The city slowly faded behind them.
The cheers.
The gratitude.
The smiling faces.
All of it disappeared as Eryx guided his horse deeper into the older districts of the capital.
Riven rode beside him in silence.
The wooden wolf carving remained tucked safely inside his coat.
A strange warmth lingered in his chest from the encounter.
For the first time in years, he felt accepted.
Not feared.
Not pitied.
Accepted.
Yet Eryx's expression hadn't changed since they left.
The veteran warrior remained unusually quiet.
Thoughtful.
As if weighing something important.
Eventually they reached a tavern near the edge of the city.
It was old.
Older than most surrounding buildings.
The stone walls carried scars from previous wars.
The wooden sign above the entrance creaked in the wind.
A simple wolf emblem had been carved into it decades ago.
Eryx dismounted first.
"Come."
Riven followed.
The tavern wasn't crowded.
A few merchants sat near the fireplace.
Several hunters occupied a corner table.
Nobody paid much attention to them.
The owner immediately recognized Eryx and nodded respectfully.
Without needing to ask, two mugs were placed before them.
The pair settled into a quiet corner.
For several moments neither spoke.
Eryx took a long drink.
Riven followed suit.
The warm liquid burned pleasantly down his throat.
Then Eryx finally spoke.
"There's something important I need to tell you."
Riven immediately noticed the seriousness in his voice.
Not joking.
Not casual.
Important.
He set his mug down.
"What is it?"
Eryx stared into his drink.
As if searching for the right words.
Then
"Do you remember Threxa?"
Everything froze.
For an instant the tavern disappeared.
The warmth vanished.
The noise faded.
And Riven was somewhere else.
Fire.
Screams.
Blood.
Burning homes.
His mother's body.
Aurelion's eyes.
The smell of smoke.
The feeling of helplessness.
The memories struck like a blade.
His jaw tightened.
"...Yeah."
The response came sharper than intended.
Eryx nodded.
He expected that reaction.
"Well."
A pause.
"I found out Threxa wasn't the only human settlement."
Riven blinked.
"What?"
The words escaped before he could stop them.
Eryx leaned back.
"I discovered it months after the massacre."
Riven stared.
His mind struggled to process what he had heard.
Not the only settlement?
That was impossible.
Humans were extinct.
Or nearly extinct.
At least that was what everyone believed.
"What are you talking about?"
Eryx sighed.
Then began.
"A few months after Threxa fell, Queen Nyxara ordered an investigation."
Riven listened carefully.
"The reports didn't make sense."
Eryx continued.
"There were tracks near the outskirts."
"Strange ones."
"Not wolves."
"Not monsters."
"So I was sent to investigate."
His eyes became distant.
Remembering.
"When I arrived, the ruins were mostly abandoned."
"The bodies were gone."
"The buildings had collapsed."
"The entire place felt dead."
A pause.
"But I wasn't alone."
Riven frowned.
"What happened?"
Eryx took another drink.
Then answered.
"I found a group of warriors."
The words immediately caught Riven's attention.
"They weren't werewolves."
"No claws."
"No fangs."
"No aura."
"They moved differently."
"They fought differently."
"And they carried weapons I'd never seen before."
Riven leaned forward.
Interested despite himself.
Eryx continued.
"They noticed me."
"And naturally..."
A rare smirk appeared.
"We fought."
That didn't surprise Riven.
Not even slightly.
"I managed to capture one alive."
Eryx said.
"During the interrogation, I learned something extraordinary."
The tavern suddenly felt much quieter.
"What?"
Eryx looked directly at him.
"They were human."
Silence.
Absolute silence.
Riven's heart skipped a beat.
Human.
Actual humans.
Not survivors hiding in villages.
Not refugees.
Not isolated settlements.
Humans.
His people.
His mother's people.
His father's people.
Alive.
"That's impossible."
Eryx shook his head.
"I thought the same thing."
"But it wasn't."
He lowered his voice.
"They belonged to something called Alexandria."
The name felt ancient.
Powerful.
Forgotten.
