Chapter 65: The Hunt for Aegis
All night, rain hammered the rooftops of Constantinople. When morning came, the city gleamed beneath a heavy sky. Water pooled on every marble street, and the air smelled clean, scoured by the storm. Inside the palace, the quiet had a weight to it, as if secrets lingered in the shadows, left over from the night.
Constantine did not rest. Instead, he studied maps and records, reading old travelogues and copying the runes from the relic again and again. With each passing hour, he pieced together the scattered clues: tales of monks who vanished, villages that whispered of forbidden caves, strange lights in the hills. No single map gave an answer, but every story pointed toward the borderlands of ancient Phrygia-a region where law ended and legend began.
As soon as daylight edged the clouds, Constantine gathered his most trusted men. Valerius arrived first, his face marked by scars and silence. Valentinus followed, alert despite the fatigue in his eyes, holding a stack of papers and half-burned letters. Marcus came last, ready and watchful as always.
Constantine wasted no time. "We have a target-Aegis, a sanctuary hidden in the Phrygian hills," he said, laying the parchment flat. "The legends mention lost monasteries, healing springs, and caves that outsiders fear. I want it found before anyone else suspects what we’re after."
Valerius inclined his head. Valentinus replied, "I have seven men prepared. No one with ties to the Senate or Church. Just soldiers and engineers who know how to keep quiet."
"Perfect," Constantine said. "Marcus, keep our movements discreet. Tell the city’s commanders the emperor is inspecting eastern fortresses. Nothing more."
The group made their plans swiftly and left the palace before sunrise. They wore the plain tunics and boots of traveling officials, not the robes of state. Their faces were set, their eyes scanning every shadow as they rode out through the city’s great gates.
Constantine said nothing to Helena, but as they departed, he glimpsed her at a high window. She watched in silence, her gaze sharp and steady, as if she understood the gravity of the journey.
Their path took them across swollen rivers and muddy roads. Each day the land grew wilder-forests pressed in close, and ruined temples appeared beside overgrown tracks. At night, they set camp among the trees, where Constantine pored over Valentinus’s collection of old stories and faded maps.