They hit the ground hard enough to shake the mud beneath them.
Kael felt the breath blasted out of his lungs as Lyra slammed down on top of him, still clutching him against her body even after the fall. Her arm stayed wrapped around his shoulders. Warm blood spilled from her lips in thick choking bursts, splattering across his chest and throat.
"Shreve!" he gasped, panic stabbing through him.
The thing in golden armor came diving after them like a thunderbolt hurled from the sky. Purple lightning crawled over its cracked shield as it raised the weapon overhead with both hands.
Then it brought the shield crashing down.
In that instant, Lyra moved.
Her hand snapped upward behind her back. A streak of violet light screamed into the air like a spear of living lightning. It struck the creature square in the chest. The armor plate protecting its heart exploded apart in a shower of metal shards, and the beam punched straight through its body.
The monster jerked violently.
It hung there in midair, trembling.
"Die already," Lyra hissed through clenched teeth.
Her fingers twisted into a sharp flower-sign. The violet bolt that had pierced the sky abruptly curved back around. It came slashing down from above at an angle and drove straight through the creature's skull.
The thing let out a low, ugly moan.
Then its entire body crashed to the earth.
The impact tore it apart.
Chunks of armor and flesh scattered across the rocky slope while thick green blood sprayed everywhere in steaming arcs.
Kael nearly shouted in triumph.
But his throat still barely worked from the chain's paralysis. Only a broken wheeze escaped him.
Lyra forced herself upright with obvious effort. Her breathing came in shallow ragged pulls as she reached for the glowing purple chain wrapped around Kael's body. Bit by bit, she loosened it and dragged it away from him before tossing it aside into the dirt.
The moment she finished, the strength vanished from her body.
She coughed another mouthful of blood and collapsed back onto his chest.
"Shreve... how bad are you hurt?" Kael finally managed to ask.
The moment the strange chain left him, the numbness in his limbs began fading quickly.
"Don't talk." Her voice came weak and strained. "Regulate your Vitae. Hurry. There may still be enemies nearby."
Kael's heart tightened.
He immediately obeyed.
Lyra lay against him silently while she began healing herself. Her eyes remained shut. Her breathing gradually slowed as she guided her Vitae through her Channels.
Kael had been paralyzed for a long while, but aside from that, he carried no serious injuries. Before long, strength flowed back into his body. Heat returned to his arms and legs.
Still, he did not dare move.
Lyra was healing. Disturbing her now could be dangerous.
So he stayed beneath her in silence.
Above them, the sky stretched vast and pale blue. The wind blowing over the hills carried the scent of wet earth and distant rain. Loose strands of Lyra's dark hair drifted softly across his face, tickling his skin.
Kael stared at her.
Blood still stained the corner of her mouth.
Even hurt and pale, she looked unreal. Too beautiful for the brutal world around them.
"She almost got herself killed for me..."
The thought hammered inside his chest.
Then another memory surfaced.
The first time they had met.
Back then she had fallen against him too, bodies pressed together on cold stone while death closed in around them. The angle had been different, but everything else felt terrifyingly familiar.
That same face only inches away.
That same soft weight pressing against his chest.
That same intoxicating scent surrounding him while she saved his life at the very last moment.
Even now the fragrance drifting from her body was sweet enough to make his head swim.
Kael inhaled quietly.
Greedily.
The smell pulled another memory from the dark corners of his mind.
A cool night breeze.
The Pavilion hidden beneath broad leaves.
A cramped stone bench.
Bodies tangled too close together.
His thoughts began drifting somewhere dangerous.
Slowly, color returned to Lyra's snow-pale face.
Kael watched her breathing even out while waves crashed endlessly inside his skull. Wind brushed over his skin. The woman before him seemed more beautiful every second he looked at her.
Something hot and unfamiliar twisted quietly inside his chest.
Then lower.
His body reacted before his brain caught up.
Lyra's eyes suddenly opened.
She blinked once.
Then looked directly at him.
"You..." she said softly.
