The world was fire, then silence.
Alex collapsed the moment the brazier dimmed, his knees hitting stone, his palm still faintly glowing with the ember he had summoned in front of the Academy.
The laughter and gasps of the courtyard faded into distance.
He tried to breathe, but the air was too heavy, too hot, too thin.
His eyelids fell shut before he could stop them.
And in that darkness something shifted.
When he opened his eyes again, he was standing in a meadow, soft grass brushing against his legs, dew sparkling like stars beneath the rising sun.
The horizon burned red and gold, and in the distance, Elderleaf stretched across the valley exactly as it had before the fire, before the screams, before death.
Alex froze, unable to move, unable to breathe the village was whole the houses stood tall, smoke curling lazily from chimneys. The great oak in the center rose proud, its branches heavy with garlands and ribbons.
The air carried the smell of roasted bread and woodsmoke, and he could hear the faint laughter of children darting between streets.
"Alex."
The voice turned him Kael stood a few paces away, leaning against his old spear, the same lopsided grin on his lips that Alex remembered so well.
His brother looked alive so painfully alive that Alex's heart nearly shattered.
"You're up early," Kael said, pushing off the spear. "Trying to impress the ancestors?"
Alex's throat worked. His mouth was dry. "…Kael?"
Kael's grin widened "Who else? Don't look at me like you've seen a ghost today's the big day, isn't it? Sixteen. Don't tell me you forgot your own birthday."
The world swayed beneath Alex's feet tears stung his eyes, but he blinked them back "I didn't forget. I just".
Kael clapped him on the shoulder, warm and solid "Relax come on the whole village is waiting."
And for the first time in years, Alex let himself follow.
The square of Elderleaf was alive banners of green and gold fluttered from rooftops, music rose from flutes and drums, and the great fire basin beneath the oak roared with bright flame.
Villagers gathered in their best clothes, smiling, laughing, clapping one another on the back the scent of roasting meats and spiced bread filled the air, mingling with the sweet tang of summer wine.
And then he saw her.
His mother, Mara, stood near the basin, her hair braided with ribbons, her eyes warm and soft Lyanna clung to her skirt, giggling as she tried to peek at the preparations and beside them, tall and stern but present, was Eryndor his father clad in his old hunting leathers, arms crossed.
Alex's chest clenched so hard it hurt.
"Mara," a villager greeted, bowing slightly.
"Eryndor," another said respectfully.
Alex moved forward on unsteady feet his mother's gaze lifted, and when it landed on him, she smiled the same gentle smile he had seen a thousand times in memory, but never thought he'd see again.
"You've grown," she said softly she cupped his cheek, warm, alive, real "My Alex Sixteen at last."
He swallowed hard. "Mother, I…"
She hushed him with a finger against his lips "No words today is joy let it be so."
Lyanna tugged at his hand "Alex! You're finally big now! You have to protect me forever, okay?" Her eyes sparkled with mischief.
He scooped her up, pressing his face against her hair, inhaling her scent sunlight and grass "Always," he whispered, his voice cracking.
Eryndor stepped forward, his shadow falling over them his stern expression softened, if only slightly. "The fire is waiting do not falter, Alex our blood carries both burden and strength show them both."
Alex nodded, tears threatening again "I will, Father."
The Elder raised his staff, calling the crowd to silence "Today, another child becomes an adult of Elderleaf Alex, step forward."
The villagers parted, and Alex walked to the basin the fire roared high, its heat licking his face he was handed a torch, and as he gripped it, the Elder's voice rang out.
"Speak your vow."
Alex drew a breath he thought of his mother's smile, his father's steady hand, Kael's teasing grin, Lyanna's laughter the words poured from him.
"I vow to carry our fire to protect Elderleaf ,To fight for those who cannot , To keep the flame alive, no matter the storm."
His voice rang across the square ,he thrust the torch into the basin.
Flames roared upward, golden and red, higher than any he'd seen before Gasps echoed through the crowd for a moment, Alex swore he saw figures in the fire his ancestors, shadows of warriors and healers, standing tall in welcome.
The villagers cheered music swelled drums thundered Mana wept and laughed, Kael shouted his name, Lyanna clapped wildly. Eryndor placed a firm hand on his shoulder, pride shining in his eyes.
Alex stood in the firelight, warmth soaking into his skin, his chest filled with something vast and unbreakable for the first time, he belonged.
But then something shifted.
The fire flickered strangely, turning dark at the edges the music slowed, stretching into a low, distorted drone the villagers' faces blurred, their cheers warping into whispers.
"Alex…" Mara's voice trembled "Don't forget."
Kael's grin faded, his face dissolving into ash "Stay strong, little brother."
Eryndor's hand slipped from his shoulder, turning to smoke Lyanna's laughter cut off like a candle snuffed out.
"No wait!" Alex cried, reaching for them but the oak withered, its leaves blackening the square crumbled into cinders The fire basin exploded into darkness his family vanished, torn from him again.
He fell through the void, screaming their names, but only silence answered.
Alex jolted awake with a gasp the barracks ceiling loomed above him, rough wood instead of the sky. Around him, the recruits slept in rows, the faint snores and rustle of blankets the only sound. His body was drenched in sweat. His chest heaved.
It was a dream all of it a dream.
His hands shook as he pressed them to his face he could still feel Hana's warmth, Kael's weighty grip, Lyanna's laughter echoing in his ears but they were gone. They had been gone for years.
Tears slipped free before he could stop them. He buried his face in his blanket, biting his lip until it bled. "I miss you… gods, I miss you."
Then heat.
Alex froze. Slowly, he lowered his hands hia right palm glowed faintly. A flame flickered there.small, fragile, but real. It danced on his skin without burning, as natural as breath.
The System chimed.
[System Notice: Age Milestone Reached — 16.]
[Condition Met: Awakened at Sixteen.]
[Recognition Earned: Home at Sixteen.]
[Reward Granted: Emberheart Passive.]
[Emberheart Passive: Your heart carries the memory of home. When despair threatens to consume you, flames burn brighter. Allies near you gain courage from your resolve.]
Alex stared at the words through blurred eyes his chest ached, but beneath the grief, something steady began to grow.
The dream had not been real, but the vow he spoke within it the vow to protect, to endure was now bound to him.
He clenched his fist, the little flame vanishing, but the warmth remained.
"They're gone," he whispered to the silent barracks. "But I'll carry them. Always."
For the first time, he understood: Elderleaf wasn't only a place it was fire within him and that fire would never die.
He lay back, exhausted, the ember in his chest steadying his breath sixteen had come not with garlands and songs, but with flame and that was enough.
Tomorrow, the Academy would test him again tomorrow, the nobles would sneer, the instructors would push him to breaking. But tonight, he had his fire.
And for Alex, that was everything.