The Ashes of Oakhaven
The freezing mountain wind howled across the high valley of Oakhaven, carrying the suffocating stench of iron, ash, and scorched earth.
- 1、The Ashes of Oakhaven
- 2、A Whimper in the Dark
- 3、The Traitor’s Blade
- 4、The Illusion of Royal Favor
- 5、The Sacred Lineage
- 6、The Awakening of a Queen
Where a magnificent royal encampment had stood just hours before, only charred wooden posts and shredded banners remained scattered across the crimson-stained snow.
The violent battle had finally ended, but no triumphant horns sounded across the jagged granite peaks.
Hundreds of elite royal guards lay cold and motionless in the thick mud, their silver plate armor glistening under the pale morning sky.
Their bodies were not pierced by the crude iron axes of the wild northern rebels as the royal court had anticipated.
Instead, every single knight had been felled by the slender, black-feathered arrows of the King's infamous Shadow Vanguard.
Among the sprawling carpet of the dead lay Princess Aurelia, her heavy crimson velvet cloak soaked in freezing mud and her own darkening blood.
To any scavenger bird circling above, she appeared completely indistinguishable from the corpses surrounding her.
Her skin had turned the color of pale winter frost, her breathing reduced to a microscopic rise and fall of her chest.
She could not move a single finger, trapped in a terrifying paralysis caused by severe blood loss, freezing temperatures, and devastating physical shock.
The absolute silence of the ruined camp was heavy and suffocating, broken only by the crackle of dying embers.
Then, a quiet crunch of footsteps in the deep snow broke the agonizing stillness near the ruined command tent.
A Whimper in the Dark
A tiny white wolf cub crawled out from beneath the smoldering canvas of the collapsed royal pavilion.
Its thick silver-white coat was matted with soot and stained with fresh streaks of crimson, yet its ice-blue eyes burned with an astonishing intelligence.
The small creature stepped cautiously over fallen iron spears and shattered wooden shields, sniffing the icy air with urgent desperation.
It ignored the lifeless bodies of the heavy armor-clad guards, moving with deliberate focus across the blood-soaked terrain.
When it finally reached the motionless form of Princess Aurelia, the cub stopped in its tracks and tilted its head.
The young animal let out a high-pitched, trembling whimper that echoed softly against the towering canyon walls.
It stepped closer, pressing its small, warm body against her frozen ribs in a desperate attempt to share its meager warmth.
When Aurelia remained still, the cub stepped up onto her blood-stained shoulder and gently licked her icy cheek with its warm tongue.
The sharp, warm sensation pierced through the thick fog of unconsciousness that was slowly pulling Aurelia into eternal darkness.
A ragged, agonizing gasp broke from her lips as her eyelids fluttered open against the harsh glare of the winter morning.
The Traitor’s Blade
Aurelia’s vision swam with blurred shapes before slowly focusing on the bright blue eyes of the white wolf cub hovering above her face.
A wave of excruciating pain surged through her body, radiating outward from the deep sword wound near her ribs.
With a monumental effort of will, she lifted her numb, trembling arms and gathered the tiny creature into her embrace.
The cub immediately pressed its nose into the curve of her neck, letting out a soft, quivering sigh of relief.
As she held the shivering creature close, the horrific reality of the previous night’s massacre rushed back into her mind with terrifying clarity.
She remembered the sudden sound of muffled footfalls surrounding the encampment just past midnight.
She remembered watching Lord Commander Vane, her lifelong guardian and mentor, charge into the darkness with his sword drawn.
He had not fallen to the wild tribes of the outer wastes as the royal decrees had warned the court.
He had been executed by the King’s personal assassins, men who carried secret orders bearing the personal wax seal of her father, King Garron.
Aurelia had always believed she was dispatched to the northern front to project royal strength and offer hope to the troops.
Now, the horrifying truth cut deeper into her soul than the cold iron blade currently resting beside her in the mud.
The Illusion of Royal Favor
King Garron had never intended for her to return from this expedition alive.
For nineteen long years, Aurelia had lived under the unwavering belief that she was the beloved, legitimate daughter of the King.
She had endured years of rigorous academic studies, strict etiquette lessons, and the cold emotional detachment of a monarch who never smiled in her presence.
She had spent her entire youth striving to win his approval, convincing herself that his distant nature was merely the unavoidable burden of wearing the crown.
She had trained in swordsmanship until her hands bled, all to prove she was worthy of carrying the royal name into battle.
Yet, as Lord Commander Vane lay bleeding out beside her tent hours earlier, he had pressed a wax-sealed parchment into her shaking hands.
With his final dying breath, the old commander had shattered the foundation of her entire existence with a single whispered confession.
Aurelia was not the blood daughter of King Garron.
