CHAPTER 102
THE KING'S CASTLE
Outside the city, far beyond its towering walls, stood a magnificent hill surrounded by an enormous body of water. Upon its summit rested the King's Castle, an imposing structure whose silhouette dominated the surrounding landscape.
From a distance, the castle resembled a colossal beast crouching atop the hill, its dark walls overlooking the kingdom beneath it. Its presence was impossible to ignore. Even from the city streets, its towering silhouette could be seen rising above the distant rooftops, a constant reminder of the power that ruled the land.
The castle had stood for centuries.
Its foundations were laid using enormous blocks of black granite, rare minerals, and the reinforced bones of ancient beasts. These materials were not chosen merely for their appearance. They possessed extraordinary durability, allowing the castle's outer walls to withstand prolonged sieges, powerful siege weapons, and even attacks from dangerous creatures.
The walls were thick enough to shelter an entire army behind them. Their surfaces were reinforced with metallic bands engraved with ancient defensive runes, while enormous stone battlements provided soldiers with protected positions from which to defend the fortress.
Four towering watchtowers stood at the corners of the castle's outer walls.
Each tower rose several stories above the battlements, its narrow windows offering uninterrupted views of the surrounding landscape. At their summits, royal banners fluttered in the wind, displaying the kingdom's crest: the fearsome head of a black dragon.
The towers were more than defensive structures. Each contained an observation chamber, an armoury, and designated positions for archers and spirit-energy warriors. At night, enchanted crystals illuminated their upper platforms, ensuring that the surrounding waters remained visible even in darkness.
The body of water surrounding the hill served as a natural defence.
Its dark surface reflected the castle's towering walls, creating the illusion that another fortress existed beneath the water. The lake was deep, and its currents could become treacherous during storms.
There was only one official route into the castle.
A massive drawbridge connected the hill to the mainland. Constructed from thick wooden beams reinforced with metal plates, it rested upon enormous supports and was strengthened by heavy chains embedded with beast crystals.
The crystals supplied the mechanism with additional power, allowing the bridge to be raised or lowered despite its tremendous weight.
Beyond the drawbridge stood the Great Gate.
The enormous entrance was constructed from dark timber reinforced with layers of iron. Its surface was decorated with intricate carvings depicting legendary beasts and past royal victories. Above it hung a heavy spiked portcullis, designed to drop instantly if the gate came under attack.
Armed soldiers guarded the entrance around the clock.
Their polished beast-armour gleamed beneath the torchlight, and their weapons carried the distinctive markings of the royal army. Every visitor, noble or commoner, was subject to inspection before being permitted to enter.
Past the Great Gate lay the outer courtyard.
It was a vast expanse of carefully laid stone, large enough to accommodate military formations, royal ceremonies, and visiting delegations. Soldiers moved between the barracks and armoury, while squires carried equipment and tended to the needs of the knights.
Training grounds occupied one side of the courtyard.
Even in the middle of the night, activities never dulled.
There, warriors practised swordsmanship, defensive formations, and spirit-energy techniques beneath the supervision of veteran commanders. The clash of steel rang throughout the grounds, accompanied by the occasional burst of coloured aura as warriors tested their abilities.
Nearby stood the royal stables, where powerful mounts and specially bred beasts were kept. Beyond them were the armory buildings, supply chambers, and barracks that housed the soldiers responsible for defending the castle.
At the centre of everything stood the Great Keep.
It was the tallest and most important structure within the castle walls, rising above the surrounding buildings like a mountain of carved stone. Its exterior combined black granite with pale mineral inlays, while narrow towers and ornamental spires gave its upper levels an imposing silhouette.
Large windows illuminated its upper chambers at night.
Behind its walls lay the royal residence, administrative offices, private audience chambers, and halls reserved for the kingdom's most important guests. Ancient banners hung from the ceilings, their colours faded by time but their embroidered crests still recognisable.
Battle-worn shields and weapons decorated the corridors. Portraits of past kings and queens lined the walls, their painted eyes following visitors as they passed beneath them.
Some monarchs were remembered as great conquerors. Others were celebrated for bringing peace to the kingdom.
Their legacies remained woven into the architecture.
At the heart of the Great Keep lay the throne room.
Its enormous doors were reinforced with bronze and decorated with the royal dragon. Beyond them stretched a vast hall supported by towering stone pillars that rose toward a vaulted ceiling. Elaborate carvings covered the pillars, depicting ancient battles, legendary beasts, and the founding of the kingdom.
Long royal banners hung between them.
Polished black stone covered the floor, interrupted by intricate patterns of gold and silver mineral inlays that formed a pathway toward the far end of the chamber.
There, elevated upon a wide platform, stood the King's throne.
It had been carved from a single mass of black stone and adorned with precious gems, rare minerals, and the bones of an ancient dragon. Its high back bore the image of the royal crest, while the armrests were shaped like the heads of snarling beasts.
The throne was designed to inspire awe.
From that seat, generations of rulers had commanded armies, received foreign dignitaries, declared wars, and determined the fate of countless lives.
It was a place of authority, tradition, and absolute power.
And within the enormous fortress, beyond its guarded gates and crowded courtyards, lay countless chambers containing the kingdom's most closely guarded secrets.
Some were known to every noble.
Others were known only to a privileged few.
Tonight, four young intruders had entered the castle grounds without passing through its Great Gate.
And none of the soldiers patrolling the fortress had the slightest idea.
