Chapter 2: The Road to Eldoria

Ethan Vale had discovered three things about traveling by carriage.

The first was that the seats were designed by someone who hated human spines.

The second was that horses were surprisingly loud.

The third was that Noah Blake talked enough for three people.

"Do you think the academy has a dueling arena?"

Noah leaned across the carriage, his round face full of excitement.

Ethan looked out of the window.

"I assume so."

"Do you think they allow first-year students to use it?"

"Probably."

"Do you think the duels are to the death?"

"No."

Noah leaned closer.

"Are you sure?"

Ethan turned away from the window and looked at him.

"Noah, this is an academy. Not a prison for wealthy children."

"That is exactly what a prison for wealthy children would want us to believe."

Ethan considered that.

The boy sitting across from him was about the same age, perhaps a year older. He had messy brown hair, bright green eyes, and a smile that suggested he had never experienced a thought he could keep to himself.

He had introduced himself less than an hour ago.

Since then, he had explained his family history, his favorite food, his fear of spiders, his hatred of mathematics, and his theory that the academy’s headmaster was secretly a dragon.

Ethan had responded with seventeen words.

Noah had responded to each of them.

"So," Noah continued, "what kind of magic do you use?"

"None."

Noah blinked.

"You mean you haven’t awakened yet?"

"I have awakened."

"That is not what I meant."

"I know."

Noah studied him with growing confusion.

The carriage rattled over a stone in the road.

Ethan’s shoulder struck the wooden wall.

He did not react.

Noah, on the other hand, nearly fell off his seat.

"That is the third stone today," he complained. "The driver is trying to kill us."

"The driver has not spoken to you once."

"That makes him even more suspicious."

Ethan returned his attention to the window.

The road toward the capital crossed the eastern plains before disappearing into the Emerald Forest. From there, it continued toward Eldoria, the largest city in the kingdom of Aurelion.

He remembered almost nothing about the modern world.

The names of the kingdoms were unfamiliar. The borders had changed. The old magical families had either vanished or replaced their bloodlines with new ones.

But the academy remained.

Eldoria Arcane Academy had existed even during his lifetime.

Back then, it had been a military institution built to train the kingdom’s finest battle mages.

Ethan had destroyed it during the War of Ashen Crowns.

At the time, he had considered the academy a minor obstacle.

Now he was traveling toward it in a carriage that smelled like wet wool.

History had a strange sense of humor.

"Are you nervous?" Noah asked.

"No."

"You should be."

"Why?"

"Because I am."

Ethan looked at him.

Noah placed both hands on his knees.

"I have heard things."

"What things?"

"That the academy has dueling towers where students fight magical beasts."

"Reasonable."

"That there are professors who can read minds."

"Less reasonable."

"That the dining hall serves food prepared by enchanted knives."

Ethan paused.

"That sounds dangerous."

"Exactly."

Ethan studied him for a moment.

"Why did you apply?"

Noah’s smile became slightly smaller.

"My older brother graduated from Eldoria three years ago."

"Is he a mage?"

"He was."

The answer carried more weight than the words suggested.

Ethan waited.

Noah looked down at his hands.

"He joined the Royal Expeditionary Corps after graduation. He never came back from the northern ruins."

"I see."

"The official report said he died fighting a corrupted beast."

"Do you believe it?"

Noah looked out of the window.

"I believe official reports are written by people who were not there."

For the first time since meeting him, Noah sounded serious.

Ethan understood that kind of silence.

The silence left behind by someone who had lost more than they were willing to explain.

A few seconds passed before Noah forced a smile.

"Anyway, I’m going to become stronger than him."

"That is an ambitious goal."

"I know."

"You may fail."

"I know that too."

"Then why are you smiling?"

Noah shrugged.

"Because failing while trying is better than sitting at home and wondering what would have happened."

Ethan watched him carefully.

The boy was not strong.

His mana signature was faint, his posture was careless, and he carried no weapon other than a small knife hidden inside his boot.

But there was something stubborn inside him.

Something that did not bend easily.

Ethan had known many powerful people.

Most of them had been weaker than Noah.

The carriage slowed as it approached a stone bridge.

Outside, the plains stretched beneath a gray sky. In the distance, the first trees of the Emerald Forest rose like a dark wall.

The driver shouted at the horses.

The carriage stopped.

Ethan glanced forward.

"What happened?"

Noah pressed his face against the window.

"There are people on the road."

Six men stood near the bridge.

They wore dark leather armor and carried curved swords. A seventh figure sat on a large rock beside the road, casually sharpening a blade.

Bandits.

Noah slowly moved away from the window.

"That is unfortunate."

Ethan examined the men.

"They are not bandits."

Noah looked at him.

"They are standing in the middle of the road with weapons."

"That does not make them bandits."

"What does?"

"Bandits are usually better organized."

Before Noah could answer, the carriage door opened.

A tall man climbed inside.

He had a scar across his left cheek and a crossbow in his hands.

"Everyone out," he ordered.

Noah raised his hand.

"Can I ask a question?"

The man frowned.

"What?"

"Are you bandits?"

The man stared at him.

Noah waited.

After a moment, the man sighed.

"Yes."

"Thank you. I was uncertain."

The bandit grabbed Noah by the collar and pulled him outside.

Ethan followed.

The road was cold and damp beneath his boots. The bandits surrounded the carriage, while the driver sat frozen on his bench.

The leader approached Ethan.

"Hand over your valuables."

Ethan glanced at his clothing.

"I do not have any."

The man looked at the academy travel pass pinned to Ethan’s coat.

