Kael blazeheart's Arc

Chapter 1 of 1

Kael Blazeheart guarded the Book of Knowledge, and tonight the man who taught him to guard it came to steal it. He knelt in the vault, crimson armor scraping stone, his silver blade drawn. The old knight stood across the sealed door. A torn cape hung from his shoulders. A scar split the skin above his ruined eye. Kael's order had protected the book for generations. He and his fellow knights swore to keep its power from anyone who would twist it. His mentor had spoken that oath first. He had made Kael repeat it as a boy. "Step aside," the old knight said. "You don't understand what I found." He raised his hand. A white gauntlet covered it, ringed with glowing runes. A magic pen rested in its grip. Kael had heard the vault's lock answered only to written truth. The gauntlet could write it. The book would open for him. "You taught me to stop men like you," Kael said. "I taught you to think." The old knight stepped closer. The runes brightened. "The book can end wars. End hunger. Why hand that to no one?" "Because you already decided who deserves it. That's how it starts." The old knight struck. His fist swung, and the gauntlet threw light like a blade. Kael dove sideways. Heat scorched his shoulder plate. He rolled up and slashed. His mentor knocked the blow wide with an armored forearm. They traded strikes across the vault. The old knight was slower now, but he knew every move Kael had. He had trained each one into him. Kael feinted low, then high. His mentor read both and drove a knee into Kael's ribs. Kael hit the floor. His blade skidded away. The old knight walked to the sealed door and lifted the pen. Then Kael saw the gauntlet's weakness. The runes dimmed each time it fired. It needed a breath to gather light. He grabbed his sword and charged during that breath. He did not aim for the man. He aimed for the hand. His silver blade came down on the gauntlet. Metal cracked. The pen snapped. Light burst out and threw them both back against the walls. When the glare faded, the gauntlet lay in pieces. The runes were dead. The old knight cradled his bare, burned fingers and stared at the wreck. "You broke it," he whispered. "It can't be made again." "Good," Kael said. He stood between his mentor and the door, chest heaving. The old knight rose. He did not reach for a weapon. He looked at Kael with something close to pride, and it made Kael's stomach turn. "You think this ends here," he said. "I'm not the only one who wants the book. And now they know it can be opened." He walked out. Kael let him go. The lock was safe tonight. But his mentor's warning stayed, and Kael knew he had to reach Eric before the next hand came for the door.