Elarion 6.5 years old:-
The children were lined up—thin, bruised, but standing straight.
Dust clung to their skin. Wind tugged at the edge of their tattered uniforms. Behind them, the training field lay silent, scarred by years of sweat, blood, and broken bones.
Instructor Holst stood at the front, arms behind his back, his eyes as sharp as ever.
Another instructor Leon leaned lazily against a post, his usual smirk absent today.
> Holst's voice cut through the silence like steel.
"Your education under us instructors ends today."
No child moved. No one spoke. They waited.
> "You have survived the Gamma Trial," Holst continued. "That is more than most. You are no longer our responsibility. From here on, survival is your own burden."
> Leon scoffed. "Tch. Half of you'll die in Bloodgate anyway. But hey—at least we won't have to clean up the mess."
The children didn't flinch. Not anymore.
Holst gave a final nod.
> "Dismissed."
And just like that, it was over.
Some of the children remained standing for a while, as if unsure how to breathe without orders. Others turned and left quietly, shadows fading into the wind.
Elarion stayed last, eyes steady, face blank.
Marcus glanced his way once, but said nothing.
Holst looked at him longer than the rest.
> "Good luck, boy."
That was all. Then the instructors walked away, leaving silence behind them.
-----
At Elarion's place:- The Southeast Caste
Six.
Almost seven.
It had been three years since Marcus Bridgelin walked into my life with a book in one hand and a basket of pastries in the other.
Three years since Danny threw a rock at a tree, missed, and hit me instead—then asked me to be his friend.
I'd grown taller. Stronger. Sharper.
But more than that… I'd grown quieter.
Not the cold, empty kind of quiet I used to carry—but the kind that came from watching the sun set with someone beside you. The kind that comes from peace you never trusted, but secretly needed.
That was something I missed every day, such peaceful days with no role to play for me.
But I know, nothing remains forever, just like these fleeting moments of- peace.
---
My lessons ended today.
The training field was silent that morning. Not from absence—but because silence was something we had learned to respect.
I arrived early, before the sun had risen past the treetops. Instructor Host was already there, standing by the weapons rack, as if he had never left since the night before.
His arms were folded, his coat perfectly pressed, and his eyes—
Sharp. Focused. Unforgiving.
> "You're late," he said.
I wasn't. Not by even a breath.
> "You're early," I replied.
He didn't argue.
Instructor Host never wasted words.
> "Your blade technique has stabilized. Your reaction speed exceeds the average elite knight by twofold. Precision, mental fortitude, adaptability—all meet my standard now."
He paused.
"You've passed."
> "I didn't come here for validation," I said.
> "Good," he replied. "Because I don't offer it."
He tossed me a black cloth bundle. I opened it—inside was a new sword. Not the wooden one I'd trained with for years, but a real one. Sleek. Lightweight. Designed for killing.
> "Steel forged from Frostfang ore. Absorbs heat. Doesn't shine under light," he explained. "Silent weapon for a silent fighter."
> "You had this made?"
> "I don't prepare blades for children. I prepare them for war."
His voice never changed. Not even a beat of softness.
> "The rest of the children will continue their training for six more months until the Bloodgate opens," he said, stepping forward. "But you—you're no longer one of them."
> "Am I being dismissed?" I asked.
> "No," he said. "You're being unleashed."
I didn't respond.
But I held the blade tighter.
He walked past me then, toward the edge of the field. Then he turned once more.
> "Elarion. You're ready for what's coming. But don't mistake readiness for immunity."
> "I don't."
> "Good. Then let me say it clearly: The Bloodgate Trial doesn't care how far you've come. It doesn't care how sharp you are. It'll strip you down to your soul—and if there's nothing beneath, you die."
> "And if there is?"
Host's eyes narrowed slightly.
> "Then you become something this world fears. Or worships. Sometimes both."
For a moment, we just stood there.
Wind brushed across the training field. A leaf fluttered to the ground between us.
Then he turned away.
> "Don't come back unless you survive."
> "I wasn't planning to," I said.
He didn't smile.
But he didn't need to.
That was the closest thing to affection Instructor Host ever gave.
And I understood it perfectly.
---
Later, after the swordsmanship training.
I went to Marcus.
Marcus had taught me everything I didn't already know—politics, literature, foreign languages, noble law, and the refined logic of strategy.
I acted like I listened but I planned further in my mind, sharpening my senses even when we were just sitting in the classroom, I could hear the chirping of birds from far away and the footsteps of people even if light.
Wasting time? Not on my watch.
Ofcourse I won't act ignorant, I still reviewed them all since I was out of touch but as always I am sharp in thse things, so I only needed a review not all over again.
Sharpening my senses also took part in it.
And;
Danny, despite being two years older and a commoner, had often joined in. Not because he had to, but because he wanted to.
And now, Marcus stood in front of me in the private study, the last book closed in his hand.
> "You've completed the entire curriculum, Elarion," he said, voice calm but heavy. "Your official education under me ends this week."
> "I know," I replied.
No celebration. No childish joy.
Just acknowledgment.
> "You're far beyond your age. Probably beyond me in a few years," he added with a proud, bittersweet smile.
> "I'm already ahead," I said, not arrogantly—just stating fact.
He laughed softly. "You are."
But his eyes lingered on me with a small gentle smile.
I didn't ask why.
---
Danny found out by accident.
He burst into the study with a half-finished map in his hand and froze when he saw the packed bookshelf and the closed ink jars.
> "Wait... you're done?" he asked, blinking.
> "Yes."
He stood in silence, then walked up to me and shoved the map into my hands.
> "Then take this. It's my final test for you. Use it to invade my imaginary kingdom and win."
I looked at it.
> "There's no border weakness drawn."
> "Exactly. You'll have to find it. Like the real world."
I folded the map carefully.
> "I will."
---
On the last day, I didn't speak much.
Marcus and I stood in the garden behind the manor where he'd first taught me sword grips using twigs. He handed me a leather-bound book—empty pages.
> "A journal," he said. "In case you ever want to write your own story instead of just learning others."
I took it without a word.
> "Thank you."
> "You're welcome," he said gently. "You're not just a student to me, Elarion. You're... someone I'm proud of. No matter what you become."
That caught me off guard. Just for a second.
But I nodded.
---
Later, Danny snuck in while I was sharpening my blade and dropped a bag of round white stones on the table.
> "Memory stones. Each one has a tiny drawing on it. You'll find out what each one means later."
> "You made these?"
> "Yeah. Don't lose them. I know you don't like people knowing your feelings, so I made them for you instead."
I stared at the stones.
One had a cloud.
Another had a sword with a sheath.
A third had a rabbit.
And the last one was a cracked stone which attracted my attention towards it.
Danny grinned.
> "You'll know which one is for what moment when the time comes."
I didn't say thank you.
But I didn't throw them away either.
---
That night, I sat on the roof alone with the journal in my lap and Danny's stones beside me.
I didn't write anything.
Just looked at the stars.
> Six years old. Soon seven.
This was the peaceful part of the story. The part I never had before.
It's about to end.
Soon.
The Bloodgate Trial awaits me.
I smiled not happy not sad but a cunning smile. Everything is fine yet, can't let my guard down now, can I??
---