[The Next Day — House Karzath — Early Morning]

CLANG!!!

Steel collided against steel; the sound echoed across the training grounds of House Karzath. The morning sun had barely risen above the eastern walls, yet the courtyard was already alive.

Servants moved quietly in the distance. Knights changed shifts upon the battlements and at the center of the training field...two figures crossed swords.

CLANG!!!

Lady Arinaya spun gracefully, her blade cut through the air with deadly precision, and her hair danced behind her. The sword rushed toward her opponent’s neck, fast, sharp, and merciless.

Or at least... It should have been.

Raevahn stepped aside effortlessly; the blade missed.

CLANG!!!

His own sword struck hers; the impact forced Arinaya backward. Her boots scraped against the sand, one step, two, and three.

Then she regained her balance; her breathing had already become heavier. Meanwhile...Raevahn stood perfectly still, not a single drop of sweat upon him; he lowered his sword slightly as his eyes studied her stance.

Her footing, her grip, and her breathing. Then he sighed, a long sigh. The kind that immediately annoyed her.

Arinaya narrowed her eyes. "What?"

Raevahn pointed his sword toward her feet. "Your balance."

Silence. The Lady of House Karzath looked down, then back up. "My balance?"

"Terrible."

Arinaya immediately frowned. "My balance is not terrible."

Raevahn raised an eyebrow, then, without warning—SWOOSH!!! His sword flashed. Arinaya instinctively blocked.

CLANG!!!

But the impact sent her stumbling again. Raevahn simply stared expressionless.

"Terrible."

The nearby knights immediately looked away, pretending they hadn’t heard anything. Arinaya’s eye twitched.

"You have become increasingly annoying after coming back from Silthara Palace."

"And you are becoming increasingly rusty."

Silence, a dangerous silence.

Then Raevahn continued; his voice remained calm, professional, and yet firm. "It’s been too long since you practiced properly, my lady. You are losing your balance."

He pointed toward her feet again.

"Your stance shifts too much." Then toward her wrist. "Your grip weakens during the third exchange."

Then toward her shoulders.

"And you tense before every strike."

Arinaya froze because every single thing he said...was correct. Raevahn slowly lowered his sword; his gaze remained fixed upon her.

"You trained every day once, before dawn and after sunset. You could fight for hours, but now...you spend more time buried beneath scrolls than holding a sword."

The lady of House Karzath frowned deeply because, once again...he was correct, and she hated that.

CLANG!!!

She immediately attacked again, this time harder, faster, and angrier. The sword cut toward his shoulder. Raevahn blocked toward his neck.

Blocked.

Toward his ribs.

Blocked.

Toward his chest.

Blocked.

Again.

Again.

Again.

Again.

The courtyard filled with the sound of steel.

CLANG!!!

CLANG!!!

CLANG!!!

CLANG!!!

Sparks danced between them; dust rose beneath their feet. Servants stopped walking. Young knights gathered nearby, watching because everyone knew when Lady Arinaya became angry...training became entertainment.

Then suddenly Raevahn stepped inside her guard, twisted and—THUD. Arinaya’s sword flew from her hand, the blade landed several feet away, and the courtyard became silent.

Arinaya stared, then stared at her empty hand. Then at Raevahn, then back at her empty hand.

Silence.

Raevahn slowly sheathed his sword. "As I was saying...you need daily practice."

The surrounding knights immediately lowered their heads, trying not to laugh. Arinaya looked as though she wanted to stab someone, possibly Raevahn, twice.

The knight, however, remained completely unaware of the danger or perhaps...completely unconcerned by it.

Then he stepped closer, his voice becoming softer and more serious. "These are dangerous times, my lady; the empire is changing, and enemies are moving, and House Karzath stands directly in the middle of the coming storm."

Silence.

Arinaya’s expression slowly changed; the irritation faded, and understanding replaced it. Then Raevahn picked up her fallen sword and handed it back.

"The day may come when I am not standing beside you." The words made her freeze for a brief moment...just a brief moment. Something unreadable crossed her eyes.

Then Raevahn continued, his voice remaining steady. "And when that day arrives...you must be strong enough to protect yourself."

The morning winds swept through the training grounds; the banners of House Karzath fluttered above them, and for the first time since training began...neither spoke.

Because both understood, the world beyond those walls was beginning to change, and soon...the storm would reach them too.

Silence lingered.

Then Lady Arinaya finally broke it. "Did you receive any information from Silthara Palace?"

Raevahn lowered his sword; the steel glimmered beneath the morning sun as he planted its tip into the training ground, and his expression darkened.

"I did."

Arinaya immediately noticed it, the tension and the hesitation, and that alone made her uneasy. "What happened?"

