Chapter 23
Rigor and Amarin left early that morning for their duties, leaving Marcus and Illaria behind with Amayra. She helped them register for Trial of Flames, gave a mischievous smile, and said, “Since I am the princess, I have to return home and prepare for the festival. You both, don’t cause too much trouble, I know you are smart but people in the West are smarter.” before disappearing into the crowd. The city of Nightsong was bursting with life. Everywhere they went, lanterns swayed gently in the wind, children ran in the streets with glittery ribbons, temples overflowed with worshipers and musicians played merry tunes that mingled with the smell of incense that the street dawned. This was enemy territory, she was on the most dangerous mission of her life yet she felt relaxed. Right now she was not a Princess but just another commoner roaming the streets. Marcus walked beside her with an almost childlike grin, handing her an odd frozen treat that he claimed was famous in the North. She tasted it, found it super sweet and tasty. She blinked, dumbfounded. “What is this?” she asked, enjoying the cold ball. “We call it ice cream in the North. We make it from snow. Come North sometime, I will introduce you to a lot more flavours”.
They spent the day wandering the streets. The day passed quickly and both found shelter in an abandoned shack to rest. The next morning they woke up to the sound of heavy drums and footsteps in the street. It was Day 2, so the streets would be filled with plays and parades. As they roamed the streets, Illaria found herself drawn to one of the plays— The play told the legend of the God and Goddess of War—destined lovers who chose to get burnt alive instead of breaking their bond. It was a connection of two souls that mirrored each other. An unbreakable bond as if tied to each other with red invisible strings that could stretch apart but never tear them apart. As they stepped into the pyre together, their enemies witnessed the flame burn away from the flame they lit. Illaria didn’t want to admit it, but the thought of sharing this post with Marcus made her smile shyly. The play then continued to explain how these gods were each year honoured through the Trial of Flames. It then told the story of Roslin, the deceased daughter of the current Western Emperor. The play showed her as a fierce warrior who refused the title of Goddess of War by her position as princess and instead earned it through battle. She fought through the Festival of Aris on her own strength and claimed victory. Illaria found herself drawn to the performance. The actress playing Roslin was radiant, powerful, and encapsulated the human desire to achieve the impossible. Marcus glanced at her midway through, and Illaria looked away, pretending to be engrossed in the story.
The next day was calm and pleasant. Amayra, Amarin and Rigor returned briefly, to celebrate Day 3 together. They joked, ate street food, and enjoyed a lavish food feast while discussing details for tomorrow.
Amayra mentioned, “I feel we are like The Famous Five”, Rigor and Amarin laughed.
Illaria, “What is the Famous five?” she asked innocently.
Marcus, “It’s a novel series here and in the North—a band of five kids who solve mysteries and go on adventures together. But I would say we are more like Secret five.” Illaria couldn’t stop laughing. “The Secret Five? That’s the worst name I’ve ever heard.” But her laughter didn’t stop – It was a day she knew she would always cherish even after the war would be over.The day was very happening, but as time progressed Illaria felt a knot. Before Amayra left back for the palace, she asked her what to expect tomorrow. Amayra smiled as she said, “You’ll find out. Just be yourself. You’ll win.” Then she winked and disappeared into the glowing crowd.
The dawn of Day Four arrived with Marcus and Illaria reaching a rather small and shady building. Other contestants had already arrived and were waiting for the building’s door to open. Amayra had explained, with the increasing number of competitors every year, it was impossible for the grand arena to host such a huge crowd. This is why the test would probably begin from a different location and would eventually merge into the main arena.
Now around fifty candidates were waiting under the building, waiting to claim glory. As soon as sunlight illuminated the sky, the door to the building opened. Illaria and Marcus stepped in to see a small room in front of them. It had a pair of desks and chairs – around 20 – it was probably a school converted where they would be tested today.
A magical voice appeared from somewhere, “The test for determining this year’s God and Goddess of War will begin soon. Please take any seat within the next five minutes. Those who do not find a seat are automatically eliminated.”