Kael froze.
A heartbeat later, horror hit him.
His ears burned red instantly.
"I— no— I wasn't—" he stammered miserably. "I didn't mean— it's just hot. A little hot."
A faint blush touched Lyra's face too.
"You can move again?" she asked.
Kael nodded furiously.
"Then help me sit up."
"Yes."
He scrambled upright and carefully helped her into a seated position.
Lyra crossed her legs and settled into meditation again.
"Guard me," she murmured. "A little longer and I'll recover."
"Yes, Shreve."
Kael rose immediately and stood watch nearby.
Lyra closed her eyes once more and resumed healing herself.
"Idiot. Damn idiot," Kael cursed inwardly while heat still burned across his face. "She nearly died saving me and I'm sitting there thinking with my cock."
Unable to bear looking at her any longer, he forced his eyes away.
His gaze landed on the shattered corpse of the monster.
Curiosity quickly replaced embarrassment.
"What in the hell was that thing?"
He walked toward the remains carefully.
The creature's green blood hissed faintly where it soaked into the dirt. Its body looked vaguely human but twisted wrong in too many places. The armor fused directly into patches of flesh. Purple sparks still crawled over the broken shield fragments.
"And that chain..." Kael muttered. "That damned thing almost sealed my whole body."
Then he remembered where Lyra had thrown the weapon.
He scanned the area until he spotted both the purple chain and shield lying nearby. Violet light still flowed faintly across their surfaces.
Kael hurried over.
The moment his fingers touched the chain itself, a violent numbness shot through his hand.
He jerked back with a curse.
"Shit!"
After studying it more closely, he noticed one end had a handle wrapped in dark leather. He cautiously touched that part instead.
No paralysis.
Grinning, Kael finally picked it up.
The weapon felt surprisingly balanced in his hand.
He gave it an experimental swing. Purple sparks crackled through the air.
"Well now..." he muttered. "This thing's nasty."
He looked openly delighted.
"A weapon that seals Channels on contact? Whoever made this was a complete bastard."
His eyes gleamed.
"And now it's mine."
Next he picked up the shield.
The same strange metal.
The same violet glow.
The same carved markings running along the surface.
"These were forged together," he realized. "A matched set."
Kael snorted.
"Fine by me. If somebody's stupid enough to bring treasures straight to my doorstep, I'd be an idiot not to take them."
He stuffed both weapons into The Wardian Satchel before returning to Lyra's side.
He guarded her quietly for a while longer.
Eventually her breathing deepened. The currents of Vitae around her body faded. Then she slowly opened her eyes again.
Kael immediately crouched beside her.
"You recovered?"
Lyra nodded once.
"Mostly. Seven or eight parts out of ten."
Kael frowned.
"Not fully?"
"That hairy little bastard wasn't especially powerful," she said calmly. "Its combat skill and divine force were ordinary enough. But those weapons were troublesome. That shield nearly shattered my protective Vitae the moment it struck."
Kael's stomach tightened.
"You're seriously hurt, then."
"It's nothing fatal." She wiped the blood from her lips with the back of her hand. "Two or three days and I'll recover completely."
Kael finally relaxed a little.
Still, anger simmered beneath his relief.
"That thing attacked us without even speaking first," he growled. "What the hell was its problem? Was it one of Lord Ossian's creatures?"
Lyra shook her head.
"No. It wasn't part of the Bone Legion."
Kael blinked.
"Then what was it? It looked like some damned monster."
"It wasn't a monster either," Lyra said.
Kael stared at her.
"What?"
"That thing was a god."
Silence.
Kael honestly wondered if he had misheard her.
"A... god?"
"Yes." Lyra's expression stayed calm. "A Thunder General from the Empyrean Thunder Court. Your Sixth Elder-Uncle summoned it to capture you."
Kael's jaw slowly dropped open.
"My Sixth Elder-Uncle can enslave divine generals?"
"That isn't unusual among high adepts. Many people within the Covenant command spirits or gods in one form or another. Varek Smolden is only one of them."
