Chapter 3: Echoes Beneath the Marble Palace
Night had fallen over Noneas, but the moon was hidden behind dense clouds, leaving the world in a soft, uncertain half-light. Enai tucked Jevon's warning into memory as she navigated the twisting alleys toward the city's western gate, where the caravan road led onward to Regilium. Every footstep sounded amplified. Every distant shout, carriage wheel, or clattering horse hoof seemed poised to betray her.
When she reached the gate, Jevon was waiting under the cracked lion relief, his dark cloak blending into the shadows.
"Time is short," he whispered, offering her a narrow leather satchel. "Inside are forged passes—made in Ronor. They'll grant us entry to Regilium's outer walls under cover of diplomatic escort. After that… silence and shadows."
She took the satchel and traced the embossed insignia of a moon cradled by two crossing olive branches—the seal of Ronor's secret envoy corps. Even the shape spoke of alliances brokered in darkness.
"Lead on," she said.
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The Journey to Regilium
At a trot, they left Noneas behind. The highroad, lined with broken columns heaved under moonless sky. Jevon led two silent riders in polished blue-and-silver armor, each bearing the diplomatic staff of Ronor. Their lanterns cast a trembling glow across the way, illuminating roadside altars piled with offerings of grain and oil—a reminder of those who walked this road before them seeking blessings.
Enai's heart thrummed not from exertion but from anticipation. In daylight, this route was alive with merchants, soldiers, and refugees. At night, it belonged to ghosts: those who had perished in bandit raids, those who had vanished after secret missions, and those who had collapsed beneath the weight of empire.
They passed where Necon's first regent had set the western milestones—tall marble obelisks carved with the initials "R.I. I" (Regilium Imperator, First). Each marker stood weathered, sometimes half-submerged in grass, as though reluctant to admit the passing centuries. It was said that under the westernmost obelisk, a hidden doorway led to forgotten vaults devoted to Necon's founding myths… but Jevon did not pause to investigate.
After three hours, they reached the outer moat of Regilium. A guard in obsidian breastplate rode out, shouting a challenge. Jevon produced the Ronorian passes. The guard studied them under his lantern.
"Sheath your swords," the guard commanded. "Diplomats pass, but only lightly armed." He waved them through.
Enai's breath caught. She spotted the palace walls ahead—towers of white limestone rising like a jagged crown. Their smooth surfaces were carved with scenes of conquest: Necon armies crossing the Great Divide, treaty scrolls being signed, and the first Lynouan envoys bearing gifts of moonstone and saffron.
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Through the Gate of Whispers
Inside the gate, they found themselves in the Court of Murmurs, a vast forecourt lit by dozens of brazier fires. Shadows danced across stone benches where advisors in embroidered robes murmured among themselves, speaking in hushed tones about grain shortages, border incidents, and the growing threat of Amchel.
Jevon leaned in. "Stay close. If we're recognized… well, a Lynouan diplomat far from home is a convenient hostage."
Enai concealed her silver dagger beneath her cloak. She would rather die than be paraded as a bargaining chip. With a curt nod, she followed the Ronorian riders through a smaller postern gate set into the palace's inner wall.
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The Eastern Palace Vaults
Beyond the postern, Joseph of the Ronor escort whispered directions to a silent watchman in dark leather. The watchman punched a sequence of stones set into the archway—a discreet latch, centuries old. With a grinding rumble, the door swung open.
They entered a wide corridor lit by flickering torches. The walls were bare — unadorned limestone — a stark contrast to the palace's grand halls above. The air smelled of damp earth and old stone. Jevon halted at a battered wooden door reinforced with iron bands.
"This is it," he said. "Beyond here lie the vaults beneath the eastern palace."
He drew a slender iron key from his cloak and fit it into the lock. The door swung inward, revealing a narrow stair spiraling downward into darkness.
Heart pounding, Enai followed. In the dim glow of their torches, she glimpsed runic etchings on the walls—symbols older than Necon's founding. Some showed figures with wolf-heads bowing to crescent moons; others depicted twin serpents coiling around a tower. Perhaps these were warnings. Perhaps they were calls for worship.
Jevon whispered, "These signs predate even Lynoua's oldest chronicles. The palace is built atop a confluence of ley-lines, or so the old texts say."
Enai's mind raced. The relic Jevon spoke of—once wielded by her ancestors—might be here for a reason: not only to grant power, but to anchor the palace itself.
⸻
Vault of Silent Kings
After twenty winding steps, they entered a low chamber. The air was chill, heavy with dust. Off to one side, iron-bound chests and clay jars lay stacked against the wall. On the opposite wall, a stone dais held a large rectangular slab carved with the visage of an ancient king—Lynoua legend whispered his name: Kairos the First, the founder who led the original exodus westward.
Enai approached the slab cautiously. At its base lay a small cavity—empty save for a faint dusting of moon-white powder.
"Here," Jevon said softly. "This is the spot. The relic was once housed in Kairos's sarcophagus—yet thieves took it ages ago, or so the official story goes."
He produced a narrow vial from his cloak. "We brought cherry‐root powder to reveal hidden glyphs." With a careful hand, he sprinkled it along the carved lines. The pale dust settled, highlighting a pattern of runes that glowed faintly in the torchlight: a rune of binding and a rune of awakening.