A sudden blood rush came over her. There were more candidates and fewer seats. This was unlike the South where everyone was given equal opportunity. She had to move. From the corner of her eye she saw Marcus had already taken a seat and before she could move in a blink of an eye all seats were taken – while she was still standing.
Gloom overcame her temporarily. She had already lost. Or had she? She didn’t want to lose. As the remaining candidates stood there, she looked up at the point from where the announcement had come earlier. All seats were taken. They could have asked everyone else to move out and begin the test but there was silence. Illaria recalled the wording of the announcement. “Next five minutes” – it struck her. It was not a first come first serve attribute they wanted to test. They wanted to test their desire to win – to fight for what is theirs. That is why they gave five whole minutes for a task which could have ended in five seconds. She scanned the room. The next test would probably be written – and while she didn’t doubt her knowledge on battle strategy, kingdom politics or medicine, she knew one area where she would not make it – culture. Her target was clear, the person behind Marcus had to be removed. She suddenly moved and in the blink of an eye she was in front of a bulky man – who she easily pushed out of the seat.
“I am sorry but I really need to win.” she replied. She saw Marcus was awestruck. But the next instance was as expected – absolute chaos – everyone started fighting everyone – the whole room was a mess. For Illaria however, her focus was singular, remaining seated. Throughout the fight she remained seated while Marcus, well he had to keep up his reputation as the war beast, he got up and within two minutes Marcus had knocked down everyone. He came back and sat on his seat in peace.
Illaria, “You love showing-off, don’t you?”
Marcus replied gleefully, “I have an ice-cold woman to impress after all.” The remark made her heart flutter a bit. Before she could reply, they were interrupted by the magical announcement. The room shifted. All the people lying on the floor were pulled out by magical force and that vanished them into thin air. All the chairs and desks which had dismantled and fallen due to the fight had magically assembled back to their original place.
The magical voice continued, “Five minutes have elapsed. Congratulations to those who made it to the first test. The first test this year will be on Knowledge. You will now be presented with a question paper and pen. You have thirty minutes to answer all the questions correctly. Good luck.” And with that the voice disappeared as paper and pen appeared on the wooden table, as if they had always been there. Illaria realised the rules were quite simple yet deceptive. They never gave extra information, like the first trial. Candidates themselves had to figure out the underlying skill which was being tested. They had mentioned all answers being correct as the criterion to pass. They hadn’t mentioned anything about discussing, which meant discussion was allowed. In hindsight, the odds of someone knowing all the ‘correct’ answers was low. Thus, the purpose of the test was to discuss. Pour in combined knowledge. She had a quick first pass on the paper. She knew most of it, but as she had feared, it had cultural questions she had no clue about. Luckily, Marcus was still in front of her. She hoped he would offer assistance here..
Illaria quickly finished writing the answers to all other sections except culture. Marcus took a while longer. It was natural, he had a longer paper to finish. After a few more minutes, he finally kept down his pen and stretched on his seat. Illaria patiently waited. A couple of minutes passed. More minutes passed. Even more minutes passed but Marcus was not breaking the silence only. She felt that maybe he hadn’t realised that there were no rules about discussing.
She was panicking now. She didn’t know how much time remained. She finally broke the silence, “Marcus, you know that we can talk to each other right?”
Marcus turned back and replied with a sly smile, “I know Princess, the rules are about getting the right answers — and I already know all of them, so there is nothing to discuss.” Illaria remained silent. This guy wanted her to ask for his help.
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Marcus continued, “Unless someone really wants my help, they have to ask me, otherwise how will I know?”
Illaria replied in an irritated tone, “Tell me the answers to the cultural section.”
Marcus, “Nicely. The person has to ask me nicely.” he continued with his childlike smile that was getting on her nerves. But Illaria knew she had to bite down her irritation and give in.
“Marcus, please help me with the cultural section. Time is running out and I really need your help here. I don’t know a single one here and I am panicking right now the timer –” But before she could complete Marcus had already taken her sheet and filled it with the answers.