"Spirits, maybe," Kael muttered. "But gods?"
Lyra folded her hands loosely in her lap.
"There's an entire branch of Wardplate Mastery devoted specifically to commanding the Thunder Generals of the Empyrean Realm. The old traditions call it many names. Thunder rites. Storm commandments. Divine lightning scripture." She looked at him steadily. "Within the Covenant, it's known as The Thunderbolt Codex."
Kael listened in stunned silence.
"There are one hundred and ninety thunder laws within the Codex," Lyra continued. "Each law corresponds to one Thunder General from the Court above. Master a law, and you gain the right to summon that general."
Kael gave a disbelieving laugh.
"You're telling me one spell lets somebody command a divine soldier from the heavens?"
"Exactly."
He shook his head slowly.
"That's insane."
Lyra continued calmly.
"The Empyrean Thunder Court is divided into five ministries. Heaven. God. Dragon. Water. And Social Commandery."
Her eyes narrowed slightly.
"The last division is the strangest. The so-called wild thunder gods. Half-feral divine things that refuse direct service to the Empyrean Throne. They answer only to specific thunder laws."
Kael glanced toward the shattered remains nearby.
"So that ugly bastard came from there?"
"Most likely." Lyra nodded. "Your Sixth Elder-Uncle is especially skilled at summoning from the Social Commandery."
Kael whistled under his breath.
"No wonder Varek Smolden became famous for slaughtering demon kings across the wildlands."
Lyra shook her head again.
"You misunderstand him."
Kael looked back at her.
"Varek's greatest strength was never divine summoning," she said quietly. "He is one of the Covenant's true masters of raw Vitae cultivation. His core art specializes in destroying dark beings and corrupt forces." Her gaze hardened slightly. "Most of the monsters and demon lords he killed died by that power, not by borrowed thunder."
Kael exhaled slowly.
"Damn..."
The awe in his voice was impossible to hide.
"My Sixth Elder-Uncle really knows some terrifying arts."
Lyra Farrow watched the distant lightning scars still fading across the sky.
"The truly powerful avoid thunder arts whenever they can," she said at last. "Lightning is tied to the hinges of creation itself. Thunder laws are commands stolen from the machinery of the world. Every invocation is complicated. Slow. Dangerous." Her voice turned colder. "One mistake, and the summoned general tears the caster apart through Backlash. Plenty of fools in the Mortal Realm have died trying."
Kael sat beside her beneath the shattered trees, dirt and blood crusted across his skin. His limbs still trembled from the earlier paralysis. Every muscle ached.
Lyra continued quietly. "That's why the Covenant never encouraged such arts. Your Sixth Elder-Uncle only used the Thunderbolt Codex because we trapped him long enough to force his hand."
Kael stared at the ground for several seconds.
Then the weight crushing his chest finally forced its way out.
"Shreve..." His voice sounded small. "What Elder-Uncle Varek said earlier... what was all that supposed to mean?"
Lyra turned toward him.
For a long moment she said nothing.
Kael's face slowly drained pale.
"So it's true?" His throat tightened. "Everything he said?"
The look in Lyra's eyes hurt more than any answer could have.
Pity.
Worry.
Helplessness.
Kael's lips shook slightly. "I really am..." He swallowed hard. "Some demon bastard?"
Lyra reached out slowly and touched the side of his face.
Her fingers were warm despite the cold wind.
"No matter who your parents were," she said softly, "none of this is your fault. You've done nothing wrong."
The words hit him like a blade.
Not denial.
Confirmation.
Kael suddenly felt weak all over. His shoulders quivered. The breath in his lungs turned ragged.
For years he had joked about being cursed.
An unwanted orphan.
A troublemaker dumped at the Runeward Chapter's gates like stray garbage.
But jokes stopped being funny once they became real.
"I..." His voice cracked. "I'm really one of them..."
"Kael—"
"My Master abandoned me." The words burst out of him with ugly desperation. "She threw me away..."
