Part II – The Echo of the Fall
Alexander sat on a broken wall, in the inner courtyard of the Keep. The scent of dust and shattered stone had seeped into his bones. In front of him, on a rough stool, sat a man with a scarred armor and a face carved by time and wounds.
The knight did not speak to please. He spoke because words were all he had left.
"The first day, they arrived at dawn, without a sound. We thought they were just another horde... but we were wrong."
His voice was hoarse, but steady. Alexander listened without moving, like a statue.
"They lined up in perfect rows. Formations… ordered. They looked like ancient legions, like those in the books. Black shields, armor engraved with runes... They didn't shout, didn't hurl insults. They advanced in silence, as if every step was calculated."
"Our mages raised barriers, the knights went into the field. The first clashes were violent, but controlled. We thought we could repel them. And for that day… we did."
A pause. The knight wiped his dirty forehead with his hand.
"But then they came back. Every night. Without rest, without fatigue. They had no hunger, no fear. On the second day, they began to surround us. The side towers… were the first to fall."
Alexander lowered his gaze, observing the ground. Some stones were still blackened from magical fire.
"We fought until our hands bled. The mages began to falter, their mana reserves drained. Prayers mixed with screams. But no one… no one spoke of surrender. Lord Caelum said that as long as there was a breath in the Keep, there was hope."
The knight stared at him for a moment.
"On the third day… hope began to seem like a lie. The enemy's forces didn't decrease. They seemed to regenerate. Every formation we brought down was replaced within minutes. They raised stone barriers, dug beneath the walls. As if they knew the Keep better than we did."
A gust of wind moved a tarp resting nearby, briefly revealing a gloved, lifeless hand. The knight looked at it but didn't move.
"Yet… we held out. Because we had nothing else. Because there were children in the lower halls. Because Caelum was still standing. And as long as he was… we would be too."
Silence fell between them for a moment. Alexander slowly stood up, without speaking, but with a more focused gaze than before.
"It wasn't just a fall. It was a trial. A declaration."
His words were a whisper, but they weighed like stone.
And in the distance, as if the earth itself had heard that tale, a faint rumble made the dead foundations of the Keep tremble.