“There you go, I got your back.” he winked. She passed him a smile. Suddenly the papers disappeared into the desk. The magical voice re-appeared and said, “Congratulations to all who cleared this stage. Please proceed to the next test arena.” And the voice disappeared with that. Two objects came out of the desk – a picture and a transportation bomb.
Marcus pitched in, “Well the images are probably where the next test is. Your and mine are different though.”
Illaria, “Which means we will be sent to different testing arenas.”
Marcus, “Or one large arena with different parts. The images look like they are part of some forest. Let us do one thing, as soon as the exam starts, I will light a fire in a small part. Follow the smoke to reach me. That is if time allows, otherwise the first priority is qualifying for the next stage.”
Illaria, “Makes sense, let us proceed for our next trial then.”
Illaria memorized every detail of her next test location. She closed her eyes and dropped the bomb. She felt herself being teleported over. When she opened her eyes, a bright blue of a heart shaped lake met her eyes, just as the photo had depicted. For a couple of minutes nothing happened. She sat alone by the lake, waiting.
The magical voice rippled through the forest, “Congratulations, contenders, for making it this far. Your knowledge so far has guided you well. But knowledge that cannot be forged into strategy is useless in war — and a strategy that lacks the core virtues of fearlessness and faith is destined to crumble. A true deity encompasses all three. Strategy is the art of finding clarity amongst chaos. Fearlessness is not the absence of fear but choosing to step forward despite the fear. Faith is not asking “what if” stepping forward saying “even if”. This trial will test all of these attributes”
The magical voice continued, “You must find the Gate to the Trial of Flame Arena by sunset. Make your way to the arena. Each of you will be given a key. Some contenders are foes, while others allies. Choose wisely. Good Luck.” A magical key appeared in the centre of the lake. Illaria was impressed by the advancement in Myrenn magic the West had made as a kingdom. She had not seen something like this back home.
Illaria quickly grabbed her key and inspected it—the key looked pretty normal except the rear edge had a strange metal piece in the shape of a blob. Nothing came to her mind. The rules had said to identify foes and allies – it was time to find Marcus. Illaria climbed up a tree and couple of minutes later saw a thick smoke emerging out of a dense part of the forest. She quickly made her way over.
Marcus’s key was more interesting than hers, its edges were sharper, forming a broad triangle tapering to a thin point.
“How do we determine if we are foes or allies?” Marcus muttered, as he tried comparing both keys. “What if we are foes because our key ends are different?”
Illaria, “I don’t think it would be this straightforward. They said we would be tested on strategy – to find clarity amongst chaos.”
“But clarity can be simple too – like keys not matching making us enemies. But then we don't even know how many keys are there. Although, the key is probably only needed when we arrive at the Gate to the Arena. We can look for the gate first and then determine if we are foes or allies.”
A thought struck Illaria at the mention of finding the gate. Without a word, she snatched both her and Marcus’s keys, studying their intricate shapes. She first tried joining the ends directly, but nothing happened. Then, she turned them and connected them at a right angle. Instantly, a faint glow pulsed through the metal—brief but undeniable. Her heart quickened.
Marcus stared, eyes wide.
“We’re supposed to find the gate,” Illaria said, her voice low but sure. “And to find something, what do we need? Directions. Clarity on where we are going. A map. Look closely—your key, it’s shaped like Kelzar, while mine, it’s the Northern continent. These aren’t just keys, Marcus. They’re pieces of Merwan.”
Marcus’s astonishment deepened as he replied, “We have North and Kelzar so we need two more – South and West.”
Illaria continued, “Finding two more allies will be difficult.”
“Oh no, it won’t be at all.” A loud, chatty boy’s voice boomed through. He was accompanied by a composed and quiet girl. “Hi,” the man said cheerfully, “we know you both have N and K. And guess what—we’ve got W and S. I’m Erwin. This is Jane. Let’s get this done.”
Illaria exchanged a glance with Marcus. Yes, they both felt skeptical about these two individuals who had just appeared. Marcus asked in a stern tone, “How do you know we want the W and S?”
