As the city of Orion began rebuilding the destroyed structures and people finished tending to their wounds as well as their hearts, one could have thought that life was about to return to normal.
There could not have been a greater mistake.
For when everyone held their breath at the sight of the strange phenona occurring in the sky, the announcent later made by Renard sent a shock through the entire population.
And if it wasn’t for the trust they all placed in the city’s chief, no one would have abandoned their ho to flee to who-knows-where without a shred of explanation.
It was thanks to that trust that panic lasted only briefly , just long enough for the knights to form teams, reassure the citizens, and help them load as many supplies as possible into the wagons. The knights who weren’t in charge of the evacuation prepared for battle, even though they still didn’t know what enemy they were supposed to face, as the news about the duchy’s attack had not leaked.
---
Arnaud, as the young chief of the city, barked order after order without pause, until a knight brought him an urgent ssage.
"The city chief is summoning you to his private quarters. He said it was urgent."
Arnaud frowned, troubled by what this could an, before deciding to go see for himself.
When he entered the council room, he found no one. He had to search further before finally finding his father in his chamber, sitting on the bed with an old book one that looked like it belonged to a distant generation resting in his hands.
"Father, you called for ?"
Arnaud had to raise his voice to draw Renard out of his mories.
Surprised, the latter cleared his throat before gesturing for his son to sit beside him.
Several more seconds passed before Renard finally broke the silence.
"You’ve grown more than I could have hoped, and during the last battle you proved that you have the trust of the people, and that you’re more than capable of taking the position of city chief."
At that mont, Arnaud didn’t know why, but his heart trembled. Instead of feeling pride at the praise, an ominous feeling crept over him.
Before he could speak, his father reassured him, as if he could already foresee his worry.
"Don’t misunderstand. Even if you’re ready, you can only beco chief after my death." His voice aid to be soothing before he added in a lighter tone:
"And trust , this old man still has plenty of strength. Unless you give grandchildren and force to spend my days spoiling them, I have no intention of ignoring that tradition."
Arnaud’s face shifted from pale to embarrassed.
Renard, pretending not to notice, continued:
"This book, more precisely, this journal is a treasure passed down from father to son.
It records the history and traditions of our kingdom. When you consult it, you’ll find answers to every question you’ve ever had: why, three hundred years ago, our kingdom refused to join the Order along with the other nations; the reason for our decline; and the truth about the king’s return and his knights."
Arnaud’s eyes almost bulged out, and his hands shook as he received the heirloom.
"Can I..." he murmured, hesitating to open the book.
"No. From now on, you will keep the book in your possession, but it is not yet ti to read its contents. A great battle stands at our gates, and your mind must focus solely on that. Until then, you are forbidden to access this knowledge."
Arnaud looked disappointed at first, then composed himself and nodded.
---
While the city of Orion erupted into frantic activity, the other territories of the kingdom of Eterniti were not spared.
First of all, it’s worth noting that these cities and villages oppressed by the rcure clan possessed no real fighting force, having not a single awakened individual among them.
When the candidates sent there arrived, they easily made themselves listened to and took control of these settlents.
Although the inhabitants initially feared retaliation from the rcure clan, the candidates needed only to provide them with a few crates of serum and so basic trinkets to make them forget their fear and kneel before their new masters.
After all, for people who saw themselves as slaves and had long abandoned any dream of freedom, the identity of their ruler mattered little as long as they received their daily dose of serum, to which they had beco addicted.
The candidates tried to explain that they were not like those smugglers, but their words fell on deaf ears. They understood it would take ti before these people were freed from the drug’s grip.
Besides, not all candidates cared anyway: for most of them, this was just an exam trial.
They felt sympathy, but nothing more.
Moreover, the inhabitants’ total submission made their task easier, and it took no effort to make them sign a docunt declaring that they willingly adhered to the rules of the Order, along with the constraints and privileges that ca with it.
Once the signatures were done, the candidates relaxed... until the horizon darkened and strange phenona rose in the sky, threatening to descend upon them.
None of them knew what was happening or what would beco of them once the anomaly engulfed their land.
Thus, when Elizir and the others hurriedly left Orion and, using the vehicles they had seized from the rcure clan, reached the other cities, they found the candidates in a state of panic.
As for the inhabitants... they were still too clouded by the drug to even worry about the sky crashing down on their heads.
After the situation was explained to them, it didn’t take long before each town and village began to evacuate.
---
By the end of the day, as cities s and villages emptied one after another, the blackened sky and the blood-red moon already covered the entirety of Orion.
The two hundred knights who had stayed behind to buy ti felt an instinctive terror seize them. Their breath grew shallow, and goosebumps spread across their skin.
It was as if they stood naked in the cold before a feral predator capable of devouring them in a single motion.
Fortunately, all the inhabitants had already been evacuated, and with Arnaud leading them, most of the knights were heading toward a safe location.
---
Atop the walls, Renard watched the sky with a grave expression. His grip tightened around his axe with each passing second.
And when the first Calamity showed its face, he felt instinctively like a condemned man being taken from his cell to et the gallows.
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