Enai traced the smaller rune with her finger. "This is Lynouan," she murmured. "My people used it to seal oaths with the moon-god."
Jevon nodded. "The pact bound the relic to the founder's bloodline. Only a descendant can awaken it." His gaze flicked to Enai. "We need you."
⸻
Awakening the Moon's Echo
Enai swallowed. All her life, she had trained with sword and mind, studying Lycea's silver rites taught in Lynoua's moon-templ es. Now she stood in the heart of Regilium, alone with ancient powers.
She cleared her throat. "Show me what to do."
Jevon handed her a slender circlet of pale steel, set with a single moonstone at its center. It was warm to the touch. "Place this atop the dais. Recite the First Oath of Kairos."
Enai knelt, careful not to touch the carved king. She laid the circlet on the dais. Closing her eyes, she let her Lynouan words flow:
"By the moon's silent grace
And the blood of Kairos's line,
I bind what was lost
To awaken at my sign."
The moment she spoke the final word, the stone slab hummed with a low vibration. Dust fell from the carvings. The moonstone glowed pale blue. A shaft of light—strange, cold—pierced the chamber's gloom from a hidden crevice above.
Enai's heart pounded. She felt the relic stir beneath the dais. A metallic clink sounded. The floor trembled.
Jevon placed his hand on her shoulder. "Hurry."
⸻
The Hidden Compartment
Jevon knelt and pressed on a carved rune. The slab shifted, sliding aside to reveal a deep niche. Inside lay a small iron chest banded with silver. Enai lifted it, its weight strangely heavy—yet she sensed something immense held within.
Just then, footsteps thundered on the stair above.
"Soldiers!" Jevon hissed.
Enai secured the chest beneath her cloak. They slipped into a side passage revealed by the shifting slab, tucking themselves behind a thick pillar.
Two Necon palace guards—ornate breastplates etched with the imperial sun—raced past, torches blazing and swords drawn.
"Check the vaults," one barked. "They say a Lynouan princess was here with Ronorian spies."
Enai's breath caught. The guard's words confirmed the worst: their intrusion was known. The brief pause before total disaster stretched like a dagger across her throat.
Then, as the guards hurried away in search of the empty slab, Jevon exhaled.
"We move now," he whispered, voice taut.
⸻
Flight Through the Forgotten Halls
They retraced their steps swiftly, circumnavigating the chamber. Enai clutched the chest; cold metal seeped warmth into her palm. Above, distant shouts echoed—guards mustering throughout the palace.
Jevon opened the wooden door at the corridor's end and they burst onto the stair. Upward they ran, steps slick with millennia of dust, until they reached the postern door. Jevon jiggled the lock, but it refused to budge.
"Back up!" he hissed.
They retreated into a short lateral tunnel—one of many sealed centuries ago. Moonlight filtered through cracks in the stone, revealing painted murals of Lynouan founders, their arms raised to celestial bodies. One figure wore the same rune-etched circlet Enai had just used.
"It's a shortcut," Jevon said, pointing ahead. "These halls lead to the old servants' exit, beyond the stables."
Enai followed, heart hammering. Each tunnel turn felt like deeper descent into unknown catacombs. Somewhere above them, the palace was aflame with alarm.
At last, they emerged into a narrow alcove beneath a crumbling arch. Jevon pressed a hidden lever; a section of the wall swung inward to reveal a low passage. A cold night breeze drifted in, carrying the scent of horse and wet earth.
They slipped through and emerged behind the stables. Lantern light flickered against sweat-slicked bodies of palace grooms and pack animals. Beyond the stables lay the outer wall, with Necon's watchers posted at intervals.
⸻
Escape into Midnight Fields
Enai and Jevon moved like phantoms across the damp grass. The heavy chest threatened to slow her, but adrenaline sharpened her resolve. Once beyond the stables, they made a dash for the tree line that bordered the city.
Above them, a bell tolled—a long, sonorous warning.
Amid the clamor of palace alarm, Jevon drew a small bronze whistle from his cloak and blew. Within moments, Ronorian riders emerged like shadows among the pines, their horses snorting in the moonlit gloom.
"Mount!" Jevon ordered.
Enai vaulted onto a steed, the iron chest secured at her side. The riders surged forward, hooves thundering. Torches flickered on the palace walls as guards spilled into open fields, but the Ronorian escort formed a protective ring and bore her swiftly away.
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A New Dawn
They rode through the starless night toward Noneas, the chest between them ready to reveal the relic's power at dawn. Enai's heart still pounded, but she felt a fierce pride as well: she had braved the greatest city in the world, defied Necon's palace, and reclaimed a fragment of her ancestors' legacy.
As the first pale light of dawn brushed the horizon, Enai gazed at the iron chest and spoke softly:
"To Lynoua's rebirth," she said — and felt the weight of history, mystery, and destiny settle upon her shoulders.
Behind her, the world stirred. Empires would tremble, alliances would fracture, and a new age would dawn… all because a daughter of the old kingdom dared to claim her birthright beneath a marble palace.
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End of Chapter 3.
Secrets awakened. Shadows falling. The web of fate grows ever more tangled.