A blinding golden glow burst from the heavy lion medallion, bathing the arena floor in brilliant light. The white lion stopped mid-air, landing heavily in the sand just feet away as the light washed over its thick mane. The creature lowered its massive head, its aggressive stance instantly softening into calm surrender.
King Aurelius: What is this nonsense? Kill him!
Caleb: It seems your beast knows who I am, King Aurelius.
King Aurelius: Guard! Shoot him down where he stands!
Guard Captain: Your Majesty... the beast is protecting him!
Caleb: This lion knows the mark of the true ruler. The royal crest you stole twenty years ago.
King Aurelius: Silence! You are nothing but an outcast from the Western Plains!
Caleb: The plains where you burned my family’s house to take this throne?
The crowd began to murmur, thousands of voices whispering across the stone tiers as the lion sat quietly by Caleb's side, placing its large paw near the young man's foot. King Aurelius gripped the stone railing until his knuckles turned white, his breath coming in short, furious gasps.
King Aurelius: He uses dark trickery! Captain, release the second gate!
Guard Captain: Sir, the royal law states that if the beast submits, the prisoner goes free!
King Aurelius: I am the law in this city!
Caleb: You were the ruler, Aurelius. But the citizens remember the truth of the pendant.
Caleb stepped forward, the lion walking beside him in perfect sync, moving directly toward the central staircase leading up to the royal platform.
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