The courtyard stretched wide beneath the looming cliffs, its stone floor cracked and scarred from centuries of use. At its heart stood the Stone Gate—an arch carved into the mountain itself, veined with runes that pulsed faintly like a sleeping beast.
Every child in the Dominion knew the Gate.
It was the door to their future. Or their grave.
Kael Ardyn stood barefoot in line with the others, the chill of dawn sinking into his bones. His stomach was hollow, but hunger was nothing new. He glanced at the children around him—thirty, maybe forty in total. Some wore stitched uniforms from noble houses, others plain rags. A few carried themselves like they already belonged to the Guilds, smug and certain.
Kael was not one of them.
"Look at the rat," a boy sneered behind him. Taller, broader, draped in fine black cloth embroidered with silver thread. His eyes glimmered with cruel delight. "Bet the Gate chews him up before he takes two steps."
Snickers rippled through the line. Kael kept his gaze fixed ahead. His fists clenched, but he didn't answer. Words were wasted on people like that.
A shadow passed over the courtyard. The Guardians had arrived.
Clad in black armor etched with runes, faceless behind steel masks, they moved with a silence that pressed the air down around them. Each carried a halberd taller than a man, the blades stained from countless Trials before.
One Guardian raised a hand. The Gate flared to life, runes igniting in white fire. A low hum rippled through the stone, vibrating Kael's ribs.
"The Trials begin," the Guardian intoned, voice hollow beneath the mask. "You enter in groups of five. Survive, and you may leave. Fail, and you will be forgotten."
⸻
The First Entries
The first group of five children were herded forward. Two nobles, a wiry girl, and a pair of farm boys who could barely stand upright from fear.
The Gate yawned open with a sound like stone grinding on bone. The five stepped inside. The arch sealed shut behind them.
The courtyard fell into silence. Every child stared at the closed arch, breath held. Seconds passed. Then—
A scream.
High, sharp, cut short.
Another scream, deeper, filled with terror.
Then silence again.
The Gate cracked open. Only one emerged. A boy, stumbling, his body shredded, clothes soaked in blood. He collapsed onto the stones, his eyes glassy and unfocused.
Gasps rippled through the waiting children. Some backed away. Others began to shake. One noble girl clutched her pendant so tightly her knuckles turned white.
Kael's heart hammered in his chest. Not fear—though fear was there, cold in his gut. Something else. A spark. A pull.
⸻
The Waiting
Group after group entered. Some came out alive, broken and pale. Most did not come out at all.
Kael's turn drew closer with every name called.
He forced his breathing steady, though his body betrayed him with trembling fingers. He couldn't afford to show weakness. The Guardians would notice. The others would notice.
"Ardyn, Kael. Veylan, Darius. Rynna Solde. Jorek Vance. Serran Vey."
Five names. Five lives.
The sneering noble boy—Darius—grinned when his name was called alongside Kael's. "Guess I'll get to watch you die up close, rat."
Kael didn't look at him. His jaw tightened, but he kept walking.
⸻
Into the Gate
The five were pushed forward. The Gate opened, white fire spilling across the stone.
Kael stared into the glowing arch. It wasn't just light. It was… something else. The air rippled, thick and heavy, pulling at him.
Together, the five stepped forward.
The moment they crossed the threshold, the world twisted. The air thickened until it was hard to breathe. Stone walls stretched upward, lined with veins of glowing runes. Behind them, the arch sealed shut with a heavy crack.
They were alone.
The air vibrated.
Then came the voice, deep and inhuman, rattling the chamber walls:
"Three trials. Survive, and you may leave. Fail, and you are forgotten."
Kael's chest tightened, but he forced himself to stand tall, fists clenched, eyes forward.
"I'm not dying here."