"You are going to Eldoria?"

"Yes."

"Then your family can afford the tuition."

"I do not have a family."

The bandit snorted.

"Everyone has a family."

"Not everyone."

For some reason, that answer irritated the man.

He raised his sword and pressed the edge against Ethan’s throat.

Noah swallowed.

"Perhaps we should give them our things."

Ethan looked at him.

"You have things?"

"I have a sandwich."

"Give them the sandwich."

"No."

The bandit stared at them.

"Are you two mocking me?"

"No," Ethan said. "He is simply attached to his sandwich."

"It has cheese," Noah added defensively.

The leader’s face darkened.

He moved the sword closer.

Ethan could feel the metal against his skin.

His body was weak.

His mana was unstable.

There were six armed men around him.

In his previous life, such a situation would not have been worth noticing.

Now, it was inconvenient.

Ethan examined the leader’s stance.

Poor balance.

Right shoulder too high.

Weight shifted toward the front foot.

The sword was held with confidence but not skill.

A trained soldier would have killed him in less than three seconds.

A trained soldier was not standing in front of him.

Ethan slowly raised his hand.

The bandit leader smiled.

"Changing your mind?"

"No."

Ethan touched the sword.

The leader pulled it back to strike.

That was his mistake.

Ethan stepped forward and struck the man’s wrist with the edge of his palm.

The sword fell.

Ethan caught it before it hit the ground.

He turned the weapon and pressed the flat of the blade against the man’s throat.

The entire movement lasted less than a second.

The bandits froze.

Noah stared at Ethan.

"You said you had no combat training."

"I said I had no combat training."

"That is not the same thing."

"I know."

The leader slowly raised his hands.

"Easy."

Ethan ignored him and looked at the others.

"Leave."

The men glanced at their leader.

One of them reached for his bow.

Ethan shifted the sword slightly.

The leader’s expression changed.

"Do as he says."

The bandits lowered their weapons.

Ethan released him and tossed the sword into the mud.

The leader caught it with a furious expression.

"You will regret this."

Ethan stepped back toward the carriage.

"No."

The man’s face reddened.

"You do not know who you are threatening."

Ethan stopped.

He looked over his shoulder.

"No," he said. "You do not know who you are threatening."

The leader’s anger faltered.

For a brief instant, Ethan’s eyes flashed with a cold violet light.

The air around him became heavy.

The bandits felt it.

They did not understand what they were sensing, but their instincts recognized danger.

The leader took one step backward.

Then another.

"Get out of here," he ordered.

The bandits ran.

Noah remained still until they disappeared into the forest.

Then he turned toward Ethan.

"That was terrifying."

"It was not."

"You looked like you were about to kill him."

"I was not."

"You were thinking about it."

"I think about many things."

"Like killing people?"

"Among other things."

Noah stared at him.

Ethan looked toward the carriage.

"We should leave before they return."

The driver did not need to be told twice.

Within minutes, the carriage was moving again.

Noah sat across from Ethan, no longer smiling.

He looked thoughtful.

"You really don’t have any combat training?"

"No."

"Then how did you do that?"

"I watched him."

"That is all?"

"That was enough."

Noah leaned back.

"I think I understand why you are going to the academy."

Ethan raised an eyebrow.

"Why?"

"You are strange."

"That is not a reason to study magic."

"It is a reason to study magic at Eldoria."

Ethan almost smiled.

Outside, the road entered the Emerald Forest.

The trees were enormous, their branches twisting together above the carriage and blocking most of the sky. Ancient mana lingered between the roots, thick enough to make Ethan’s damaged core ache.

The forest had once belonged to an elven kingdom.

That kingdom no longer existed.

Ethan remembered burning its capital.

He remembered the elven king kneeling before him.

He remembered promising mercy.

He had not kept that promise.

His fingers tightened around the edge of his seat.

Noah noticed.

"What is it?"

"Nothing."

"You look like you remembered something unpleasant."

"I did."

"Would you like to talk about it?"

"No."

Noah nodded.

"Fair enough."

A few minutes passed.

Then Noah reached inside his bag and pulled out the sandwich.

Ethan looked at it.

"You kept it."

"Of course."

"You were willing to risk your life for bread."

"It has cheese."

"That explains nothing."

"It explains everything."

Ethan turned back toward the window.

At the edge of his vision, the trees seemed to move.

He focused.

Nothing.

Only branches swaying in the wind.

Then a whisper slid through the forest.

Azeroth.

Ethan’s body went still.

The voice had come from outside.

It was quiet enough that Noah did not hear it.

Ethan closed his eyes and reached toward his mana.

Pain surged through his chest.

He ignored it.

The whisper came again.

Azeroth Veyr.

This time, something answered from beneath the earth.

The black mark on his wrist burned.

For a moment, the forest vanished.

Ethan saw a massive eye opening beneath the roots.

An ancient creature was sleeping under the road.

No.

Not sleeping.

Waiting.

Ethan opened his eyes.

The carriage continued forward.

Noah was eating his sandwich.

The driver was humming.

No one else had noticed anything.

Ethan looked at the dark forest.

He had been awake for less than two days.

Already, something ancient had recognized him.

That was not supposed to happen.

A faint tremor moved through the ground.

The horses screamed.

The carriage tilted violently to one side.

Noah’s sandwich flew out of his hand.

Ethan grabbed the side of the carriage as the wheels left the road.

Then the earth beneath them split open.

The carriage fell.

And from the darkness below, a voice whispered:

"Welcome home, my king."

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