Chapter3:The Midnight study

Layla returned sooner than expected, clutching a small, leather-bound bundle against her apron.

“Apologies for the delay, Young Master,” she murmured, closing the solid oak door softly behind her. “The corridor near the library was still thick with guards. I had to wait in the alcove for them to pass.”

“I appreciate it, Layla,” Arthur said. He made sure to keep his voice fragile, leaning into his previous excuse. “You can go rest now. I’ll just look at the borders for a while… see if any names spark a memory.”

Layla blinked, a flicker of surprise crossing her exhausted features. As far as she knew, her Young Master despised studying more than he hated discipline. But pity won out over suspicion. She curtsied gracefully and slipped back out into the hall.

Back in the utter stillness of the night, Arthur pulled the bundle onto his lap and unrolled the two brittle parchment maps.

The first was a grand map of the known world.

He ran a pale finger over the faded ink, taking in the geography rather than a tidy list.

The world was dominated by a massive central landmass labeled as the Human Territories, ringed on all sides by ocean. Beyond those waters stretched other continents: to the east lay sprawling plains marked for the Beast-kin, while the west was swallowed by the dense, uncharted green of the Elven Forests. Far to the north sat the frozen, mountainous expanse of the Dwarves, and down in the deep south, stark black ink designated the scorched wastes of the Demon realms.

Standard geopolitical borders divided by race, Arthur thought, his eyes scanning the margins.

But one anomalous detail caught his attention. High above the Central Continent, drawn floating among the clouds and compass roses, was a massive question mark surrounded by winged silhouettes. A tiny script beneath it read: Draconic Continent?

“Hm,” Arthur breathed out. “Hidden. Or literally airborne.” He massaged his throbbing temples, a dull ache blooming behind his eyes. “A problem for another day.”

He set the world map aside and unfurled the second parchment. “Let’s see where the trap is actually set.”

He focused on the Central Continent. It was divided into three major nations, the largest of which—where he currently sat—was the Kingdom of Valeria. The kingdom was fractured into six Great Regions, each ruled by a Duke’s House, cascading down through a hierarchy of lesser nobles. At the very center of it all sat the capital, Solara, the seat of the Royal House of Valerius.

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Arthur traced his finger to the far western edge of the map, hunting for the Ashborn crest.

When he found it, he immediately saw the crisis.

The Ashborn territory was boxed in.

To the east, north, south and west rose the jagged spine of the Ironwall Mountains, hemming the land from every direction. Beyond the western range stretched an endless ocean, a wall of water that sealed the territory even further.