Raevahn folded his arms. "Malik Slyvarakh has locked himself inside his chambers."

Silence.

Arinaya blinked. "What? Locked himself inside? Why? Is he planning something?"

Raevahn slowly shook his head. "We don’t know."

His gaze shifted toward the eastern horizon, toward Silthara Palace and toward the heart of Zahryssar as his voice lowered.

"But several days ago...an assassin entered the Inner Sanctum."

The atmosphere changed instantly. Arinaya’s brows furrowed. "The Inner Sanctum? That’s impossible; the palace is protected by layers of barriers. The entire palace is sealed; no outsider should be capable of entering."

"Exactly."

Raevahn immediately cut her off, his voice sharper than before. "Exactly, my Lady. The palace is protected by High Mage Arkhazunn’s formations; the barriers identify every noble, every servant, and even every guard.

His expression darkened further. "So how did someone enter?"

The training grounds became silent, then Raevahn continued. "And that’s not the strangest part."

Arinaya looked at him. "What do you mean?"

"The Inner Sanctum." His eyes narrowed and his voice became colder. "It remained hidden for years, and nobody knew it existed, and now suddenly...someone finds it."

Silence.

A dangerous silence.

"High Mage Arkhazunn attempted to investigate."

Arinaya immediately nodded. "Good."

But Raevahn shook his head. "He was denied."

"What?"

"The Malik himself issued orders. No one is allowed to enter the Sanctum without his personal permission."

Silence.

The winds seemed colder now. Arinaya stared toward the distant capital, thinking and calculating, then finally said, "You believe something is hidden there."

Raevahn nodded immediately without hesitation. "I am certain of it. Something is happening inside Silthara Palace, something important, and whatever it is..."

His voice became quieter.

"...it has frightened the Malik."

The training grounds fell silent because fear...and Slyvarakh...were two things that should never exist together.

Then suddenly—

"And that is exactly why we should be worried."

A voice echoed behind them; both turned immediately and froze. Rakhane stood there, the morning sunlight illuminated half his face, one eye hidden beneath the black patch.

The other one was watching them calmly and silently like a serpent studying prey or perhaps like a ruler studying a battlefield.

He stepped forward, his robes shifting with the wind. "We no longer have Malik Zeramet. We no longer have Malika Levin, and if something truly happens..."

His visible eye narrowed.

"...then House Karzath will become the final wall standing between Zahryssar and destruction."

Silence.

Arinaya blinked once, twice, and three times because she genuinely wondered if someone had replaced Rakhane during the night. Raevahn looked equally confused, then Rakhane sighed...a very long sigh.

The kind one makes after enduring years of disappointment, mostly from oneself.

"What?" He folded his arms. "Do both of you truly look that surprised?"

Neither answered...which was answer enough. Rakhane immediately scoffed. "I see, apparently my reputation is worse than I thought."

Raevahn immediately bowed. "High Ensi, that is not—"

"Do not lie." Rakhane cut him off instantly and smirked faintly. "You are terrible at it."

Silence.

Then his expression slowly changed; the amusement vanished, leaving something far rarer: regret.

"I made mistakes." The words surprised both of them because Rakhane almost never admitted fault. "I made many mistakes."

His gaze drifted toward the horizon, toward the capital, toward Silthara Palace as his visible eye hardened. "Far too many, but this empire belongs to all of us, and if it burns...then we burn with it."

The training grounds fell silent, then Rakhane straightened. The High Ensi finally looked like what he truly was, not a politician, not a noble, but one of the most powerful men in Zahryssar as his voice echoed firmly.

"I will summon the noble houses. I want every lord, every commander, and every influential family." His gaze darkened. "If a storm is approaching...then Zahryssar shall be prepared."

Raevahn immediately bowed. "As you command."

Rakhane nodded, then turned and walked away. The winds tugged at his robes, and the training grounds remained silent. Arinaya watched his retreating figure, watched until he disappeared around the stone corridor.

Only then did she finally speak, her voice filled with disbelief. "Why...why is he behaving like he actually cares?"

Raevahn stared at the empty corridor, then slowly answered. "I don’t know. Perhaps he finally understands what is at stake."

Silence.

Arinaya folded her arms, still staring toward the place where Rakhane had vanished. Then she snorted. "I could believe the sun rising from the west. I could believe snow falling in the desert. I could even believe a dragon opening a dessert shop."

Raevahn immediately looked at her. "What?"

But Arinaya continued, completely serious. "Yet Rakhane changing? That remains the most unbelievable thing I have witnessed this year."

For the first time that morning...a faint laugh escaped Raevahn and somewhere beyond House Karzath... The winds continued carrying whispers from Silthara Palace, whispers of secrets, whispers of fear, and whispers of a storm that was drawing closer with every passing day.