Epilogue for chapter 1

Location: Somewhere in Avaloria

Time: Only a few minutes to midnight.

Cadet Eryndor Thorne's life was slipping away, his vision blurring as hands tightened around his throat. He struggled, but the grip only strengthened, cutting off his air supply. His thoughts raced, memories flashing before his eyes...

"It was as if I already knew this was how I'd die," he thought, a mix of resignation and anger flooding his mind. "Nobody ever valued people like me, from the slums. The only reason I became a cadet in training was so that I could be useful, and not later killed for some stupid reason in the future. But now, this is how I die... kind of a letdown, but what can I do?"

A surge of determination welled up within him. "Although, there is one thing I can do."

With a fierce effort, Eryndor clenched his fist, digging his hard nails deep into his palm. A small, defiant act, but it was all he had left.

As his body went limp, the hands released their hold, and he felt himself being lifted and carried. The sound of rushing water grew louder, and he was tossed into the river like a rag doll.

One of the soldiers, a burly man with a scar above his left eyebrow, turned to the one who had strangled Eryndor and asked, "Why strangle him? Why not just stab him and be done with it?"

The murderer's eyes gleamed in the moonlight as he replied, "No blood, no trail for the Ryehounds to follow. We can't have them sniffing around here, can we? If they do and somehow find the body, it will all come back to us and then we'll be fucked."

"But won't they find his body anyway? I mean, you threw it in a river."

"They may find it, but this isn't my first time doing this. If they find him in the morning or later on, it won't matter and it can't be traced back to us. The plan is just to absolutely never spill blood."

The group dispersed, leaving behind a trail of secrets and a lifeless body drifting downstream, lost in the darkness of Avaloria's waters.

The river closed over Eryndor's head, and his thoughts faded into darkness, leaving behind only the secrets he had uncovered, and the small, stubborn act of defiance that would soon become a mystery to unravel



A/N: I'd like to thank all you readers for reading the book to this extent, this is just a filler chapter, it will help understand chapter 2 which is coming up soon by the way and once again thank you all I appreciate it.

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