THUD! THUD! THUD!
The echo carried throughout the narrow hallway.
Boots struck in unison, as Princess Saphira's unease sharpened.
"Why are you not responding? Where is my father?" she barked out, irritation rising at the blatant disrespect.
Again.
Nothing...
Her jaw tightened as a sharp glare sported her face.
'...If you're not going to respond...'
Her red gaze stared at the back of the guards before she halted in her steps.
A stop that read, if you aren't going to answer, I will not accompany you.
But before a second could pass....!
A gauntlet clamped her wrist, twisting hard....
A sudden scene, that if witnessed would cause an outrage.
Shock paged upon her face, but before it could fully process....another hand shot out.
THUD!
She was shoved to the wall, as metal pressed into her chest.
What was going on here?
The guards who were meant to shield her had turned....like a pack of wolves.
She didn't hesitate.
Mana surged through her veins; a flare of light bursting from her palm, searing bright enough to blind....
BIINGGG!
The narrow hall cracked with heat suddenly, as the atmosphere turned deadly.
To blatantly strike the Princess of Elyndor, who was no weakling....it was clear these individuals came prepared.
THUD!
Shields locked into place, etched with sigils that swallowed her spell whole.
VOOSH!
The flare dissipated like a candle to the wind.
Visible distress flashed...."Traitors---".
She tried to scream, but a fist struck her ribs.
BANG!
The strike was sudden.
Her breath fleeing from her immediately.
Cold steel flirted upon her throat.
She tried reacting...reaching for magic again, but it was too slow.
A sharp prick at her neck swept darkness and pressure in.
Her knees gave way.
The golden phoenix, stitched on her spine, seemed to dim at the sight....
THUD!
Through her floating vision, her ears picked upon a few hazy words...
"....Is it ready"
"Are they...."
And then the dark took her.
Slumber.
---------------
The King's boots struck the floor in even rhythm as his personal guards escorted him through a separate corridor.
"Report," his voice cut through sharply.
A guard bowed, his armour shimmering as he walked, helmet low.
"Your Majesty, the scanners detected nothing prior to the attack. No fluctuations or energy signatures."
"Not possible", the King's firm tone echoed. His eyes flicked briefly to the trembling walls as distant sound resounded.
"An attack of this precision...to go unnoticed?"
Another guard answered, voice tight.
"The blast appeared to be traced....within the hall itself, not outside."
The King paused at the announcement.
'Inside?'
"We've yet to locate the infiltrators." the guard continued.
King Azarel's jaw tightened, before his ruffled with his grey-stranded beard. "Then they are still here! Double the scans and sweep everything....immediately!"
The guards responded immediately, and in tandem.
The King's gaze steadied forward, feet never slowing as he was lost in thought.
'Who dares!'
The sheer audacity to attack his abode in such manner....
It left him baffled....but furious!
The question still floated, throughout his mind, the guards minds and everyone still in the premises:
"What are they after?"
--------------
Tap! Tap! Tap!
Riven shifted and paced through the corridors of the Hall, creaks and echoes following him in his steps.
His grey eyes stared through the darkness, hand clutching his Storage Capsule, waiting to reveal Mael's Fang if needed.
'...To think someone would cause a scene like that', he thought, brown hair swaying as he turned.
The corridors were vast and winding like a royal maze; most lights flickering, battling to stay awake.
The further he travelled, the less sound travelled over.
The previous sounds of panic had dulled leaving his own footsteps and the tension in the air.
Tap Tap Tap
Every step rang loudly.
The air was colder.
Heavier.
Then---
Muffled voices....
Low.
Urgent.
The scrape of boots against stone.
"...Is it stable yet?"
"...Hurry up! We haven't got long."
Riven halted, those eyes narrowing as he angled towards the sound.
He slowed, quietly approaching.
He travelled deeper until he came across a regal, brown, ordained door.
"....Are they waiting?"
"...They are."
"....Let's be quick about this".
"....To think I'd be kidnapping a princess."
His fingers twitched upon the words.
Multiple voices, the number unknown, the only consistent feature was the urgency present in all.
One even responding comically to another.
What on Eldris had Riven stumbled upon?
Unnatural sounds filled the air, the sounds you'd mistake for manufacturing...
It was then, a rough voice called the two out, his grainy voice eliciting a slight response from Riven.
"...Make sure the runes hold. The cloaks won't last long out there."
Out there? In that cold? They'll freeze before the portal closes."
"Not our concern. Once she's through, our part's finished."
Riven's brows furrowed.
'...Cloaks?'
'Cold?'
What was going on here?
Click! Zip!
The sound of fabric shifting and metal buckles fastening floated through the cracks of the door.
He had been frozen there....listening.
Silence had filled the hall and his senses.
thump- thump-
His own heartbeat had overpowered his ears....
'...Why aren't they talking?'
Then--faint, muffling.
"...Keep her steady. The array won't hold long."
"...Layer the cloaks--she won't survive without them."
A rise in urgency.
Hushed but sharp....
The sound of footsteps seemed to fade further away from him....
VOOP! VOOOP! VOOP! VOOP!
Strange sounds alarmed the boy straining his ears.
Silence had bled through once more, broken only by a faint low hum?
A vibration.
Faint.
Unnatural.
Riven's fingers curled around the handle.
Click.
The door creaked open, spilling a wave of pale blue light across his face.
Inside was an immense circle, covering the space in front of him.
Carved ruins flared around with unstable glow.
It's centre rippled like water, collapsing inwards as though swallowing itself.
The room was empty.
Nobody was inside.
Scattered across the carpet was rows of ordained armour and helmets, seemingly discarded in a hurry...
His eyes barely had time to take in the vibrant blue light in the air, the tang of magic still thick.
The circle had shuddered.
It was shrinking....and fast.
There was no time for thought.
Only motion.
Riven's jaw clenched, feet hammering the floor before he vanished....
WHOOSH!!
VOOP!
He charged into the light.
Before darkness swallowed him whole.