Chapter 2

Axel lay on his back along a bench in his cell, the cold stone pressing against his battered body. The duel with Cade replayed in his mind, each strike and parry etched into his memory. Every part of him ached, from the lesser pain of his physical wounds to the deep pain in his soul. It didn’t help that the cell was dimly lit with only a scant amount of sunlight coming into the cell from the single small window. If Axel had to guess it was now past midafternoon.

His Journal, now his only companion, showed breaks in his forearm, fractures all along the rest of his upper skeletal system, and cracks all over his lower body. Most people did not realize how much of their body is used for movement until something broke. This was worse in Axel’s case, as he would, when using too much strength, overwhelm his enhanced body’s capacity.

While his father saved his life, what happened is that it shifted the issues from bones as fragile as spun glass to having a stronger-than-average physical body with a strength that was monstrous in proportion to what was upgraded. This also caused his immature body to create what the Crimson Vanguard official called a proto core to power these changes and keep his body from eating itself.

His Journal gave an estimated time to full recovery at 6 days and 14 hours, with a recovery to the point of partial functionality at 2 days and 4 hours, and reminded him through a quest prompt to seek a healer to quicken this time of recovery. The Journal also noted that he needed to make an entry soon so as not to forget what had happened that day as if that would ever be likely.

Using an old memory trick that his mother taught him, to distract from the pain and organize his thoughts to better make an entry to the Goddess in his Journal, with as deep a breath as he could, he began to reach into his mind, playing back what happened this day. Memories and thoughts fluttered in his mind. He went over the events of that morning when he had reached the age of majority along with Lyra, who he had grown to love beyond the adopted sister that she was.

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The scene of early that day played out in his head as if he was still there.

The morning sun filtered through the trees as Axel and Lyra walked side by side, their footsteps crunching on the dirt road. Today was the day they reached the age of majority, a milestone they had both anticipated with a mix of excitement and trepidation.

“Are you ready for this?” Lyra asked, her green eyes sparkling with a mixture of nerves and determination.

Axel nodded, though his heart felt heavy. “As ready as I’ll ever be. It’s a big step, but it’s something we must do. So, you can start your journey and life”

They had reached the temple of the Healers of Hope, where they would complete their duty to the People by giving their genetics. Axel’s memory even included his mind wandering to the confession he had made to Lyra a year ago, offering to be the one to bear her required first child. He remembered the way she had gently let him down, explaining that she did not see relations between men and women in the same way he did. She had started a relationship with her mentor, Tessa Thunderstrike, a healer trainer who had guided her through the first steps of her life as a Goddess-blessed healer and not just an energy-based healer, that the majority of healers were.

Despite this rejection, Axel had felt a sense of relief knowing that there would always be some part of him connected to his first love, even if he could not have her.

As they approached the temple, standing on the path was Cade and with a cold stern voice rang out, “I challenge you, Axel Thunderstrider, to the Rite of Mating!” stopping them in their tracks.

Axel turned from looking at Lyra to see Cade, his now former friend, standing with a determined look in his eyes. The challenge was unexpected, and Axel felt a knot form in his stomach. The Rite of Mating was an ancient tradition, a test of strength and worthiness. It was often used to make a mate leave someone deemed unworthy or to help an abused spouse escape their abuser. Winning the duel meant securing the right to court the chosen mate.

“Cade, what are you doing?” Axel asked, his voice filled with confusion and a hint of betrayal.

“I have to do this, Axel,” Cade replied, his voice steady but his eyes betraying a flicker of something else—fear, or perhaps doubt. “I can’t let you have her.”

Axel’s mind raced through his thoughts at the time. This wasn’t like Cade. They had grown up together, trained together, and shared their dreams and aspirations together. Why was he doing this now? And why with such intensity in his eyes?

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Axel glanced at Lyra, hoping she would intervene, as was her right by the law to stop this dual as the one being challenged over. She just stood frozen with her mouth open as if to say something, her eyes wide with shock. He could see the conflict in her expression, the way her hands trembled slightly at her sides. She opened her mouth again as if to speak, but no words came out.

Lyra’s eyes slightly unfocused began filling with tears as she looked between the two young men, she cared about most in the world. Axel could see the pain in her eyes, the way she bit her lip to keep from crying. She seemed to want to stop the duel, to end the madness before it began, but something was holding her back it seemed from stopping it.

