Echoes of Ice and Iron-Chapter 97: The Archive of Quiet Warnings

After the formal engagement and the hunt that followed, the days in Peduviel began to pass more quietly.

There were only a few days left before Aya’s party would begin their journey back to Athax. The celebrations had softened into smaller gatherings now - meals shared among family and friends, conversations lingering long after the wine had gone warm, and the quiet unwinding that followed weeks of ceremony and travel.

For Aya, it seemed the most logical thing to do with the time that remained was to speak with Master Dino. More precisely, to ask him about what his group had written about Blood Summoners.

Which was how she found herself descending the narrow stone staircase beneath Peduviel’s palace that afternoon.

The archives of Peduviel lay beneath the palace.

Unlike the open, sunlit halls of the Eastern court, the archive chambers were quiet and cool, carved deep into the older stone foundations that had supported the castle long before its current towers were raised. Narrow windows high along the walls allowed thin shafts of light to fall across the long rows of wooden shelves.

Scrolls and bound volumes filled the space.

Some were centuries old.

Arriving at the archives, Aya walked slowly between the shelves, her fingers brushing lightly across the spines of books whose titles had faded with time.

The air smelled faintly of dust and ink.

"Master Dino?"

Behind her, Master Dino moved with careful familiarity through the narrow aisles, carrying a stack of documents under one arm while adjusting the small spectacles resting on the bridge of his nose.

"Oh, you found your way," he said as he moved past her and towards a reading table. "Good."

"You keep an impressive archive," Aya said quietly.

"The East has always valued record keeping," Master Dino replied without looking up. "Wars pass through kingdoms. Knowledge remains."

Aya paused near one of the older tables where several books had already been laid open.

"These are the ones?" she asked.

Master Dino nodded. "Yes."

The volumes before her were not numerous. That fact alone unsettled her because she had expected more.

Aya frowned faintly and sat at the table.

The book was thin. Its leather binding had cracked with age, and the pages inside were yellowed with careful handling. The handwriting was old - tight, deliberate script written by a maester whose name had long since faded from the cover.

Aya turned the first page.

At the top of the entry was a name.

Lysara of House Svedana

The description beneath it was brief.

Manifested blood summoning abilities during her sixth and tenth years. Notable command over blood-bonded guardians. Observed to influence the physical state of those bound to her.

Aya’s eyes moved down the page.

The final entry had been written in darker ink.

Died during a power collapse at the age of twenty and six.

Aya’s fingers paused against the edge of the page.

Twenty and six.

She turned the page.

The second entry began much the same.

Merith of House Svedana

Aya’s breath slowed slightly as Master Dino nodded from where he stood across the table.

"They were the only Blood Summoners recorded within your house."

Aya read the notes carefully.

Merith had lived more than a century before Aya was born. The entries described a woman whose power had grown rapidly once awakened. Several maesters had attempted to study the phenomenon at the time, though the notes suggested that few had fully understood what they were observing.

One line had been underlined heavily by a later scholar.

Guardian strength increased beyond human norms.

Aya turned the page again. The final entry: Death recorded at age twenty and three.

Aya leaned back slightly in her chair and blinked once.

"That is all?"

"That is all that survived long enough to be written down."

The quiet of the archive pressed in around them.

Aya looked again at the open pages as Master Dino stepped closer to the table.

Aya glanced toward the shelves around them. "Two."

"Two that survived long enough to be written about."

She returned her gaze to the book. Both Summoners had died nearly at the same age. Both records mentioned instability in the final years of their lives. Both included repeated references to their Guardians.

Aya tapped lightly against one of the notes. "What does this mean?"

Master Dino followed her finger.

Guardian transformation observed.

"Guardians change with the Summoner," he said.

Aya looked up. "How?"

He adjusted his spectacles thoughtfully. "The bond strengthens as the Summoner’s power grows. And with it, a Blood Guardian may be blessed to have extraordinary physical abilities."

"That I know."

"The Guardians became stronger," he said. "Faster. Their instincts sharpened."

Aya thought of Seth again in the training yard. The way he had anticipated her strikes before she had even completed them.

Master Dino continued. "In one record, the Guardian’s physical endurance exceeded that of ordinary soldiers."

Aya’s gaze returned slowly to the page. "That sounds like speculation."

"It is," he admitted.

"Why?"

"Because the Summoners died before the transformation could be fully understood."

Aya closed the book gently. "And now you are writing a third record."

He gestured toward the notes resting beside the older volume. His handwriting filled the newer pages.

"With your help, of course."

Aya of House Svedana

"History rarely waits for certainty," he said.

Aya studied the pages for a moment. "You believe my power will follow the same path."

Master Dino did not answer immediately. Instead, he folded his hands calmly atop the table.

"I believe," he said carefully, "that your power has awakened in ways that have not been seen for generations."

