Hevaria, the kingdom of the sun. Known for its bright places and beautiful faces. It is the land of the strong, a prosperous nation whose armies have won countless victories and a land filled with many mysteries. At this moment, Stella Solare, the youngest child of King Luce Solare is exploring the forbidden ruins with her two friends sealed beneath the city of Citta Della, the capital of Hevaria. 

“Like I said, nothing but filthy water and bats.” Stella said. 

“Seems like you fit right in here Stella, all sad and moody!” Alia laughed as she skipped through the catacombs. 

“Will you two shut up! If we’re caught here, we’ll all be kicked out of the knight's academy. You two would get a slap on the wrist but I'd be on the first boat back to Eldrant... or worse.” Alexander said sternly. 

“Oh, please Alex, like the King would just punish us for walking around in this dump. “How dare the three of you take a walk in my creepy basement, also Alexander Erikson you are to be executed on spot for being a stinky no-good human!” Alia says loudly as she terribly impersonates the king. 

“The only one deserving execution is you after that impression, hey Stell where is this door you wanted to show us?” He replies. 

Alexander looks down at Stella, who was walking ahead of them. Her beautiful golden hair swayed perfectly with her confident stride. 

“It’s not too far now, just down this stairway.” 

Traversing down this long stairway is a trio, led by Princess Stella Solare; the youngest member of the royal family. She and her friends are all currently enrolled in their last year at the knight’s academy in Citta Della. As a Hevarian, she has tan skin, golden eyes and hair. She is holding an orb of sunlight illuminating the path. This type of magic comes in many forms and is exclusive to the royal family, whose blood grants such powers.  

Stella is accompanied by her childhood friend Aria De Sempre, who is also a hevarian. She was raised by nobles which is how the two became introduced at a young age. Aria is a hyperactive optimist who likes to put up a playful attitude. She’s a skilled combatant who wields a large Warhammer and dreams of becoming a high ranking “Golden Knight” one day so she can be famous and travel the world.  

The other member of the trio is Alexander Erikson, he is a human from Eldrant with brown hair and blue eyes. A tall and fit young man, he is working on graduating top of his class at the knight's academy and dreams of becoming one of six “Gallant Knights” one day. This group consists of some of the strongest beings in the world. Alexander is a hero above all else, doing whatever is right at any cost. He wields the classic sword and shield, both holstered on his back. 

After enduring a maze of walls and tight corridors, the trio enter a very large room, dim lit by sunlight coming through cracks in the wall. They do not stop and observe their surroundings, instead they are completely entranced by this giant stone door at the end of this big hall. 

“This is what I wanted to show you.” Stella said. 

“I’ve never seen anything like this in my studies, the words inscribed on it aren’t like any other language I've seen before. Surely, it can be opened.”  Alexander said. 

“Yeah, that’s how doors work Alex, people open them. Besides, how do we know if it’s safe? Or if we can even get it open in the first place? Alia replied. 

“Honestly, I’m not sure, but this might be what I need to graduate from the academy. My father is the king and he hasn’t even heard of this door.” Stella replied. 

“Oh, so you want to graduate by making this your discovery because you keep failing the combat exams is that it?” Alia said playfully. 

“Not funny Alia, let’s just get closer to the door.” Stella said sternly. 

The trio make their way towards the door, each step feeling heavier than the last. Once at the door, Alexander makes note that this place has a strange feeling to it. After running his fingers along the door, he realizes that the words inscribed on the door aren’t physically engraved, but magically. 

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

“Enchanted.” He speaks. 

“Think you can decode it?” Stella asks. 

“Yes, but it will take a while, It’s in a language I’m unfamiliar with.” 

“Okay door master, you do that, while I see if I can bust it open!” Alia yells as she pulls out her warhammer.  

In the blink of an eye, Alexander catches her hilt mid swing, the colliding forces create a sudden gust of wind around them. 

“Don’t be an Idiot.” he says with a rare look of anger on his face. 

“What’s that? You wanna fight!?” Alia barks back. 

“Will you two please stop being children? Alia, you can’t just hit something of unknown enchantment, it could kill you. Go search the rest of this area for anything that sticks out. Alex, begin decoding this enchantment.” Stella commands. 

