Silent Storm

Chapter One: The Gale Arrives

The capital of Cronia was a large, bustling city that spanned further than the eye could see. The last time Esen had been here, the streets had been decorated in various shades of blue. In the year since, the blue had been replaced by fiery shades of red, flags flapping in the wind.

As the Gale House carriage descended from the skies, entering through the ornate golden gates, the crowd that had gathered on either side of the wide main street cheered. Esen peered at them from inside as bright, excited faces watched him head towards the tall, golden spires that loomed from the center of the city. The Gilded Palace.

Soon, Esen would be inside, representing his House and competing for the hand of the Ember Empress.

He chewed on his nails as he watched the crowd pass, the faces blurring together. The excitement infecting the city was more palpable even than during the Battle of Wills had been the year prior. It wasn't hard to see why; nobody knew what this generation's Twin Crown Tournament would hold.

They were in an unprecedented time. For the first time in recorded history, an Empress sat on the throne rather than an Emperor. Not only that, she had represented herself in the tournament, and she wasn't a member of the main House of the Fire Clan, either. She had taken the world by storm last year, emerging the victor when nobody had thought it possible, bathed in the blood of the other competitors.

Normally, the Twin Crown Tournament was a competition of beauty — the only thing that mattered more than strength, here, was beauty, and what would an Emperor be without a beautiful wife? Esen doubted, however, that someone who had broken tradition like the Ember Empress had would be content to fall back into the usual way of things. Everyone else seemed to share the same thought.

Nobody knew what awaited him and the other eldest sons of the Houses within the palace. And they all waited with bated breath to see what it would be.

The palace's gates opened for them as they approached, guards clad in golden armour flanking it.

Many carriages were stationed in the courtyard in various colours, representing the different clans and Houses. Esen exhaled slowly. At least he wasn't the first one here, nor was he the last. As his carriage came to a stop, he had a few short moments left to collect himself. Inhaling deeply with the remaining dredges of his solitude, he resolved himself.

He would participate long enough that it wouldn't bring shame to his House, but then he would fail. He couldn't win. It was out of the question.

As the door to his carriage opened, he pasted a smile onto his face.

It was a bright day, and it took his eyes a moment to adjust to the sudden glare of the sun. While he was still trying to get used to it, large arms wrapped around him and hoisted him off the ground. He startled, but his panic was short lived. His smile turned into a grin, a laugh bubbling out of his throat.

"Zaire!"

"It's been too long!" Zaire smiled down at him after he'd put him back on the ground — and it really was smiling down at him. He'd always said that Zaire got the extra height he lacked, and it was incredibly unfair. They'd been friends since childhood when Zaire's mother, an old friend of Esen's own mother, had brought him over for a visit. They'd at least been similar in height, back then. Zaire was all long legs and broad shoulders and deep umber skin and a sharp square jaw and kind black eyes now. Some of his tension melted away.

"It's a relief to see a familiar face," Esen said. "I didn't think you'd be the one to show up here."

Zaire sighed, rubbing his forehead. "I wasn't supposed to be, but Zuri got married last night." Esen's eyebrows shot up, his mouth dropping open. He couldn't come up with a single word to say. "I know. It's a political nightmare."

The two of them walked away from the line of carriages to make room for some of the newcomers. And to avoid the possibility of being trampled, although that sounded like a good option right then. If he was severely injured he wouldn't be able to compete and nobody would hold it against him.

He looped his arm around Zaire's, taking comfort in the warmth that emanated from his friend's body. "Apparently he's been courting a woman — I've never met her before — for almost a year without telling any of us, and she didn't want him here trying to fight for another's woman's hand. So here we are." Zaire turned his attention forward. "I mean, I can't blame her. Have you seen the Empress? I don't think I've ever seen a more beautiful woman in all my life." His eyes took on a faraway, dazed sort of look.

Esen swallowed thickly, but said nothing. He wished he could feel the same way that Zaire did about the Empress, find her appealing and attractive as most did. But he didn't. He never had, and he never would. But nobody else needed to know that. They couldn't know.

Before he could say anything else, he tripped over a crack in the stone beneath him, which sent him tumbling forward. Right into a broad chest clad in purple silk.

Esen froze, stumbling back and righting himself, his face flushing.

"I— sorry." He was pretty sure his damnably pale face had turned the colour of cherries, a colour which was no doubt spreading to his ears. The one he'd bumped into didn't say anything, and when Esen met his eyes, his breath stuttered in his chest.

The man wasn't nearly as tall as Zaire was, but he carried himself with such a commanding presence that he didn't need to be to intimidate anyone. His lips seemed to be frozen in a deep scowl, his eyes narrowed into a glare. His dark hair was long, tied back and away from his face. And what a... beautiful face it was. Esen didn't think he'd ever seen such a handsome man in his life.

Was this how Zaire felt about the Empress?

The man levelled a final fierce glare at him before stalking off. Esen stared after him, blinking.

From the colour of his clothing — a deep purple — he had to be from the Lightning Clan. Esen wondered why he'd never seen him before, because there was no way he would have missed someone like that before.

Who was he?

A/N: Did I randomly come up with this instead of sleeping last night and became so manically obsessed with it I did not rest until I established lore and wrote up this chapter? Yes. Is it very likely that my neurodivergent ass will forget about this in a week? Also yes. But I miss actually sharing what I write so FUCK IT LET'S GO BITCH