Episode 20
The air above Flamehold was thick with tension. Even the ever-burning braziers seemed to dim, their flames flickering with unease. Word of Kael's declaration spread like wildfire through the volcanic fortress. He had spoken as a leader, not just a warrior—and the flame had listened.
Seris walked beside him in silence as they entered the Ember Hall, the seat of the oldest Flamewardens. Shadows danced on the stone walls like spirits eavesdropping.
"You know what you've done, don't you?" Seris finally asked.
Kael exhaled slowly. "I've started a war we might not win."
---
The Memory Ember
Deep beneath Flamehold lay a chamber sealed for centuries. Only the chosen could enter, and only when the flames called for it. It was Seris who led them there, reciting a rite long forgotten:
> "By spark, by ash, by ember bound, Reveal the truth the fire found."
The stone door split open with a sigh of heat.
Inside lay a Memory Ember, a sentient flame that recorded the past of the Flameborn.
As Kael approached, it surged to life—and the chamber vanished.
They stood now in a living vision.
The ancient city of Ashara, capital of the Flameborn empire, burned in glory and ruin. Towers crumbled as winged beasts circled the skies. In the center, a woman of fire and silver hair held a blazing sword—the first Flamebreaker.
"That's... her," Kael murmured.
"Aelirya," Seris confirmed. "She ended the First Pact."
The scene changed—Aelirya stood before a shattered Gate of Night, casting herself into the void.
"She sealed it with her soul."
The Memory Ember dimmed.
Kael dropped to one knee, breathing hard.
"It's not just magic we're fighting," he said. "It's a cycle."
---
The Shadow in the Flame
That night, Kael awoke to whispers echoing in the volcanic wind. He rose and followed them out of the sanctum, deeper into the caverns.
There, beneath the forge-heart of Flamehold, stood a figure wrapped in shadowfire.
"You have seen the truth," it rasped. "Now carry the burden."
Kael drew his sword. "Who are you?"
The figure raised a hand, revealing a molten brand on its palm—the Sigil of Nhazurel.
"I was the first to betray the pact. I lit the flame with blood. And now... it wants me back."
Kael attacked, but his blade passed through the specter.
"You cannot fight memory with steel, Kael of Eltherion. You must forge your truth."
When Kael blinked, the figure was gone. Only the echo of fire remained.
---
Lira's Ascension
Lira stood before the Skyforge, a structure older than Flamehold itself. The forge only responded to Skyborn.
She stepped forward, guided by instinct.
White fire flared.
Wings unfurled behind her—no longer ethereal but solid, radiant, woven from storm and starlight.
Seris gasped. "The Skyforge accepts her."
A blade rose from the flames, not forged but remembered.
"This is your inheritance," the forge whispered in a voice only Lira could hear.
She grasped the sword.
Lightning licked across the chamber walls.
---
The Council Fractures
The next morning, the High Flamewarden Varek summoned all leaders.
"Kael has defiled our traditions. Seris consorts with relics. And now this girl claims Skyborn descent?"
Kael stepped forward. "You fear change. But change is the only thing that can save us."
Varek snarled. "Then let us settle this with fire. Trial by Flame."
Gasps erupted.
Trial by Flame was ancient law—a duel in the Heartforge Arena, surrounded by molten rivers, where the fire itself judged.
Kael nodded. "So be it."