The Princess of Light and The Knight of Shadow

Revelation

When Nox regained his senses, he was in a dark room.

He stared up the dull ceiling. What happened? The last thing he could remember was fighting Zalthor, and the sheer power that the Thurinian's Animarta possessed. He was literally fighting a deathless armored giant that could control three elements. There was lightning and fire everywhere, the stage reduced to ruin while Nox was...

He was what? A pounding headache beat at his skull, and he squeezed his eyes closed. After the pain had subsided, he raised his right arm and... the chains rattled.

Chains?

He glanced in that direction, and his eyes widened. A manacle enveloped his wrist, tied to a chain pounded into the grimy wall. And now that the fog in his mind had cleared, he realized that he was lying on a cot, small and smelly, and he was wearing a rough tunic that bared his arms.

Bolting upright, he glanced around. No lights except for the torches burning outside the bars of his cell. His cell. He was in a prison.

"Hello!" he shouted, his voice loud in the confined space. He waited a few minutes, and when no response came, he shouted again.

This time, there was a clang, then the loud stomping of iron boots. A man in full plate came into view, an elegant cobalt sword in his hand. Nox took one look at it and knew he was a Wielder.

"What's up?" the guard asked. His voice wasn't hostile, but there was wariness in it, and even fear.

Nox studied him. He couldn't see the Wielder's face beneath the helmet, except for the eyes, but he was familiar with the insignia emblazoned on his chestplate: a scythe cleaving a white flame.

Soulbreakers. The kingdom's elite.

Why were they guarding him? Shaking his head, Nox showed his shackles. "Mind telling me what I am doing here?"

The guard blinked. "You're in prison."

"Yes, I know. On what charges?"

"You don't know?"

"Would I ask if I know?" Nox snapped. His patience was growing thin by the minute. This was an elite?

The guard hesitated. He peered at him through the metal bars which, Nox realized just now, was dotted with tiny crystals. Then the guard nodded, seemingly confirming something. "So you don't really remember," he muttered.

"Remember what?" Nox demanded.

"That you killed several Thurinian Wielders, including Zalthor."

The words struck Nox like hammer blows. It echoed in his ears, and what strength he had in him left. "I... I did what?" he asked hoarsely.

"Yes. You killed people." The guard's tone was soft this time. "I don't know the full details. I was just stationed here to guard you for this shift. But I heard that you wrecked an entire wing of the school. Almost killed the Royal Family too."

A jolt lanced along Nox's spine. "Ella! Is she all right?"

"Who's Ella?"

"Estella. Princess Estella." Nox rose from his cot, stepping toward the guard, but he could only get as far as a foot past his cot. "Please! Is she safe?"

The guard hesitated, then nodded. "Yes, she is. She's... the one who brought you here. She and the teachers."

The pounding in Nox's head returned, greater this time. He clutched his head as images and sounds flashed in his mind; Zalthor screaming in agony, a pool of blood, light and fire blasting around Nox, swirling in a confused mayhem.