13th District

Call Of Fate

“Kael! Come on, we’re going to be late!” Robin’s voice cut through the morning air, piercing the heavy fog that still clung to the cobbled streets of the 7th District. Kael tugged at his boots, tying them without much care.

“I’m not going,” he muttered, staring at the worn wood of his family’s door, as if it could offer him an escape. The sound of hammering from the nearby blacksmiths was too familiar, the constant clang of metal on metal a reminder of the life he could never leave behind.

Robin’s footsteps drew closer, and Kael could hear him sigh impatiently. “Not this again, Kael. You’re going. We all are. This is the year. Don’t you want a chance at something better? The Ascension Trials! Everyone’s talking about it. It’s your shot to get out of here. You could leave the district. Go somewhere better.”

Kael shot him a sideways glance, his fingers absently tugging at the edge of his sleeve. “It’s just another distraction, Robin. They make us fight, make us think there’s a prize at the end. There is no better life out there. Not for people like us.”

Robin grinned, a sparkle of excitement in his eyes that Kael hadn’t seen before. “You’re wrong. You know the rumors, right? The Trials… If you survive, you get sent outside of Eridyon. You get to live free. No more working your hands to the bone for scraps. Imagine it—free from all this.”

Kael scoffed, shaking his head as he pushed open the creaking door to step into the narrow street. The familiar bustle of the district was in full swing. Women called out as they hung laundry, children darted between carts, and men lined up at the blacksmiths, each hoping their quota for the day would earn them a few extra coins. He didn’t see a way out of any of it.

“Survive?” Kael muttered under his breath, wiping the sweat from his brow. “The only way to survive here is to keep working, Robin. And that’s all we’ll ever do. You know what happens to those who don’t win. They ship them off to work in the outer colonies. What difference does it make if you leave Eridyon and die in the fields instead of here?”

Robin grabbed Kael by the arm, turning him around with a look that was full of determination. “No one talks about that, Kael. Not anymore. They say you’re sent out to work, but they don’t tell you what really happens. You know what they really get—those who don’t win the Trials? They get taken. That’s the part no one talks about.”

Kael’s frown deepened. “What are you talking about?”

“Don’t act like you don’t know. They send you out, say you’re going to help with the outer settlements, but no one ever comes back. Not a single one. They disappear, Kael. But they’ll tell you it’s a reward. You get to leave the city behind, live in the sun. That’s the lie they sell us.”

Kael was silent for a moment. The air felt thick as he processed Robin’s words, but the thought felt too big, too heavy to grasp. He glanced up at the sky, the haze of morning lifting to reveal the grayness of the world around them.

“Let them think what they want,” Kael said, pulling away from Robin’s grip. “I’ve got work to do, like everyone else. I’m not playing their game.”

Robin’s face fell, but he didn’t argue. Instead, he looked back over his shoulder to the marketplace, where several other young men and women, like Kael, were preparing to leave for the trials, their faces full of hope and expectation. The air buzzed with excitement, and the buzz was infectious. But Kael resisted it.

“Don’t say I didn’t warn you,” Robin muttered, his voice tinged with a mix of concern and frustration. “If you change your mind, you know where I’ll be.”

Kael didn’t reply. He simply turned his back and walked toward the old warehouse where he worked. The heavy clang of hammers on iron echoed in the distance as he passed the line of smiths at the forge, their sweat dripping into the heat of their work.

The district was alive with the noise of survival. The Ascension Trials were just another distraction for the hopeful masses. Kael didn’t have time for hope.

The sound of a bell rang out from the central square, signaling the start of the day’s trials. He paused, watching the figures in the distance, their faces already filled with that eager look of someone who had something to fight for. Kael shook his head and continued on his way. He didn’t need to fight for a dream that didn’t exist.

Still, as he walked through the bustling streets, a small part of him couldn’t shake the feeling that maybe, just maybe, Robin was onto something. The thought lingered in his mind like a shadow, but Kael pushed it aside. He had too many other things to worry about. Too much to survive.

The sun hung low in the sky, casting a dull orange hue over the grand streets of Eridyon’s Capital. The massive stone buildings loomed high, their dark windows reflecting the cold, indifferent light. It was a stark contrast to the dismal, narrow alleys of the 7th District where Kael had spent his entire life. Here, the streets were polished, the buildings towering monuments to power and control, while the people moved through them like shadows, each one indistinguishable from the next.

