Chapter 14

Duke Birsha considered Alliyanna’s question, his eyes calculating as he studied her eager expression. After a moment, his lips curled into a satisfied smile.

“A celebration is indeed appropriate,” he agreed, setting down his pen. “Three weeks from today should allow sufficient time for preparations and for guests to arrange travel. As for who to invite...” He paused, stroking his chin thoughtfully. “The guest list must reflect our combined status. All the major Houses, of course, and key Imperial officials.”

Alliyanna nodded, her face a mask of perfect compliance even as her mind raced with possibilities. Three weeks—enough time for Talak to find the first fragment and return.

“I’ll assign Madame Levinia as your social secretary,” Birsha continued. “She’s managed my household affairs for years and knows which alliances need cultivation. She’ll provide you with a preliminary guest list for the event, and she will assist you with all arrangements and introduce you to your ladies-in-waiting.” His smile didn’t reach his eyes. “I’ve taken the liberty of selecting three young women of appropriate breeding to attend you. Daughters of families loyal to me.”

After being introduced to her staff, Alliyanna went back into the library, only now she was unaccompanied. She decided to see if anything could be found on the Void or the Fragments.

The library stretched before Alliyanna like a labyrinth of knowledge, its towering shelves now hers to explore without Lieutenant Vashin’s watchful gaze. Her newfound freedom as Birsha’s official betrothed came with privileges she intended to exploit fully.

She moved purposefully through the stacks, scanning titles for anything that might reference ancient cosmic threats or mystical artifacts. The organization system was complex—part chronological, part subject matter, with occasional sections devoted to specific star systems or historical periods.

After hours of methodical searching, Alliyanna discovered a dusty section tucked away in the farthest corner of the library’s upper level. The shelves here sagged with age; the volumes bound in materials she couldn’t identify—some appeared to be made from substances that shifted colors as she approached.

One book in particular caught her attention. Unlike the others, it seemed to absorb light rather than reflect.

It was thick, dusty, and smelled slightly of mildew. But the spine read: “The Void Awakens, and the Troubles begin.”

With trembling fingers, Alliyanna carefully removed the ancient tome from the shelf. The cover was made of some strange material that felt almost alive beneath her touch - cool at first, then warming to match her body temperature. The title, embossed in flowing script that seemed to shift slightly as she watched, sent a chill down her spine: “The Void Awakens, and the Troubles Begin.”

She carried the book to a secluded reading nook near a window, where afternoon light filtered through stained glass, casting prismatic patterns across the pages as she carefully opened it. The script inside was elaborate and difficult to decipher - not quite any language she recognized, yet somehow comprehensible, as if the book itself wanted to be understood.

As she read, Alliyanna’s eyes widened. The text described exactly what Xel’nara had told them about the Void - an ancient darkness that consumed worlds.

She was hoping it told how to defeat this evil, and where the fragment to the key might be.

Alliyanna turned the brittle pages carefully, searching for information about the fragments. Several chapters in, she found what she sought:

“The Elders of the Twelve Realms forged a key from the heart of a dying star, imbuing it with the essence of creation itself. With this key, they sealed the Void behind barriers of light. Then because of its great power divided it into three segments and hide the across the galaxy the first was located one a distant remote desert planet with hidden dangers, this planet was named Erimos.