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The memory moment faded as the sound of the cell gate opening snapped Axel back to the present. Without the distractions of his thoughts, he was feeling the pain in his body again. With a sweaty, shaky effort, Axel moved his head to see who had graced his cell. In walked two women, the first one was slightly older than the other, being the healer Tessa, she was garbed in black healing robes of a healer that was dealing with a death. She seemed to have come from laying Cade to rest, gathering his Journal for the Luminaries to review, and preparing his body for the church to do final rites, sending his ashes to the Goddess. She held a light stone to illuminate the cell in its sterile white light.

Tessa was a stern-looking woman of what Axel guessed was 19, though he never had the guts to ask to confirm this guess, as when she was annoyed at someone she used the stronger healing medication that hurt a lot when applied. She had sharp, angular features that gave her a perpetually serious expression. Her eyes were a piercing blue, contrasting starkly with her dark, almost black hair that she kept tied back in a tight bun. Her skin was pale, almost alabaster, which made the dark circles under her eyes more pronounced, hinting at the sleepless nights she often endured. She wore the black healing robes with an air of authority, the fabric flowing around her as she moved with a grace that belied her stern demeanor.

Next to Tessa stood someone that Axel was all too familiar with, Lyra. Lyra stood just a hair under 5’9” with her locks of ruby hair betraying that she originated from near the City State of Windsplane and not the area of Greenhaven that tended to breed their humans with hair of darker browns to blacks. Her hair, a cascade of fiery red curls, framed her face and fell to her back, it often catching the light and gave her an almost ethereal glow. She had a fair tanned complexion, her skin kissed by the sun, and a body that had lean whipcord muscles from training with the Storm, as all children must to defend themselves in this world as decreed by the Goddess before the Silence. Her eyes were a striking green, full of depth and emotion, often reflecting her inner thoughts more than she realized.

As Lyra entered the cell, her eyes widened in shock at the sight of Axel’s condition. She took a sharp intake of breath, her hand instinctively covering her mouth to stifle a gasp. Tears welled up in her eyes, and she quickly blinked them away, trying to maintain her composure. She knew how damaged Axel could get when he used his full strength, Axel could tell it was breaking her heart. Her eyes like always gave her away. She took a hesitant step forward but stopped herself from moving any closer, her voice trembling as she spoke in a barely audible whisper, “Axel… I’m so sorry. I should have been there.”

Tessa, standing slightly apart from Lyra, glanced at her with a mixture of concern and something else—perhaps a hint of distance. She didn’t reach out to comfort Lyra, instead maintaining her professional demeanor. The space between them seemed to speak volumes about the unspoken tension that had grown since the duel. The tribe’s whispers about their relationship and the mentor-student dynamic had only added to the strain.

Even in his pain, Axel saw in Lyra’s slumped posture and the way that she had her hair covering her face to hide and knew that she must be hurting just as much in the soul as he was. Cade had grown together with them, and this would be just as much a surprise to her as it was to him.

A soft voice broke the silence, “Do you hate me, Axel? I could have, by right as the mate being challenged for, stopped the duel when Cade issued it.”

Axel could hear the way that her voice was slightly creaking in the question that she must have been crying long and hard on this.

“No, not really. You looked as surprised as me when he issued it, and we both know Cade, once he set his mind to it, would not change it.” Axel needed a moment of labored breath to continue, as fractured ribs were a bitch at the best of times to take with, “I can’t say I am not a little disappointed that you did not stop it, but even the Goddess cannot change the past.”

“I would also not blame you for hating me for what happened to Cade by my hands” Axel sad in a near whisper.” After saying that, Axel went quiet as the pain he was feeling worsened. Tessa, seeing that as a moment to interrupt, cleared her throat gaining the pairs attention.

“Axel Thunderstrider, it is by demand of the council that I heal you so you can stand trial for your crime of killing another during a duel for the Rite of Mating. As it is unclear at this time that you meant to kill Cade Quake, you will only be granted partial healing and pain relief so that you can defend yourself under your full cognitive ability. Do you consent to my healing you?” Tessa said in her most formal posture and speech.

“I accept healing,” Axel replied to continue the formality. Healers were not allowed to heal others without their permission, except to preserve a life in peril of death. With that agreement, green energy washed over his body, feeding its natural ability to heal and relieving the stress on his overworked blessing. As Tessa was also an Adept tier healer, her power also came with the benefit of numbing the pain of the body along with the healing. With a sigh of relief, Axel slowly sat up, looking at the two.

“I guess I have a trial to see to. Mind helping me off this hard bench?”