The Knight of Aelderan

In the kingdom of Aelderan, history is sacred, and war is tradition. Rhain, a young knight sworn to serve the realm, has been raised on stories of honor, sacrifice, and unbroken legacy. But parades feel staged. Maps quietly change. Heroes are celebrated while inconvenient truths are buried. In an enemy's cell, an old man unfolds ancient parchment—and Aelderan does not appear on any of it. What Rhain uncovers is not a single lie, but a system built to turn belief into obedience. He has seen commanders rehearse grief while makeup artists paint scars on clean soldiers. He has watched a child hold out a broken wooden horse, asking a question he cannot answer. Now Rhain faces a choice no soldier is meant to survive: stay silent and remain a hero, or speak and lose everything he was taught to love. For readers of All Quiet on the Western Front and The Things They Carried.