Chapter 3: Trials of Flame and Steel
Dawn broke in shades of violet and gold across the Arcforge skyline. The floating spires hummed with energy, their cores pulsing like hearts of awakened titans. Beneath them, in the training sectors of the academy, hundreds of students gathered with their partners—newly assigned, freshly tested, and some still bruised from the pairing trials.
Kael Virel adjusted the strap on his gauntlet, fingers flexing over the runic circuits embedded in its surface. Across from him, Zaira Thorne stood silent, focused, her silver eyes reflecting the glow of the summoning pylons.
Today was the real beginning. The Forge Trials.
Aether Tech Combat Instructor Ryven stood on the elevated dais, flanked by his own towering mech, Ironhowl, a war-scarred colossus engraved with old legion marks.
"Listen well," Ryven barked, his voice projecting through aetheric amplifiers. "The Forge Trials separate pilots from passengers. You've survived pairing. Now you must bond with your mech—and prove you can keep it standing."
A holographic map shimmered into view. It displayed a sprawling combat zone: ruined city sections, obstacle mazes, active mana geysers, and defense turrets.
"Each pair will enter the zone with a raw frame. You must build, awaken, and control your own Spellmech. Resources will be scarce. Challenges are dynamic. And," he paused, "there will be watchers."
A low murmur passed through the crowd.
Watchers. That meant high-ranking faculty, council scouts—and worse, internal academy agents.
Kael's jaw tightened. He had no money. No sponsors. If he didn't impress, he'd be cut. Zaira, on the other hand, had eyes on her from the beginning. Her every move would be judged twice as hard.
---
Inside their assigned dome, Kael and Zaira stood before an incomplete Spellmech frame—a skeletal titan, dormant, cables trailing like veins.
"Base armor plating is intact," Zaira muttered, inspecting the frame. "No core. No channel crystal. And no AI spine."
Kael ran a hand down the chestplate. "We'll need to forge our own Aether Core. I can inscribe a temporary stabilizer, but we'll need raw mana and an ignition sigil."
Zaira already had her spell-inscriber out. "I'll summon the binding glyphs. You take the upper conduit lines."
They moved like a machine with two minds. Fluid. Precise.
Kael knelt, drawing concentric rings in the forge dust. A crystal hummed to life between his palms, pulsing with unstable energy.
Zaira reached forward. "Brace it."
With a flick of her wrist, she pressed her inscriber into the lines and spoke a single word.
"Awaken."
The mech shuddered.
First a limb moved. Then the eyes ignited with pale green light. The dormant core spun to life.
Kael stepped back, sweat on his brow.
"You named it?" he asked.
Zaira tilted her head. "Valkryss."
Kael smirked. "Fitting."
---
Valkryss was unlike the other mechs in the arena—sleek, angular, with plated wings like blades and dual-core Aether amplifiers. It was built for agility and power.
Inside the cockpit, Kael took the primary neural reins. Zaira sat behind him, interfacing with the arcane matrix, her voice guiding the spell protocols.
The battle zone shimmered to life.
Teams were scattered. Dozens of mechs powered up, launching into action.
Immediately, fire and lightning filled the air.
"Left flank—two incoming!" Zaira warned.
Kael swung the arm controls. Valkryss dashed sideways, boosters flaring. A burst of plasma scorched the stone near their feet.
"I see them."
Kael activated the rune-forged blade on Valkryss's right arm. It ignited in blue flame.
He charged.
The first enemy mech—a brutish, heavy-frame model—turned too late. Valkryss's blade sliced through its knee joint, sending it crashing.
The second attacker launched a volley of spike missiles.
Zaira took over. "Deflector shell—Sector Nine."
A glowing barrier shimmered into place, intercepting the barrage. The cockpit shook, but held.
Kael turned. "How'd you know that would hold?"
"I didn't."
He grinned.
Together, they pressed forward.
---
The battle raged for over an hour. Dozens of mechs fell. Two teams withdrew. Kael and Zaira adapted, recovered, and pushed deeper into the zone.
But it wasn't just other students they had to worry about.
Deep beneath the ruins, the earth cracked. An ancient pulse stirred.
Zaira felt it first.
A tremor through the neural link. A voice. A whisper.
"Kael," she said. "Something's wrong. The energy here—it's not simulated."
"What are you talking about?"
Before she could answer, the ground erupted.
From beneath the battlefield, a massive construct emerged—twice the size of any student mech. It wasn't part of the trial.
It was older.
Its surface was etched with forgotten glyphs, pulsing red and black. The instructors on the observation deck panicked, but the barriers held. No one could intervene.
"The system's locked us in," Kael said. "They can't override it."
Zaira's eyes widened. "That's not a mech. It's a Wraithcore."
Kael had only heard of them in legends. Ancient war constructs, built during the collapse of the Aether War. Unstable. Sentient. Deadly.
The Wraithcore launched an arcane cannon. A nearby student mech was vaporized instantly.
"We have to take it down," Kael said, locking in weapons.
Zaira hesitated. "We don't have enough firepower—"
"We have precision. You think Valkryss can handle a full sync?"
Zaira stared at him. "That's experimental. Dangerous."
"We'll die otherwise."
She nodded.
Kael reached behind, touching her hand. "Ready?"
"Always."
He closed his eyes. "Initiate full sync."
Their minds connected.
Valkryss roared to life with a surge of power. The mech shimmered, its armor taking on an ethereal glow. Wings expanded. Blades lengthened.
Kael and Zaira moved as one.
The Wraithcore charged. Valkryss ducked beneath its swipe, boosters flaring, blade flashing.
Zaira rerouted energy. "Hit the spine core. Now!"
Kael triggered the override. Valkryss soared upward, blade first.
They struck.
A blinding explosion filled the sky.
---
When the light faded, the battlefield was silent.
The Wraithcore lay in ruin. Valkryss stood, sparking, barely holding together. Kael and Zaira were slumped in their seats, exhausted but alive.
The dome opened.
Instructor Ryven and several others descended.
"You shouldn't have survived that," he muttered, staring at the remains of the Wraithcore. "And yet you did."
Zaira looked up. "What was that thing?"
"An echo," Ryven said. "Of a war that never truly ended."
He looked at them both.
"Congratulations. You passed."
Kael looked at Zaira.
"We're just getting started."
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Next: Chapter 4 – Shadows in the Core