Meanwhile, at that very same moment, as Leon, Lucia, and Livia were starting to gather their forces on the southern continent, things were taking a dark turn at House Rochele's castle near the Wall.
"Waaaaah!" a seventeen-year-old girl screamed as she jolted awake.
The girl sat in a wheelchair, gasping for air, her hands clutching her head. Her face was tight with tension and sheer terror. A book had fallen beside her chair; it seemed she had fallen asleep while reading and slipped into a nightmare. "Blam!" Her bedroom door burst open, and a young man around eighteen years old rushed in.
"Casey!" he shouted.
Casey turned and saw him, tears beginning to stream down her face the moment she saw his familiar face.
"Brother Theobald," she whispered.
"What's wrong?" Theo asked, rushing to her side.
"Brother... I... I... I had a dream. We have to get out of here. We have to leave right now," Casey replied.
"What are you talking about, Casey? Try to explain it to me slowly," Theo said, crouching down and taking his sister by the shoulders.
Casey nodded and began to recount her dream. Three pivotal events had played out in her mind. First, their father, Gerald Rochele—the head of the house—was to be executed in the capital on false charges of treason. Their adoptive uncle, Lord Geoffrey Baranger, would frame him and then march on their castle to slaughter every inhabitant and seize control.
Geoffrey's son, Oscar, would then force their older sister, Valentina Rochele, into marriage to absorb their house. As for Theobald and Cassandra, they were to be sold as slaves to lords in the East, eventually dying in misery without ever seeing each other again.
The second vision showed a mighty king and two powerful queens from the south landing on the shores. This king would conquer Castletown and then push north, where the other great houses had already unified under the Barangers. The North would become a massive battlefield between the Baranger alliance and the southern rulers who had already seized nearly the entire central continent.
The third vision was the end of all things: as House Baranger fought the southern rulers, an undead dragon from the far north would shatter the Wall. The undead legions would pour in, turning the conflict into a three-way war that would destroy everything, leaving only a single monastery standing in the East.
Theo listened, stunned and hesitant. He didn't know whether to believe her or not.
"Everything will be destroyed, Brother... we have to take big sister Valen and leave," Casey urged.
"I... I don't know what to say. I can't just move. Father put me in charge here," Theo said.
Suddenly, a frantic knock pounded on the door. Theo opened it to find a spearman gasping for air.
"Lord Theo, report! The scouts see a dark sky and a thick purple mist behind the Wall covering the forest. Lady Valentina sent me to tell you!"
"A thick... purple... mist," Theo muttered. He turned sharply to look at Casey, who was already staring back at him. His body began to tremble, and his face went deathly pale.
An ancient warning and prophecy from the ancestors of the Wall guards spoke of this: the sign of the undead returning and the gates of hell opening was a blackened sky accompanied by a thick purple mist that would swallow the north before creeping across the entire continent. If these signs appeared, the first thing to emerge from the gates would be a wave of pure malice, intended to turn men evil and tear society apart.
Those who remained uncorrupted were told to flee East. They were to gather their strength alongside three rulers chosen by the gods to fight the hellish legions that would emerge once humanity had fractured. Theo rushed down to the main courtyard with the Wall guards. When he arrived, a large portion of the garrison was already assembled.
"Lord Theobald!" the soldiers shouted, bowing their heads.
Theo looked left and right, frantically searching for his older sister, the commander of the Wall knights. "Where is Lady Valentina?" he asked, panic rising in his voice.
"She is still at the outpost, calming the knights and soldiers, Lord Theobald," a soldier replied.
"Get her back here now! Abandon the outpost! Call everyone back! And as for the rest of you—gather the civilians, take your families, and get ready. We are leaving for the monastery in the East immediately!" Theo barked.
The soldiers who heard Theo's command looked at one another in confusion, whispering among themselves. Many did not move to obey.
"But Lord Gerald's orders were clear: we are not to leave our posts, Lord Theobald. We must defend the Wall," a commander argued.
"You all know the prophecy and the warnings carved into the North gate! The mist is already covering the forest. In a few days, it will reach the Wall, and eventually, it will spread everywhere. We have to leave before that happens!" Theo countered.
"Lord Gerald's orders were to hold the line here and not be swayed by fear. If I may suggest, we should wait for Lord Gerald to return from the capital. We can hold a meeting with him then to decide our next steps," the commander insisted.
"He's right, Lord Theobald... don't go breaking Lord Gerald's orders," several soldiers chimed in.
The room grew loud and chaotic. Theo saw the looks on the faces of the commanders and officers; they were clearly looking down on him because he was only eighteen and just the second son. Suddenly, "Krieeet." A wheelchair rolled toward Theo, and he quickly caught it. Casey had made her way down the stairs on her own.
"Casey? Why did you come down here?" Theo asked.
Casey didn't answer him. She turned her gaze toward the bickering commanders and soldiers.
"Everyone shut up! Lord Gerald Rochele is going to be arrested! We are all going to be killed! We have to leave right now!" Casey screamed.
"H-hey... Casey," Theo whispered, stunned. He stared at his sister as if he were seeing her for the first time.
"What? Lady Cassandra, are you actually wishing for your father to be arrested? Why would you say such a thing? We don't agree with you at all. You know every knight and soldier here is fiercely loyal to Lord Gerald," a commander snapped.
The hall erupted. Everyone in the room began insulting Casey while chanting the name of their father, Gerald. Theo pulled Casey into a hug as she kept screaming for them to listen. Suddenly, "Blam!" The castle doors were thrown open. A messenger from the capital marched in with his personal guard. The shouting stopped instantly. Every eye in the room turned toward the door as the messenger unfurled a scroll.
"Attention, all inhabitants of Castle Rochele! Gerald Rochele is being detained in the capital on suspicion of treason. He is accused of framing Lord Alex Reinald of House Reinald—a descendant of the Vanadias Imperial family—eighteen years ago, and conspiring with Lady Meredith of House Levent to revolt against the Council of Lords. For the time being, no one is permitted to leave the castle. It is now under the strict guard of the Knightdom. Lady Valentina Rochele has also been arrested and taken to the capital for her involvement in the conspiracy!" the messenger bellowed.
"What... no. That's impossible. My father and sister would never be involved in that!" Theo shouted.
"It's already happening, Brother... I'm scared... Brother," Casey whispered, clutching Theo's sleeve tightly.
The soldiers who had been mocking Casey just moments ago went dead silent. They looked at her, realizing with horror that what she and Theo had said was true. But it was too late. They were trapped. As the messenger and his guards left the hall, Theo and Casey remained frozen, holding onto each other as they watched their freedom walk out the door.