Echoes of the Forgotten Throne
Chapter 2 — The Name Beneath My Skin
Kael woke to the taste of iron in his mouth.
Rain soaked his clothes. Mud clung to his hands. The storm had passed, leaving only distant thunder rumbling across the cliffs.
For a moment, he wondered if it had all been a dream.
Then his chest burned.
He looked down.
There, over his heart, glowing faintly beneath torn fabric, was the mark — a jagged crest shaped like a shattered crown.
It pulsed.
Alive.
Kael staggered to his feet.
"That wasn't real…" he whispered.
"It was."
The voice echoed again — deeper now. Clearer.
Kael spun around. "Who's there?!"
Silence.
Then a pressure filled his mind, like standing beneath deep water.
"You carry my throne."
Images crashed into him.
A colossal battlefield under a crimson sky.
Banners torn.
Soldiers kneeling.
A crown being forced from his head—
Kael gasped and stumbled backward.
"I'm not you," he growled. "Whoever you are."
A pause.
Then:
"You are what remains."
The Seal
Back in the city of Elyndor, bells rang from the Mage Tower.
Deep beneath the royal palace, in a chamber older than the kingdom itself, a circular door etched with ancient runes flickered.
Cracks of dim violet light leaked from its edges.
A hooded royal mage stared at it in horror.
"The seal… weakened."
Behind him, a woman's voice spoke calmly.
"Is it breaking?"
The mage bowed deeply. "Your Majesty… something has awakened."
On the throne above, Queen Seraphine Vale did not move.
"Find it," she said softly.
The First Spark
Kael walked back toward the city before dawn.
His thoughts were chaos.
Power. Throne. Seal.
He had no magic — the crystal proved it.
Yet as he reached the forest path leading to Elyndor's gates, something moved in the shadows.
Three figures stepped out.
City enforcers.
They wore gray armor with the royal insignia branded over their chests.
The tallest sneered. "Kael Arden."
Kael stiffened. "What do you want?"
"Orders from the council. Individuals without magic registration must report for labor reassignment."
Labor reassignment.
That meant the mines.
Permanent.
Kael's jaw tightened. "That was fast."
The enforcer grabbed his collar.
And something inside Kael snapped.
Not anger.
Not fear.
Something ancient.
The mark on his chest flared.
The air warped.
The enforcer froze mid-motion.
Literally froze.
Like time itself had paused around him.
The other two blinked in confusion.
"What did you—"
A wave of invisible force exploded outward.
Trees cracked.
Armor shattered.
The three men were thrown backward like broken dolls.
Kael stared at his trembling hand.
Blue light flickered around his fingers — not flame, not lightning.
Something darker.
Something older.
"A fragment," the voice murmured. "You have broken the first layer."
Kael's breathing grew ragged.
"I don't know what this is."
"It is authority."
The word echoed differently.
Not magic.
Authority.
As if reality had obeyed him.
Footsteps approached from the path.
Kael turned sharply.
Lira stood there, wide-eyed, having seen everything.
"Kael…" she whispered. "What did you just do?"
For the first time in his life—
He didn't know how to answer.
Far above, within the palace walls, Queen Seraphine rose slowly from her throne.
Her golden eyes glowed faintly.
"So," she murmured.
"The heir stirs."
End of Chapter 2