Aya stood slowly. The quiet of the archive seemed heavier now.

Two names.

Two lives.

Both ended at twenty and a few more years.

Master Dino watched her carefully. "You are not them," he said after a moment.

Aya closed the book fully.

"No," she said calmly. "I am not."

Her voice betrayed nothing. But her fingers lingered on the cover a moment longer than necessary.

Master Dino did not contradict her. Instead, he gathered the scattered notes and slid them carefully back into their places among the other volumes.

"Your power is stable, Aya," he said quietly. "For that, we should be thankful."

"For now."

Aya rose from the chair. "Master Dino, you said the records were incomplete."

"They are."

Aya looked back at the shelves lining the stone walls. Then she turned toward the stairs that would lead them back to the sunlit halls above.

"Then perhaps we will write better ones."

Master Dino watched her climb the steps without another word.

But as he gathered the books and returned them carefully to their shelves, his expression had grown more thoughtful than before.

***

The sun had begun to dip when Aya returned to the upper gardens of Peduviel.

The palace terraces were quieter at this hour. The afternoon heat had softened into a gentle warmth, and the musicians who had filled the courtyards earlier in the day had retreated to prepare for the evening’s smaller gatherings. Servants moved quietly through the paths with lanterns, lighting them one by one as the sky slowly shifted toward amber and violet.

Aya walked alone. At least, to most eyes, she did.

Bason padded a few steps ahead of her along the gravel path, his massive frame moving with the steady confidence of a creature that had already decided this palace belonged to him. Occasionally, he paused to sniff the base of a flowering hedge before continuing on.

Aya let the silence settle around her.

The stone paths wound through the gardens in gentle curves, passing small fountains and carved benches that overlooked the rolling hills beyond Peduviel’s walls. From here, the city seemed distant, its noise softened into a faint murmur beneath the evening breeze.

She reached one of the terrace walls and rested her hands lightly against the warm stone.

For a long moment, she said nothing.

But the pages she had read in the archive would not leave her thoughts.

Two names.

Two Summoners.

Both powerful.

Both gone before their lives had truly begun.

Twenty and six. Twenty and three.

Aya exhaled slowly through her nose.

The number lingered in her mind longer than she liked.

Bason returned from the hedge and settled beside her, lowering his massive weight to the ground with a soft thud. His head rested briefly against her knee as though he sensed the shift in her mood.

Aya reached down absently and scratched behind his ear.

"You don’t need to be so worried," she murmured quietly.

Bason’s tail thumped once against the gravel.

Aya allowed herself a small smile.

The breeze lifted her hair gently as she looked out across the distant fields where the hunt had taken place a few days back. The memory of the ride still lingered in her muscles - the rush of speed, the wind cutting past her face, the quiet satisfaction of moving freely across open land.

For a few hours, she had almost forgotten the weight of the crown.

Aya’s gaze lowered to her hands.

The faint warmth of power rested just beneath her skin now - no longer sealed away, no longer suffocating the people around her the way it once had. It moved through her quietly, like a river flowing beneath ice.

Behind her, footsteps approached along the garden path.

Aya did not turn immediately.

She recognized the rhythm.

Killan stopped beside her at the terrace wall.

For a moment, he said nothing either, simply resting his forearms against the stone as he followed her gaze out across the darkening landscape.

"You disappeared after speaking with Master Dino," he said at last.

Aya nodded faintly. "I went to see the archives."

Killan’s brow lifted slightly. "And?"

Aya was quiet. Bason shifted, glancing between them before settling again at their feet.

"There are not many records," she said finally.

Killan turned his head toward her. "That does not surprise me."

Aya’s eyes remained fixed on the horizon. "There were only two."

Killan did not interrupt. Both of them understood what that meant.

After a moment, he reached out and rested his hand lightly over hers against the stone wall. The gesture was simple.

Steady.

Aya did not pull away.

"They were not you," Killan said quietly.

Aya almost laughed.

"That is exactly what Master Dino said."

"And?"

"And I told him no, I am not."

Killan studied her face in the fading light.

"And do you believe it?"

Aya was silent for several seconds.

The lanterns along the garden path flickered softly to life as the servants finished lighting them.

Finally, she turned toward him. "Yes."

Killan searched her eyes and he saw the confidence there.

But he also saw something else. Something she was choosing not to say aloud. Killan did not press. Instead, he squeezed her hand once.

Then he pushed away from the terrace wall and gestured lightly toward the palace.

"Come," he said.

Aya raised a brow. "Where?"

"The musicians have started again," Killan replied.

Aya frowned slightly. "And?"

He smiled faintly. "I was advised by your brother to try my luck."

Aya narrowed her eyes suspiciously "With what?"

Killan offered his hand. "Teaching you how to dance."

Aya stared at him for a moment.

Then she laughed. And for the first time since leaving the archive, the shadow in her thoughts lifted - if only for a little while.