
He stared at the two of them blankly. Why on earth were their names so ridiculously similar? For some inexplicable reason, as they prepared to head out into the perilous unknown, that petty linguistic coincidence felt far more concerning to Nuri than the incredibly dangerous, once-in-a-lifetime mission waiting for them in the southwest.