Erwin was about to start yapping but Jane interrupted in her cold and annoyed tone, “We can’t tell you – yet. Some things are better told later. But c’mon we don’t have much time and we have a long journey ahead of us. We four will complete this test together.” Illaria and Marcus exchanged glances, clearly these two knew way more than them, but this was the best option as of now. They agreed with caution.
When the four keys joined, they projected a glowing map into the air—a breathtaking, hovering image of the entire continent of Merwan. Mountains of Ishtaar, river Ameys, famous cities like Nightsong, Tyria, Starfell, Dreamwik—it was all there. Marcus and Illaria were fascinated while Erwin and Jane couldn’t care much. Illaria touched the city of Nightsong, and the map zoomed in on Nightsong. The city sprawled across the projection like veins of gold.
“The Gate of Trial must be present marked somewhere on the map?” Marcus said. “We are in Nightsong, so it should be somewhere in the city only – but where? Jane and Erwin, do you maybe recognize this forest we are currently in?,” he added hopefully, eyes flickering with a secret message to Illaria: I don’t know where we are in Nightsong. I'm from the North, not the West.
Jane shot Erwin a sharp glance that clearly said don’t you dare say a word. Erwin obeyed. Realising he was not going to get help, Marcus continued, “Maybe then we expand and contract this map until we find something unusual, wait how do we contract this map?” Marcus asked as he tried fiddling across cities.
Erwin however couldn’t control himself. “No, you're not seriously going to brute-force the map. Ugh. No, Jane, I am saving us time and doing this in O of 1. We have a long journey and we will fight later.” Illaria blinked at him, confused. “O… what?” But he didn’t reply. His hands moved quickly, almost unnaturally, as if he already knew exactly where to look. Within seconds, he had expanded out of Nightsong and instead zoomed in on a closeby but different city then into another deep sector and then into a forest of Lurking Shadows and then into a further part. Finally, a glowing ‘X’ appeared on the map.
Jane was not too thrilled but she couldn’t help the situation much. She simply said, “Follow my lead, you both.” Duo instead of trio – Illaria found her wording rather strange. In fact, they were eccentric. It was as if they knew everything – and they were guiding them. To victory or death, she didn’t know but following them would lead somewhere for sure.
The four of them set out, pushing through tangled vines and overgrown paths. They encountered a few beasts along the way—snarling wolves, huge hawks and giant serpents—but nothing Illaria and Marcus couldn’t handle. Erwin and Jane didn’t fight any beasts and they weren’t scared of them either. Illaria wondered who they were – for the commonfolk experiencing these beasts should have been scarier. But they both continued forward, unfazed.
Finally, they reached the mark: a massive pit yawned before them, endless and dark.
“Well, the test did mention being fearless.” Marcus sighed, “I am not eager to jump but we don’t have a choice – do we?” And with that, they all leapt together. Illaria embraced herself for a long continuous fall. She was half expecting water to be present and the bottom of the dark pit as if rewarding them for their fearlessness, but The fall was short—too short. They landed on solid ground.
Illaria’s eyes widened as she saw a huge golden glistening gate in front of her. This was it – the gate to the arena. Marcus took a step forward but Illaria’s hand shot out and grabbed him by his shoulder. Something felt off. Identifying foes and allies – they had found clarity amongst chaos. Strategy. They had been fearless across their journey and had chosen to leap into the unknown. Fearlessness. But where was faith? Continuing to move even if.
That is when it appeared. A low, rumbling growl shook the air. The ground trembled as a massive shadow moved in front of the ancient gate. From the darkness, a creature emerged— a orange black fur coat tiger with deep brown eyes.
Kelwrath of Wrath - a magical high-level tiger, Guardian of the Jungle and today the guardian of the gate stood before them, daring them to move forward.
The beast raised its head and roared, the sound echoing through the pit. Illaria drew Eleos. Her eyes couldn’t see Marcus but his hand found hers briefly, steady and reassuring. How were they going to move forward?