The urgent, high-frequency alarm of the Obsidian Estate was a clear, unmistakable declaration of war against the Eldorian Crown. Kaelen and Elara fled the estate, retreating not toward the mountains, but into the deep, twisting heart of the Whisperwood.
"Valerius won't send the army yet," Kaelen confirmed, his breathing still ragged from the immense Aether drain of handling the Codex. "He can't risk public outcry over invading a powerful Noble House without proof of treason. He will send specialized, non-uniform units—Shadow Hunters and Collegium Arcanists."
"We need a better hideout than the Crypt," Elara pointed out, recalling the frantic escape from Gideon. "The Crypt is too close to the estate, and Seraph already found us once."
Kaelen paused beneath the glowing Aether Blooms, taking a moment to regain control of his elemental flow. He produced a small, leather-bound volume—a lesser grimoire from the Vault—and began tracing a simple scrying spell.
"There is only one place safe from the Crown's current magical reach: the Sunstone Caves," Kaelen decided, pointing northeast. "They are deep in the Northern Wastes, unstable, and impossible to scry due to raw geothermal energy. My ancestors stored emergency supplies there."
The pursuit was already closing in. Kaelen could feel the distant, systematic sweeps of detection magic—low-level Green and Orange Rank spells—spreading through the forest like a net.
"We travel by night, stay off the known ley-lines, and minimize my magical signature," Kaelen instructed. He pulled the Codex of Echoes from the satchel. The scroll was cold, heavy, and mesmerizing.
"This is the key to victory, Elara, but it is also the greatest danger. It contains every spell ever cast by my family, but reading it requires immense spiritual focus. It can also consume the reader if they are not of the Obsidian bloodline. You, with your Zero Rank, must never touch it."
"I understand. My job is external defense and strategy. The Codex is for your power," Elara confirmed. "But we need to use it to anticipate Valerius's next move. What is his immediate political response to the theft?"
Elara, now firmly in her role as the Omniscient Strategist, detailed the coming political storm: the royal announcement, the framing of Kaelen as a traitor to the Kingdom, and the crucial mobilization of the Prince's political allies.
"He will release a public decree of treason within three days," Elara said. "He will blame you for stealing the Codex and using forbidden Dark Aether rituals. He will specifically name you as a threat to the Royal Line, hoping to force your grandfather, the current Archmage, into a public resignation."
Kaelen nodded, his eyes narrowed in thought. "A forced abdication. That will be his move to legitimize the theft. He gets the political victory before anyone can prove the Codex is gone. We must counter the decree before it is publicly disseminated."
He stared at the heavy scroll. The Codex of Echoes was still an enigma. He needed time to study it, to unlock its defensive capabilities.
"The problem remains: Gideon and Seraph will be tracking any large magical movements," Kaelen stated. "Any spell strong enough to counter Valerius's decree would immediately expose our position. We are too weak to fight them off while I learn the Codex."
Elara walked to a massive Aether Bloom crystal, touching the raw, cold surface. She was useless in a direct fight, but her knowledge was sharp.
"The counter-decree doesn't have to be magic," Elara realized, remembering a footnote in the novel. "Valerius's decree is sent via the Royal Heralds—public speakers who use powerful Voice Runes to broadcast the message across the major cities."
"And how do we silence a Voice Rune without an active spell?" Kaelen asked, skeptical.
Elara smiled—a small, sharp smile that spoke of a new kind of power. "We don't silence it. We discredit it. The book mentions that the Royal Heralds are utterly obsessed with their public image. If a Herald is compromised, their message is immediately voided in the public eye. The lead Herald, Lord Eamon, has a crippling, secretive gambling debt to a minor guild in Port Seraph. Valerius has been blackmailed into paying it repeatedly."
Kaelen's lips curved into that rare, chilling smile of calculated cruelty. "A social weakness, not an arcane one. Excellent, Elara. We will use the debt to force Lord Eamon to renounce the decree publicly. No magic, no Aether signature, no pursuit. Just the collapse of a political reputation."
"We need proof of the debt and a way to broadcast it to the public," Elara said, her mind already racing through the necessary steps.
"We head to the Sunstone Caves first. We hide the Codex, and I regain my Aether reserves. Then, we execute the plan against the Herald. We are no longer simply surviving, Elara. We are dismantling the framework of the future, piece by piece."