CHAPTER 51: ECHOES BENEATH THE BLADE

Thalen awoke with a start. The morning was gray, and dawn’s light carried no warmth only the weight of what he’d learned. He pressed a hand to his side, where the Blade That Breaks still lay beneath his cloak. He felt its gentle pulse, as if the weapon itself knew the path he had chosen: not outward war, but inward excavation.

At the summit chamber, the Council gathered again this time in urgency. Renal, Varos, Lady Miraline, Generals Simeon and Terres, Ilara, and the Crown envoys awaited him. The tension was sharper than the sword he carried.

Thalen stepped forward and placed the cracked glyph disc on the table. Its fractured surface reflected the morning light, casting purple fractures across attentive faces.

"This," he began quietly, "is not just a Shadehand tool. It predates every cult flare we’ve seen. Ilara, explain."

The mage rose. She lifted her stave and gestured at the disc. "This glyph is a subconscious conduit capable of folding spirit and flesh, collapsing distance and reality. It’s not Tyrant Spirit... it’s older, more primal." She turned to Thalen. "You said ’pre-Spirit.’ I confirm that: we’re dealing with relics of the First Tyrant or worse, their predecessors."

A murmur rippled through the chamber. One Crown envoy swallowed. Varos placed a hand on Thalen’s shoulder. "That’s why he warned us: ’roots beneath.’ This is no faction. This is legacy."

Renal leaned in, voice grave. "So we ignite the Watch on the surface but below us sleeps something ancient."

Thalen nodded. "I propose... an excavation. A joint dig under Citadel oversight. We map the tunnels, retrieve relics, destroy or secure what we must."

The envoys exchanged glances. A Crown envoy spoke. "We will fund the excavation but insist on Crown archeologists embedded under liaison. We will not sanction secret operations beneath our forts."

Thalen exhaled. "Fair. Provided their access is logged and transparent."

"Yes," Renal agreed. "Full logs. No sealed doors."

The general rose. "And guards. Both Reuven and Crown. To ensure order."

They fashioned the plan: a dig site to be prepared below the northern ramparts, teams rotating in day-night shifts, scientists and soldiers paired.

By midday, the dig had begun. Stone blocks were moved away, revealing carved doorways inscribed with archaic runes. Thalen stood by the leading arch a seal that once held back something older.

Ilara knelt and traced a glyph. "This is a seal fashioned to contain a focal point of aura. A prison."

Thalen’s pulse quickened. "What was locked away?"

Ilara tapped the symbol. "Possibly the source of Tyrant power or the precursor." She looked up. "Think primal aura neither good nor tyrant. Raw. Unshaped."

Below, torches flickered deeper. Voices echoed from beyond the stone. The soldiers pushed aside rubble. Dust coated every surface.

At length, a ladder descended. Thalen led the way. Beneath the rampart lay a chamber a vaulted room carved from pink-veined stone clawed with sigils. In its center, a dais of black marble. A circular gash in its surface hummed with residual pressure.

He bowed his head. "A seal indeed."

Renal stepped beside him. "Guard it?" He glanced at the soldiers who spread around on ropes and ledges.

Thalen nodded. "Secure the perimeter. We’ll catalog every relic."

They worked through the afternoon, examining relics: glyph-stamped bone fragments, shards of broken disks echoing the cracked one above, blackened vials sealed with violet residue.

Ilara was absorbed. "These disks they show glyph families. Each elder disk is unique; this cracked disc was maybe regional. But here..." She held an intact relic: a disk twice its size, etched in spiral.

Thalen held his breath. "Don’t activate it."

She lowered it. "Not yet." She looked to him. "It’s too dangerous no one knows the reaction."

Renal’s voice halted the scholarly moment. "General Simeon reports shipments fermenting below. Possibly automated aura traps they’re already constructing more."

Thalen’s blood ran cold. "We destroy them."

The general nodded. "But we must also trace the supply. Whoever brought those materials here... they still work."

Thalen climbed back to the surface as dusk fell. The dig lights glowed from below an omen of bones illuminated from beneath.

He ascended to the Citadel’s highest wall, where the new Border Watch patrol paraded in lantern-lit lines.

Renal joined him, cloak damp with evening mist. "They’re doing well," he said, watching the lines.

Thalen exhaled. "But they’ll do better knowing we stand beside them. Come."

They descended to the patrol lines. Soldiers straightened as the leaders passed. At the nearest tower, a Reuven commander reported in.

"All secure, Ascendant. Northern patrol found no threats."

"Good work," Thalen said, patting his shoulder. "Keep it up."

He turned to Renal. "They look at us differently now."

Renal’s nod was slow. "Leadership demands not just vision, but presence."

Thalen let his gaze linger on the soldiers. Their banner shone silver and black hope intertwined.

That night, Ilara arranged the relics within the dig site. She studied patterns, annotated glyph connections. The Crown archeologists pored over runic walls.

Thalen joined them. They watched as General Simeon and Crown guards sealed rubble and broken relics into crates marked "RU–Dangerous."

Renal entered, expression drawn. "There’s more records from the Crown’s records house. They indicate similar relic shipments, predating Ascendant’s rise. Some intended for fortress alchemy labs."

Illara swallowed. "They were planning arcane weaponization of aura before we began drills."

Renal’s voice shook. "Whoever did this had access, authority."

Thalen closed his eyes. "Then they are still inside."

A hush fell. Outside, the Watch’s lanterns blinked along walls like cautious stars.

Thalen opened his eyes. "Then our next step is clear." He faced Renal. "We bring this to the public."

Renal’s face hardened. "You mean at the summit before the treaty is finalized?"

Thalen nodded. "Let the people see all of what we’ve found. Not just Crown heritage, not just Reuven secrets but our history."

Renal stared at him. Then he drew a breath and nodded. "Then let’s light that torch."

Morning found the Citadel’s great hall filled like never before. Farmers, smiths, scholars, emissaries all came to hear. The Border Watch sat near the dais. The Nine Heroes lined either side.

Thalen stepped forward, holding the intact spiral disk. "People of Reuven and friends of the Crown: Today we reveal what lies beneath the roots we spoke of."

He spoke of the excavation, the relics, the arcane traps, the shipments, and the disks. He showed the cracked relic, then the spiral one. He described the glyphs, the ancient scripts. He told them how Shadehand cultists were cleaning up after these relic pathways.

Gasps echoed. Some faces reddened. Others whispered in wonder. Scientists from the Crown envoys verified the evidence.

Renal rose with him. "This is not just Reuven’s story. It is Crown history too. These relics were intended to enforce dominance by any means. We stopped them."

An elderly farmer stood. "Can we trust this? Could there be more?" His voice quavered with age and worry.

Thalen knelt down. "We may not find all history buries itself. But today we vow: whatever remains, we uncover together." He held up the spiral disk. "Whether Crown or Reuven, our future will not be shaped in the dark."

Silence folded the hall. Then, slowly, applause began soft at first, then swelling.

Lady Miraline handed Thalen a sealed document new treaty clauses guaranteeing joint custody of relics, public disclosure, and joint trials for arcane crimes.

Thalen stepped back, heart steady. For the first time in months, the applause didn’t feel symbolic. It felt like something real was beginning. The veil had been lifted not just from the ruins beneath them, but from the hearts of their people.

That night, as he stood once more atop the Citadel’s highest rampart, watching the stars burn cold above and the torches glow warm below, Thalen whispered to the wind:

"We are not done digging. But we are no longer alone."