His vision blurred.
Then the grief finally broke him.
A raw sob tore from his throat.
Lyra's heart clenched painfully at the sound.
Without hesitation she pulled him into her arms.
Kael buried his face against her chest as the sobbing came harder. His body shook violently. Years of trust and belonging were collapsing inside him all at once.
"Foolish boy," Lyra murmured, stroking his hair gently. "Your Master didn't abandon you. She had no choice."
"Then why?" he choked out. "Why did this happen? Why now?"
Lyra fell silent again.
The truth behind Kael's bloodline involved matters even she did not fully understand. Ancient things. Hidden things. Secrets tied to powers that made even Primus Valder tread carefully.
And now Varek Smolden had ripped the wound open in front of everyone.
Kael lifted his head slightly. Tears clung to his lashes.
"Tell me everything you know."
"I can't." Lyra exhaled quietly. "Because I don't know everything myself. There are still too many missing pieces."
She hesitated before continuing.
"But right now none of that matters as much as this—you need to disappear."
Kael stiffened immediately.
"No."
"You must."
"No." He pushed himself upright, anger suddenly flaring through the misery. "Why should I hide? I haven't murdered anyone. I haven't hurt innocent people. So what if my father belonged to the Shadow Fox Lineage?"
Lyra's gaze sharpened.
"You are not listening." Her tone grew grave. "Your blood alone would already draw danger. But the thing inside you..." Her eyes flicked toward his abdomen. "The Primordial Sigil is coveted by powers far beyond anything you understand. If Varek returns to Phoenixspur and reports this to the Primus, the entire Covenant will know. After that..." She paused. "Every monster, divine court, and hidden power across the Three Realms may come looking for you."
Kael stared at her blankly.
Slowly, unconsciously, he pressed a hand against his stomach.
The faint warmth beneath his navel pulsed weakly under his palm.
"This thing?" he whispered. "That's the Primordial Sigil?" He frowned hard. "What the hell even is it?"
Lyra shook her head.
"I'll explain another time."
That answer only deepened the panic clawing through him.
But Lyra was already rising to her feet.
"I know a hidden place," she said. "Remote. Safe enough for now. I'll take you there first."
Kael wiped angrily at his eyes. "What place?"
Before she could answer, the world darkened.
Both of them turned instinctively.
Far across the southern horizon, enormous pillars of crimson light erupted upward into the sky.
Kael froze.
The sight was monstrous.
Several vast red torrents twisted together like bleeding wounds ripped open through heaven itself. Clouds blackened around them instantly. The entire southern skyline became drenched in scarlet.
"What the hell is that?" Kael breathed.
Lyra narrowed her eyes but did not answer.
Kael stared harder.
Then sudden recognition hit him.
"That direction..." His face changed. "That's near the Bone Warren."
The crimson streams thickened rapidly.
Within moments they spread outward across the heavens, forming a gigantic blood-red veil that swallowed the sun itself. The light over the wilderness dimmed into a sick crimson twilight.
Kael felt his heartbeat quicken.
The pressure in the air turned wrong.
Heavy.
Wet.
Like breathing beside an open grave.
"Is that some kind of dark rite?" he asked uneasily.
Lyra finally spoke.
"Yes."
Her expression had become extremely serious.
"A very large one."
Kael looked back toward the spreading blood-clouds.
Then he saw movement.
The enormous crimson veil was drifting northward.
Slowly.
Relentlessly.
Like an ocean tide rolling across the sky.
"It's heading north..." he muttered.
Then realization struck.
North meant Mirekeep.
His eyes widened.
"They're attacking the city."
---
The day had begun beautifully.
Sunlight washed across the walls of Mirekeep while warm winds drifted in from the Dread Mire. Soldiers shouted across battlements. Civilians hauled crates of arrows and stones through crowded streets. Blacksmith hammers rang endlessly from temporary forges built near the inner wall.
Every section of the fortress-city boiled with preparation.
Armor.
