The night after the Death Trials, Commander Orys Zoryan celebrated with too much wine and too little caution.
By morning, his head was on a pike.
Neron didn't kill him in secret. He challenged him publicly, before the pit, with his gladiators—now free warriors—surrounding the edges like wolves circling a dying stag.
Orys laughed at first. "You're still just a slave in my book."
Neron answered with steel.
The duel was swift. Brutal. A lesson. Neron shattered Orys' sword with a two-handed kopis strike and drove his blade through the man's eye.
[Faction Control Achieved: Blood-Pit Encampment][New Title: Ash-Lord of Tyria's Scar][Troops: 39 Gladiators (Mixed), 1 Dragon Egg (Verdant Flame Drake)][Construct Unlocked: Training Pit, Supply Den, Forge (Ruined)]
The system interface flickered into his vision. A new map opened—stylized and ancient. It showed the volcanic lands east of Tyria, scattered with ruins, minor trade roads, and one important detail: an abandoned Valyrian outpost known as Cair Volakar.
Strategic Location: High Ground + Hatchery Potential + Dragon Forge Remains
He marked it immediately.
📍 Three Days Later — The March Begins
Neron led his ragged army across blackened stone paths and ash-choked hills. His men—no longer slaves—wore scavenged armor, carried mismatched blades, and bore a sigil hastily painted on torn red banners:
A burning spear crossing a coiled dragon — The Banner of Ash and Blood.
Beside him rode M'Koro, now wearing Orys' bronze-plated shoulder guard.
"You sure that place exists?" the islander asked.
Neron nodded. "I'm sure. My… instincts say so."
M'Koro grinned. "You're mad, pale one. But I'd rather follow madness with steel than rot under a noble's whip."
They arrived at Cair Volakar by moonrise.
What remained was a shattered citadel—its walls cracked by time and heat. But its bones were strong, and its heart—the hatchery chamber—still pulsed with dormant magic.
[Cair Volakar Captured]Settlement Type: Minor Fortress (Tier 0)Building Options Unlocked: Hatchery Restoration (In Progress), Armory Reforge, Dragon-Rider Barracks (Locked)Garrison Set: 22 Gladiators[Influence in Region: 3%]
That night, Neron sat by a newly lit fire in the central hall of Volakar. Before him, on a black stone pedestal, rested the dragon egg—its green glow now brighter, throbbing with unseen life.
He removed a shard of obsidian from the forge ruins and began inscribing it with blood and fire, guided by an intuition he didn't understand. Ancient symbols formed—a combination of Valyrian glyphs and Voldemortic soul-binding marks.
When he placed the shard beside the egg, it shifted.
Cracked.
Sighed.
The dragon was awakening.
[Dragon Bond Strengthened – 10% Hatch Progress][New Trait Unlocked: Ember Warden (Passive Resistance to Dragonfire)]
Neron stood, raised his kopis toward the unfinished sky above the ruined tower, and addressed his followers.
"From ash we rise. From blood we build. This is our banner. This is our flame."
M'Koro stepped forward. "What do we call ourselves, Lord?"
Neron smiled.
"The Emberbound."
[End of Chapter 4]