---
The moment the metal casing settled beneath the flowers, Anya took charge.
She had remained relatively quiet throughout their journey beneath the earth, allowing Roman to lead the expedition. But the moment they emerged into the King's garden, the situation changed.
This was familiar territory.
As the daughter of the head of the Phoenix Fire Clan, the most powerful clan in the kingdom, Anya had visited the royal castle on numerous occasions.
Her father frequently attended royal gatherings, private meetings, and formal ceremonies, and she had accompanied him often enough to become familiar with the castle's layout.
She knew the courtyards.
She knew the gardens.
And, more importantly, she knew how to move through the castle without attracting unnecessary attention.
Anya examined the surroundings, recognising the arrangement of the flowerbeds and the stone path winding between the trees.
The garden was larger than most estates.
Carefully trimmed hedges divided it into separate sections, while marble fountains and ornamental ponds decorated the pathways. Tall trees provided shade during the day, and clusters of enchanted flowers illuminated the garden at night.
Several stone statues stood among the vegetation, depicting former kings, queens, and legendary warriors.
Beyond the garden, the palace buildings rose behind the walls.
Lanterns illuminated the covered walkways connecting them, and distant voices occasionally drifted through the night air.
Anya watched the nearest patrol move past an opening between the hedges.
She waited until the soldiers disappeared around the corner.
Then she turned toward her companions.
"Stay close. I know where we're going."
There was no uncertainty in her voice.
Roman nodded, allowing her to take the lead.
Anya had been inside the castle many times, but she had no intention of becoming careless. Familiarity was useful, not a guarantee of safety. The castle's patrols changed, and the guards could be unpredictable.
She raised one hand.
Her pink aura emerged around her fingers, barely visible beneath the moonlight.
The air around her began to distort.
At first, the effect resembled heat shimmering above a road. Then the distortion spread across her body, bending the surrounding light until her outline became increasingly difficult to distinguish.
A moment later, she disappeared.
Not through ordinary invisibility.
Anya had manipulated the space around herself, bending the light and the immediate perception of her position so that observers looking directly toward her would see only the scenery behind her.
She moved several steps away.
Roman watched her disappear between two flowerbeds.
Then a faint ripple appeared in the air.
Anya reappeared beside him.
"That should make things easier," she whispered.
She extended her hand toward the others.
The spatial distortion spread outward.
One by one, Roman, Sylver, and Lunar vanished from sight. Their bodies remained physically present, but the space around them concealed their outlines, blending them into the garden.
The effect required concentration. Maintaining it over several people was more demanding than concealing herself alone, especially while moving.
Anya adjusted the distortion carefully.
"Don't wander too far from me," she instructed quietly. "If you separate too much, the concealment becomes harder to maintain."
Roman gave a small nod.
Lunar surveyed the nearby buildings, studying the positions of the lanterns and the paths taken by the guards.
Fury climbed onto Anya's shoulder.
His perception extended beyond the garden, mapping the movements of the patrols and detecting activity along the nearby walkways.
Anya closed her eyes briefly, combining what she could sense with what Fury was detecting.
Two guards were approaching from the eastern path.
Another pair stood near a stone archway farther ahead.
A larger group was gathered in the courtyard beyond the garden walls.
She adjusted their route accordingly.
Instead of taking the main path, Anya led them through a narrow gap between a hedge and a decorative stone wall. They moved beneath the branches of a flowering tree before crossing a small bridge over an ornamental stream.
A patrol passed only a short distance away.
One soldier paused beside the bridge, looking toward the water.
Roman remained completely still.
Sylver watched the soldier carefully, her attention fixed on his hands and the weapon hanging from his belt.
The guard eventually continued walking.
Anya waited until his footsteps faded before moving again.
They crossed the bridge and entered a quieter section of the garden, where tall hedges concealed them from the courtyard.
Here, the architecture changed.
The decorative garden structures gave way to practical buildings attached to the inner castle wall. Narrow service doors opened into corridors used by servants and maintenance workers, while covered walkways connected the garden to the castle's residential and administrative sections.
Anya recognised the area immediately.
She had passed through these grounds during previous visits with her father.
She knew which buildings were frequently occupied and which passages offered quieter routes through the castle.
Most importantly, she knew the direction they needed to take.
Anya stopped behind a stone statue and studied the building ahead.
Several windows were illuminated, and a pair of guards stood beneath the nearest archway. Their weapons were drawn, though their posture suggested routine duty rather than an immediate threat.
She considered the alternatives.
The main archway was too exposed. Crossing the open courtyard would risk drawing attention, even with her spatial concealment.
Instead, she turned toward a narrow service passage partially hidden behind climbing vines.
It was less direct, but it offered better cover.
Anya looked back at the others.
Her expression was serious beneath her hood.
They had successfully entered the King's grounds, but that was only the beginning. The castle was enormous, and its interior was filled with soldiers, servants, and people who could unexpectedly cross their path.
Their concealment would help them avoid detection, but it would not protect them from every possible mistake.
Anya raised her hand, maintaining the distortion around the group.
Then she slipped into the narrow passage.
Roman followed.
Sylver and Lunar came behind them, with Fury remaining alert on Anya's shoulder.
The garden disappeared behind the stone walls as they advanced into the castle's inner grounds.
For the first time that night, Roman was no longer responsible for finding the way forward.
That responsibility belonged to Anya.
And she intended to make sure they reached their destination without a single guard discovering that they were there.
TBC