Riven repeated it slowly.
"Alexandria..."
Eryx nodded.
"The Last Human Kingdom."
The words sent chills down Riven's spine.
"The kingdom is hidden deep within mountain ranges."
"Protected by dense fog."
"Protected by terrain."
"Protected by secrecy."
"They conceal their scent."
"They erase their tracks."
"They've spent centuries remaining hidden."
Riven could barely believe what he was hearing.
A kingdom.
An entire kingdom.
Still alive.
Still standing.
"How?"
Eryx laughed quietly.
"Humans are stubborn."
Then his expression grew serious again.
"And intelligent."
He leaned forward.
"Their technology is extraordinary."
Riven listened intently.
"They've advanced far beyond what most Orders realize."
"They possess specialized weapons."
"Armor."
"Machinery."
"Tools designed specifically to kill monsters."
A chill crawled down Riven's spine.
Eryx continued.
"Their blades are coated in silver."
"Enhanced with wolfsbane."
"They've spent generations adapting."
"Preparing."
"Learning how to survive in a world ruled by creatures stronger than themselves."
Riven imagined it.
A hidden civilization.
Preparing for centuries.
Building.
Growing.
Waiting.
The image felt surreal.
"They aren't weak."
Eryx said quietly.
"Far from it."
Riven remained silent.
Trying to absorb everything.
Then a thought occurred to him.
A question.
A very important question.
He looked up.
"Why tell me now?"
Eryx didn't answer immediately.
Instead he finished his drink.
Set the mug down.
And met Riven's gaze.
"Because..."
A pause.
"I think your father might have been from there."
The world stopped.
Riven stared.
Certain he had misheard.
"What?"
Eryx didn't look away.
"I think your father might be from Alexandria."
Riven's heart hammered.
His father.
The man he never knew.
The man Tyrella never spoke about.
He disappeared just few years after Riven was born.
The man who remained nothing more than a shadow in his memories.
"No."
The word came automatically.
Eryx nodded.
"I know."
"It sounds insane."
"But listen."
Riven remained frozen.
Eryx continued.
"When your parents arrived in Threxa, they arrived together."
"You know that much."
Riven nodded slowly.
Tyrella had mentioned it once.
Long ago.
Before everything ended.
"They weren't originally from Threxa."
Eryx continued.
"They fled there."
"Both of them."
Riven frowned.
"What do you mean?"
Eryx folded his arms.
"Your mother fled her past."
A pause.
"And I believe your father fled his."
The veteran warrior looked toward the tavern window.
Toward the distant mountains beyond the city.
"I think they met while running from the lives they left behind."
"They found refuge in Threxa."
"A settlement where outsiders gathered."
"A place where people disappeared."
"A place where nobody asked questions."
Riven remained silent.
His thoughts racing.
If that was true...
Then his father wasn't dead.
Or maybe he was.
There was no way to know.
But for the first time
There was a trail.
A direction.
A possibility.
A place to search.
Alexandria.
The Last Human Kingdom.
The thought alone felt overwhelming.
Then another question surfaced.
One that had bothered him for years.
"Eryx."
"Hm?"
"If humans still exist..."
The veteran warrior looked at him.
Riven continued.
"Then why is there only one human kingdom?"
His eyes narrowed.
"Werewolves have Orders."
"Territories."
"Cities."
"Entire nations."
"So why do humans only have one kingdom left?"
Silence followed.
A long silence.
Long enough that Riven wondered if he would answer.
Then Eryx sighed.
A heavy sigh.
The kind someone releases before discussing something ancient.
Something painful.
Something important.
The veteran warrior slowly leaned back.
His gaze became distant.
Ancient.
As though he was looking centuries into the past.
Finally
He spoke.
"For that..."
A pause.
A very long pause.
"I'll have to tell you the old tales."
Outside the tavern...
The wind howled.
And far beyond the mountains...
Hidden within mist and stone...
A kingdom unknown to most of the world continued to exist.
Waiting.
For a boy from Threxa who had no idea that his journey was about to become much larger than revenge.