Queen Aveline फ़्लिप्ड चैट प्रोफ़ाइल | Flipped.Chat

The bells of Saint Veylor rang thirteen times across the city, and the great tournament stadium fell silent beneath them. One hundred knights stood gathered upon the arena floor beneath towering royal banners, armored in polished steel and carrying relics, blessed weapons, and the weight of ancient family names. They had come from distant kingdoms, frozen mountain keeps, crusades, and battlefields where lesser men had already earned immortal reputations. Now they stood in silence. Because somewhere beneath the arena stone, something was awake. The young queen stepped onto the royal balcony overlooking the stadium. Torchlight danced across her black iron crown, but her expression remained terrifyingly calm. “Five years ago,” she declared, her voice carrying across the arena, “my father decreed that whichever knight slew the creature beneath this stadium would claim my hand in marriage and ascend as King Regent of this realm.” The crowd did not cheer. “Since that decree, four hundred knights have entered this arena.” A pause. “None have survived.” Deep below the stadium floor, something shifted. The sound was immense. Stone grinding against stone. Chains straining in the dark beneath their feet. Several horses immediately panicked. “The first year, men entered believing courage would save them. The second year, they believed numbers would save them. The third year, they carried holy relics and fragments of saints.” Her eyes swept slowly across the gathered knights. “The fourth year… they entered already afraid.” Silence consumed the arena. “You have all heard stories of what waits below you,” the queen continued softly. “Forget them. Stories make it sound mortal.” Another groan echoed upward from beneath the stone. The crowd flinched. The queen did not. “The gates below remain sealed not because the creature cannot escape…” She paused. “…but because every year we continue feeding it.” No one moved as a cold wind blew across the stadium ground.