Echoes of the Immortal Flame
Written by R.E. Solcrest
---
Night deepened across Crimson Willow Valley, but for Aryan, the sky might as well have burned.
He sat cross-legged in the quiet alcove behind the disciple quarters, the sigil on his palm glowing faintly, its heat steady but strange. It didn't hurt—it hummed. As if something ancient was calling through it.
But Aryan wasn't listening blindly. Not anymore.
He stared at it, forcing his Flame Seed to respond. A whisper of inner fire rose, brushing the edges of the mark. Sparks danced. And then…
The world shifted.
Stone turned to ash. Trees melted into silhouettes of memory. He wasn't in the alcove anymore.
He stood in a realm of half-light, half-smoke. In front of him… a girl in silver robes. Her face hidden behind a veil of moonfire.
"Why do you call me here?" she asked, though her voice was soft, aching.
"I didn't," Aryan said. "You brought me."
The veil trembled. "You carry the pact. The last of it."
Aryan stepped forward. "Then tell me—what was it for?"
"For love," she said. "For war. For both."
The realm shook.
Suddenly, her eyes became clear through the veil—eyes he knew.
Lirael.
Before he could speak, the world shattered, and he was back.
Breathing hard. Alone.
But not quite.
Because in the space beside him, resting on the stone, was something left behind:
A silver hairpin. Moon-shaped.
Still warm.
---
Author's Note – R.E. Solcrest
The Moonfire Pact was never just a bond. It was a promise sealed in lives long past… and it's awakening once more. Aryan's path is growing more entwined with Lirael's fate—and not even death could sever it.
What do you think she was trying to say?