Chapter 13 – Whisper Of Bonds
Draviel and Serenya had barely settled when the world screamed.
White fire tore across the ground like lightning splitting stone and air alike. Draviel's body reacted before thought – pure instinct. He dragged Serenya aside as the blast struck, devouring the earth and reducing solid rock to white ash.
The ground beneath them shimmered.
Too late, Draviel understood.
"This place–" he muttered.
"It wasn't real."
They ran.
The illusion collapsed violently. The earth ruptured beneath Draviel's feet and something surged upward with brutal force. Pain exploded through his side – ribs cracked, breath shattered. Blood filled his mouth as he staggered forward.
A figure emerged from the broken ground, horn tattoo etched along the left side of his neck.
A cold voice followed.
"You crossed lines meant for lesser men," the stranger said. "Now bear the punishment."
Serenya lunged towards Draviel –
– and froze.
Magic seized her limbs like ice. She crashed to the ground, unable to move. Panic surged through her chest as the forest darkened. From the treeline, a woman stepped forward, light bending unnaturally around her. A dark sigil – void shaped, crowned by a tilted hat – glimmer faintly at her neck.
"You chose poorly," the woman said calmly. "You should have stood with us."
Then–
A third voice cut through the air.
Casual, amused.
"I always enjoy bad timing."
A pressure settled beside the woman, crushing the magic itself. She turned – and went pale.
The crown man sat there as if he had always belonged, elbow resting on nothing. Crown gleaming softly. His presence alone erased spells, bent fear, and rewrote the space around him.
The woman tried to speak.
She never finished.
One moment she existed.
The next – nothing.
Serenya's body is unlocked. She gasped, grabbed Draviel and forced him to move as a sharp whistle rang out, figures emerged from every direction – drawn in by the collapse of the illusion.
Weapons flashed. Spells ignited.
And failed.
Everything aimed at Draviel unraveled before reaching him.
The crown man stood, unimpressed.
"You are weak," he said. "Too weak."
Draviel forced himself upright, blood dripping from his chin.
"Not forever."
For the first time, the crown man smiled.
"I could kill you now," he said "but I would rather wait."
He leaned closer.
"Run"
Music bled into the air – low,rhythmic, wrong. It didn't echo. It followed.
As enemies surged forward, bodies began to fall. The crown man moved through them without urgency, lives ending as if he were clearing debris from a path. Draviel ran, catching glimpse through the chaos – tattoos carved into flesh, symbols burned into skin.
Enough to know who had come for him.
A pulse struck his mind.
"Northwest, now."
A.B.G's voice cut through the carnage.
Draviel obeyed.
The illusion shattered completely.
What remained was a burning battlefield.
Members of the order 13 clashed with forces that had hidden in plain sight. Steel rang. Faith answered. Blood soaked the ground.
As the crown man faded from view, his voice drifted back like a curse carried on the wind.
"As long as desire exists," he said. "People will always choose the easier path."
Serenya looked at Draviel.
Waiting.
Watching.
Draviel stepped forward and joined the fight.
When it ended, silence fell too quickly.
Only later did Serenya understand the truth – The realms of Gods 0,3,6 and 9 took their one year from them.
Draviel had known the moment he crossed.
A.B.G appeared nearby. Stretching as if sore from the effort.
"What a drag," he muttered. "I'm retiring after this."
"Sure you are." Draviel replied.
Soon they moved again.
The forest camp was quiet. Too quiet.
Draviel stared into the fire, the book resting in his hands, eyes closed. Gods, crowns, future he did not wish to claim, circled his thoughts like vultures.
Serenya wrote while he remained silent.
When she handed him the page. Her voice softened.
"Read this before the mission starts."
Draviel ,
Sometimes the world feels heavy even for you. But listen to me, your strength is not only in the blade or in the book.
It is in how you kneel to lift the fallen,
In how you whisper prayer into storms that should have broken you.
If the faith is tested, then let mine be tested with yours.
If the Gods are false, let me walk beside you to prove it.
And if you falter, know this
I will not see you as fallen, only as a man chose to rise again.
You hide so much from me. I know.
But even your silence speaks
And in that silence, I have already chosen.
My heart belongs to you, Draviel
In life, in loss,
And even in the songs of eternity.
For the first time
Beyond parents, beyond the order of 13
Draviel was not alone.