Siege bolts.
Oil casks.
Ballista frames.
The Iron Maw Legion had transformed the entire city into a war machine.
Along the walls, every few dozen paces, strange angular objects sat beneath enormous oilcloth coverings. Heavy guards surrounded each one, refusing civilians permission to approach.
Nobody outside the command ranks knew exactly what they were.
But rumors spread constantly.
Some claimed they were ancient Covenant weapons.
Others whispered they were forbidden construct engines purchased from Fell Realm smugglers.
Whatever the truth, the sight of them gave nervous soldiers at least a little comfort.
Until the sky changed.
Without warning, daylight dimmed.
The shift happened so suddenly that conversations stopped mid-sentence.
The world turned red.
Not sunset red.
Blood red.
Every soldier and laborer on the walls looked upward together.
Far to the south, enormous crimson clouds rolled silently across the horizon.
The Dread Mire was famous for violent weather. Sudden storms were common near the marshlands.
But this was different.
Every instinct screamed it was different.
Men began breathing harder without understanding why.
One worker pointed upward shakily.
"Why are the clouds red?"
Nobody answered.
The blood-clouds moved with terrifying speed despite their distant appearance. Within minutes they swallowed half the sky. Shadows spread across Mirekeep.
Then new shapes appeared near the horizon below the crimson heavens.
Dark-red dust.
Huge amounts of it.
The ground itself seemed to be vomiting crimson smoke upward.
Fear spread across the walls.
"What's happening?"
Still nobody answered.
Then a deep sound rolled across the plains.
"WUUUUUNG—"
The noise was long.
Ancient.
Wrong.
It vibrated through stone and bone alike.
Something enormous moved inside the crimson dust-clouds.
Several enormous silhouettes emerged side by side.
Advancing slowly toward Mirekeep.
"What are those?"
"What the fuck is that?"
"Gods preserve us..."
The walls erupted into frightened shouting.
Every eye locked onto the approaching shapes.
Then the dust finally thinned.
And the defenders of Mirekeep saw them clearly.
Giant skeletal horrors.
Each one towered over ordinary siege engines like a mountain over gravestones.
Bone Towers.
Their bodies resembled colossal humanoid skeletons fused with fortress walls and butchered battlements. Black iron chains hung between their ribs. Rotting banners snapped from jagged spinal spires. Their skulls burned with rivers of crimson fire pouring from empty eye sockets.
And crawling across every tower—
Undead.
Thousands of them.
Skeleton soldiers clung to the towering structures in dense masses like colonies of corpse-white insects. Some carried hooked blades. Others wielded enormous rusted axes, barbed spears, serrated hooks, or twisted bows strung with black tendon.
Every single skull faced Mirekeep.
Hungry.
Below the towers marched endless ranks of skeletal infantry.
Perfect formations.
Silent discipline.
Rows upon rows of armored undead stretched across the plains beneath the blood-red sky. Halberds rose and fell together as they advanced.
The sight shattered morale instantly.
Some civilians dropped where they stood.
Others began openly praying.
Even veteran soldiers of the Iron Maw Legion looked pale.
The Bone Towers kept coming.
Each gigantic footstep shook the earth hard enough to rattle the city walls.
THOOM.
THOOM.
THOOM.
Dust cascaded from stone battlements.
One terrified young soldier whispered, "That thing's taller than the walls..."
Then panic exploded completely.
"Undead!"
"The Bone Legion's attacking!"
"There are too many!"
"How are we supposed to fight those things?!"
"Get the commanders!"
"Sound every alarm!"
The battlements dissolved into chaos.
Men shoved each other.
Workers abandoned supply carts.
Several militia recruits openly tried to flee down the inner staircases.
Then a military officer drew his blade and roared with every ounce of strength in his lungs.
"BACK TO YOUR POSTS!"
The shout cracked across the walls like a whip.
"PICK UP YOUR WEAPONS!"
The Bone Towers continued marching toward Mirekeep beneath the sea of blood-red clouds.