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"The entire kingdom came to the arena expecting blood. / Chapter 13 / 20

Chapter 13 - The Secret of the Black Codex

Duke Roger struggled to his feet, blinded by the flash, his heavy broadsword shattered into dozens of twisted fragments.

Before he could pull a dagger, the warm, glowing tip of Sunfall was resting against his throat. Around them, the surviving northern warriors saw their leader defeated and threw down their weapons, surrendering to the royal scouts.

"Yield, Roger," Leo said, his breathing steady despite the intense duel. "Or let the snow claim your blood."

"Do it... kill me," Roger rasped, coughing up blood onto the white drifts. "It changes nothing! You think I acted alone? Look in my breast pocket, 'Your Majesty'... see what truly governs this continent!"

Lyra stepped forward, her dagger drawn, and sliced open Roger's heavy fur coat. She pulled out a small leather pouch bound with iron thread. Inside was a dark parchment written in ancient, jagged script—the same writing found in the forbidden vaults of the Dark Order.

Leo lowered Sunfall slightly, staring at the seal stamped at the bottom of the document: a black sun swallowed by an iron serpent.

"The Order of the Iron Sun," Lyra whispered, her face growing pale. "They weren't just mercenaries hired by Aldric... they are an ancient cabal operating across all five kingdoms."

"Aldric was just a small pawn," Roger sneered, laughing weakly. "The Order funded his coup fifteen years ago to destabilize the High Realm. They are building an army in the Eastern Wastes, and their Grandmaster possesses the second blade—the shadow twin to your Sunfall!"

Leo’s eyes narrowed. "Where is their stronghold?"

"In the Obsidian Citadel... deep within the Sunken Valleys," Roger coughed out. "You opened the royal vault, Caelen. You unlocked the ancient magic. Now... the Grandmaster knows you live. He is coming for the bloodline."

Leo turned to Lyra. "Bind Roger in iron chains and send him back to Solas under heavy guard to face trial. We are not returning to the capital yet."

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"Caelen, we only have forty men left," Lyra urged, her eyes wide with concern. "We need to return to the capital, raise the full royal army, and send word to the eastern lords!"

"If we wait to raise an army, the Order will strike first while the realm is still fractured," Leo said, looking eastward toward the dark, jagged horizon. "We ride for the Eastern Border."

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Chapter 14 - Shadow over the Eastern Border
Chapter 15 - The Trap at the Sulfur Vaults
Chapter 16 - Into the Inferno
Chapter 17 - The Melting of the Citadel
Chapter 18 - The Gathering of the Five Kings
Chapter 19 - The Trial of the Fallen

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