The air in the city center buzzed with a sense of anticipation, electric, as the annual Reaping ceremony was about to begin. From all corners of the Capital, people had gathered in the grand square, the crowds pressing in, eager for the announcement. Kael stood near the back of the square, blending in with the sea of strangers. His stomach twisted into tight knots, an inexplicable sense of dread settling deep in his chest.

“This is the year, Kael,” Robin had said, but Kael wasn’t so sure. He felt like he didn’t belong here, didn’t belong in the same space as these people who wore silk tunics and had bright, eager eyes. They were the ones who looked like they belonged in the Ascension Trials. They were strong, practiced, fierce. Kael was none of those things. He was thin, untrained, his body constantly aching from the long hours spent working at the forge back home.

The Reaping was held in the heart of the Capital every year, a spectacle for all to witness. From here, the names of the young, the hopeful, the unlucky were drawn from a large glass container. Those selected would be forced into the brutal trials where the most promising warriors would survive, while the rest… would disappear, like the others before them.

But no one spoke of that part. No one ever mentioned the fates of those who didn’t make it. The reward was clear—glory, a life beyond the suffocating walls of Eridyon.

Kael didn’t care for any of it. He had no illusions about the Ascension Trials. To him, it was just a game for the rich and powerful, a way to weed out the weak, to test those who would eventually become disposable. He had no interest in glory. All he wanted was to survive, to make it through another day without losing himself to the endless cycle of exhaustion.

“Listen up, everyone!” The voice of the announcer rang out, slicing through the murmur of the crowd. Kael instinctively pulled his coat tighter around him, wishing he could disappear into the shadows. His eyes flicked nervously to the towering platform where the officials stood, their dark robes fluttering in the wind. The moment had arrived.

“The Ascension Trials for this year shall begin! The names will be drawn shortly—”

Kael’s heartbeat quickened as the announcer’s words became a distant hum in his ears. His legs felt like they might give out from under him, but he kept his footing, his eyes focused on the ground in front of him. He couldn’t even bring himself to look at the container.

A mixture of fear and frustration bubbled up inside him. The idea of being selected was something he had never truly considered—it always felt like something that happened to someone else. But now, the reality of it was sinking in.

One by one, the names were called, echoing through the loudspeakers that lined the square. Each name was met with cheers, applause, and murmurs of excitement. The lucky ones would be chosen, sent to the arena, where they would fight for survival. The trials would test them physically, mentally, and emotionally, pushing them to the brink of despair. Most would die, but the few who survived would become legends.

“And now, the final name for the 100th Ascension Trials!” The announcer’s voice boomed, and Kael could hear the tension in the crowd’s collective breath.

He barely noticed the man standing beside him, his face a mask of indifference. Kael was already preparing himself to simply fade into the background, to remain invisible in a world that had never cared for him.

“Kael Ryden!” The name rang out, and it felt like the entire square froze.

Kael’s heart stopped.

For a moment, he thought he had misheard. His name couldn’t possibly have been drawn. He wasn’t like the others—he wasn’t strong, fast, or trained for anything remotely resembling combat. He had never even held a sword, let alone fought in an arena for sport.

“Kael Ryden!” the announcer repeated, his voice more insistent this time.

The crowd was buzzing with excitement, but to Kael, the noise faded away. His vision blurred, his hands trembling at his sides.

The last thing he wanted was to be part of this bloodbath. He didn’t want glory or riches; he just wanted to survive, to find a way out of the suffocating grip of the Capital’s oppressive system. But there was no escaping now.

“Go on, Kael!” Robin’s voice called out from the edge of the crowd. He was grinning, his face alight with excitement, but all Kael could feel was the cold hand of dread tightening around his chest.

“I’m not going,” Kael whispered to himself, but the words felt hollow, as if they had no power. He couldn’t stop it. He couldn’t undo what had just happened.

The guards were already on their way, their footsteps heavy and unyielding as they closed in on Kael. He turned his back to them, but it didn’t matter. There was nowhere to run. The fate of the Trials had just claimed him.

As the soldiers marched toward him, Kael’s legs felt weak beneath him. They grabbed him roughly by the arms and began pulling him toward the platform, the weight of their touch grounding him into the cold, unforgiving reality of what was happening. This wasn’t just some game. It was a fight for survival, and Kael had just become a part of it.

And somewhere deep inside, a small, unwilling part of him wondered if Robin had been right all along.

But it didn’t matter now.