Conilmadran – The City on the Edge
Hours had passed on their journey through rugged roads and eroded valleys. They evacuated every village along the way and burned them down. The locals resisted at first, but as soon as they learned of the empire's attack, they rushed to gather their belongings and flee. Qays led the convoy, his eyes scanning the horizon like a hunter expecting a strike at any moment. Behind him, Tir walked in silence, his heavy weapon on his shoulder, his eyes never leaving Nuh, the boy who now resembled a stone more than a human.
They reached the outskirts of Conilmadran on a gray morning. Fog hovered above the fortress towers, and the sound of the sea crashed against the rocks to the west, while on the eastern side lay an old trade port. The city was built on a fortified plateau, surrounded by ancient stone walls dating back to distant eras, but it was in no condition to withstand an imperial army.
They were greeted by the garrison commander, Seran, a pale-faced man wearing old armor and a faded scarf marking him as a descendant of a former noble family. He welcomed them seriously, without ceremony.
Seran (in a rough voice):"You were sent from Naran? We didn't expect support this quickly. Our situation… is fragile."
The three entered the command post, and that's where the plan began. Qays sent his father's letter aboard a merchant ship to the Sultanate.
Fortifying Conilmadran
The tasks were divided quickly:
Seran took responsibility for assigning guards and rebuilding the watchtowers. He had knowledge of fortifications and spent the night reviewing the city's old blueprints.
Tir took it upon himself to train the men and boys who hadn't held a sword in years. He turned the town square into a miniature camp, his voice echoing in the cold air, shouting orders, forging will before steel.
As for Nuh, he followed Tir step by step. Training in silence, falling, rising, biting his lips without making a sound. He was not the strongest, but he was the most determined. Every fall was a lesson, every rise a promise.
At night, torches were lit on the walls, and prayers rose in the mosques. The townsfolk did not have much food or weapons, but they had enough faith… and faith makes warriors.
Tir (to Seran):"We won't hold if they attack within a week. We need reinforcements… or a miracle."
Seran (bitterly):"Victory… or martyrdom."
On the fourth day, the first signs came from reconnaissance units sent south:Imperial banners had been seen on the border… and the sea was beginning to fill with unfamiliar ships.
They had only days — maybe hours — before the march began.Nuh stood atop Conilmadran's walls, looking south, his heart pounding with something new… not fear, but organized anger and a desire to avenge his parents.
He said quietly:"I will fight them… even if I'm the last to fall."
Tir replied without turning:"You won't be the last…"
Tir finally spoke, his voice rough, as if bleeding from within:"I was once… something different, Nuh.I was a descendant of the Arkanis, the first to rule the tribes… beings who surpassed humans."
The boy gasped, but did not interrupt.
Tir:"Before I fled… before I was broken… I was a slave to the scientists in the empire. But my story began long before that, with the one they now call: the First Sultan."
He pulled from his pocket a small piece of leather, faded, yet still holding a faint gleam.
Tir:"This… is from the hide of a Lightning Serpent, a creature extinct for two decades."
"Generations ago, the tribes in the south lived scattered… until he appeared.A man born different. Born from a lineage said to descend from an ancient Lightning Serpent.He was not only strong, but in his veins was an inherited Core — the Lightning Core of the Arkanis of the Custodis type, whose blood carried the Core's power."
"And when the Nauern Empire grew, they wanted that power.They attacked the tribes, killed his father who was a true Arkanis, and stole his Core."
"Then they came for the sons and daughters… they took us. Imprisoned us. Tore us apart. They only wanted bodies to rebuild the Cores."
He rolled up his sleeve to show an old burn-carved tattoo:"Experiment Number 27-B: Rejected Core."
Tir (voice trembling):"I was one of those who failed. I survived only because I escaped…But him… the Arkanis son, they cast him into the forest with mortal wounds, with only a few followers left.He was on the verge of death. But in that moment, lightning struck him. The lightning reacted with his bloodline in an event beyond belief, forming a Lightning Core… but his body was ruined, and he was certain of death."
"He asked his remaining followers to preserve the Core and give it to whoever would save them after his death, and gave us the last serpent hide, hoping someone from his family would inherit the Core or begin a new Arkanis line."
"He believed in me personally and forbade me from taking his Core because of my young age, but he trusted my potential… and I failed him.After his death, I cut open his chest, took out his Core, and wrapped it in the serpent hide to protect it from decay.I kept it until I met the man now known as the First Sultan, a man from a distant land… a great leader, and the most worthy I had ever seen of the Core."
Tir paused, his face still drowned in torchlight shadows, as if the flames themselves were ashamed to touch his scars.
Then he continued, his voice hoarse:"I gave him the Lightning Core and part of the serpent hide, hoping to awaken his lineage, and when he swallowed the Core and donned the serpent hide… he ignited.But his ignition was not fire… it was manifestation."
"I saw it myself:The serpent hide tore apart, and his eyes shone with a color I had never seen before or since — lightning itself had taken human form."
"From that day… he was no longer entirely human.His name was whispered in the corridors: the First Sultan, Arkanis of Lightning."
Tir looked at the sky, clouds beginning to gather above Conilmadran, as if calling something ancient from its heart.
Tir (in a whisper):"But me… I was not like him.Despite the empire's experiments on me to awaken my lineage and create a Core, all it produced was peeling skin, and my arm was injured… it seems their attempts to accelerate Core growth destroyed all my potential."
"They said I was too young… too weak… but I knew the truth… I was afraid of what would happen if I failed to awaken the Core."
"Since that day, I have lived in the shadows, fleeing from an unforgiving past… stripped of the Core and with it, the hopes of my remaining tribe… and here I am now, training a new soldier, hoping he will not fail me as I once failed."
The wind whipped across the city walls.
Nuh stood still, his eyes shining, not with tears, but with anger.A silent, pure anger, like lightning on the far horizon… no sound yet, but you could feel it in your bones.
He stepped closer and said:Nuh: "If you failed, I will not. You taught me that every fall carries a lesson… and this lesson has no place for fear."
Tir (with a faint smile):"You still don't know who I am, Nuh… but I see you, Nuh. I see you as he was… before he died."
That night, no one slept.The torches never went out, and the weapons were never sheathed.