“Alright fine, I will do your bidding, Princess.” alia laughs as she puts her warhammer away and wanders off. 

Stella turns to look down at Alexander, who’s already working hard to decode the enchantment in his notebook. 

“I haven’t seen you look that angry in a while Alex; the last time I did you were standing over your opponent in the combat exam last year. Alia would do well to remember your strength next time she thinks about messing with you.” Stella says. 

“I’m not that strong.” He replies. 

“Humble as always. Let me help you decode this; it’s going to be a long day.” 

The pair worked for 4 hours; Stella handled the letter-sound relationships while Alexander handled the letter patterns. Meanwhile, Alia took a nap. 3 more hours passed, and the first word was revealed. 

“Death.” Alexander speaks. 

The two went silent for a moment. 

“We need to decode the rest, don’t stop now.” Stella says. 

Alia is now awake, and is visibly uncomfortable. 

“The suns going down, what little light we have in here is fading. We should come back tomorrow.” Alia says nervously. 

Many Hevarian’s have a natural fear of darkness, because they draw power from the sun. However, humans like alexander do not suffer from such fears. 

“Don’t worry, Stell can make everlasting torches with sun fire, you can draw some power from that.” Alexander says reassuringly. 

As darkness is about to fill the room, Stella goes to each unlit sconce and lights them with brilliant golden flames. The shadows cast seem to dance on the ground and the walls. Royal sunlight magic seems to bring life to darkness, and the dark fears it. 

“That’s much better, if only every Hevarian had this power.” Alia joked. 

“It would burn your body to ash from the inside. Only those with the royal blood can handle its power.” Alexander replied. 

“If you think these little sun flames are impressive you should see what my older sister Alba can do. She’s a master arcanist, I’ve seen her draw power from the light of the stars themselves.” 

As the three of them talked about magic and family, all outside traces of sunlight had turned to dark and the sun fire was all that illuminated the room. This caused a strange effect on the door, causing the enchanted letters to shift and morph. The three were stunned, and they all realized the words once unknown had shifted into the Hevarian language. The trio read in unison: 

“Death lies beyond this door 

You stand before the tomb of the exiled 

May he sleep forever 

For he wakes when the royal sun dies.” 

“Alright guys, time to go home!” Alia says with a shaking voice, trying to maintain a smile. 

“She’s right Stell, you need to report this to the King or the Knights Council, forget about your research project.” Alexander says. 

“No.” she speaks. 

“No? This is magic we’ve never seen before; you even said your father doesn’t know about this place. We need to leave before something bad happens.” he replies. 

“I said no, I need to see what’s on the other side.” 

“I’m sorry Stell, but this place doesn’t feel right, the air here is sinister, I know you sense it too.” he says. 

Alexander grabs Alia’s shaking hand and beings leading her to the exit, when Stella says: 

“I order you to stop.” 

Just then Alia’s feet stop, and Alexander continuous walking for a moment causing their hands to separate. When he turns around, Alia is looking down at the floor, shaking with anger and fear. As a Hevarian, she must abide by the Princess’s commands. 

“As a human, I must only obey the king's orders while I’m here, not yours Princess. If you want us to stay then I will on my own accord, but let Alia go! She doesn’t want to be here any longer. You know how she is with places like these.” Alex says stoically. 

“You shouldn’t use your royal authority on your friends.” Alia says quietly. 

A moment of silence passes. 

“Alia, I’m sorr-” 

“No, I’m done following you around. Me and Alex have our shit together, we’ve passed our combat exams, we’re going to become powerful knights. You can’t even fight properly but they let you stay in the academy because you’re a child of the king. Don’t you dare command us to help you with this waste of time! How could someone beneath us command us!” Alia screams with anger. 

Alia begins storming out of the room, taking Alexanders hand this time. He only looks back in sorrow as he walks. Sadness begins filling Stella’s mind as her only friends leave. Causing the sun fire torches to dim. It was only when seeing Alia’s tears as she walked away that caused the fires to go out completely, leaving the three in total darkness. 

A loud rumbling is heard directly behind Stella, the door had begun to creep open. Cold air began filling the room. 

For he wakes when the royal sun dies.