Dawn broke softly, a pale light filtering through the mist like smoke drifting through glass. The forest around them felt different. The air was thick, almost electric, as if something unseen was holding its breath.
Elara hadn't managed to sleep. She sat close to the remnants of the fire, her gaze fixed on the ashes, tracing gentle circles in the dirt with her finger. Each movement seemed to pulse with warmth, as if her touch could coax the embers back to life.
Seren was the first to wake, rubbing her eyes. "You didn't get any rest, did you?"
Elara shook her head. "I couldn't."
Kai was already awake, sitting a little way off, methodically sharpening his blade with slow, deliberate strokes. He didn't look her way, but she could tell he hadn't slept either.
Seren yawned and stretched. "We should get moving soon. You said east, right? Toward the ruins?"
Elara nodded. "The ruins of Solmar. They're said to be buried beneath the cliffs, the last place the First Flame touched the earth."
Kai finally sheathed his sword. "How do you know the way?"
"I don't," she confessed. "But something inside me does."
They left their camp behind, the last ember of the fire flickering out as they disappeared into the trees.
The forest grew stranger as they walked. The ground sloped gently downward, and the trees twisted into shapes that felt unfamiliar. Their bark shimmered faintly with golden veins that pulsed in time with Elara's heartbeat. The air hummed with distant echoes, voices so soft they could have been the wind, or perhaps memories.
"Feels like we're walking through a dream," Seren said under her voice.
Kai shot a glance at Elara. "Or a warning."
Hours slipped by. When the trees finally parted, they found themselves at the edge of a vast gorge. Below lay a ravine shrouded in mist and littered with broken stone. the shattered remains of what must have once been a city.
Even in its decay, Solmar was a sight to behold. Great archways, draped in moss, stood half-buried, while statues lay toppled, their surfaces smoothed by the passage of centuries. In the center, a massive circular dais, etched with runes, glimmered faintly beneath a veil of mist.
Elara stepped closer, her heart racing with wonder. "This was once the heart of the old empire… long before Eldoria came to be."
Seren spoke softly, almost reverently. "Do you think the flame originated here?"
Elara nodded, her gaze fixed on the dais. "I can sense it. It's… calling out to me."
They navigated the narrow path carved into the cliffside, feeling the air grow warmer as they descended, the mist taking on a soft, golden glow.
Upon reaching the city floor, Kai took the lead, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword. "Stay close," he warned. "Places like this don't remain empty for no reason."
They stepped through a crumbling archway into what might have once been a temple. The roof had vanished, leaving the sky open above, and at its heart lay the circular dais they had glimpsed from above.
Elara stepped onto it, her boots stirring up centuries of dust. The runes beneath her feet began to pulse with light, one by one, until the entire circle blazed brilliantly.
"Elara!" Kai shouted, but before he could reach her, the light erupted, blinding them both.
The ground shook. Air rushed inward like a deep breath, and then, suddenly, everything fell silent.
When Elara opened her eyes, the world had transformed.
The ruins had vanished, replaced by an expansive hall of fire and glass. Pillars soared into a molten gold sky, and at the center stood a woman made of flame. Her form was both human and otherworldly shifting, radiant, and ancient beyond measure.
Elara gasped. "You're… her."
The woman's voice resonated through the hall, neither sound nor thought but something far deeper. I am the flame that remembers. The first and the last. You are my vessel, and my heir.
Elara took a step back, her heart racing. "I didn't ask for this."
Few chosen ever do, the spirit replied, her voice laced with sorrow. But the crown of ash burns brightest in those who rise from ruin.
You carry my spark, my memories, my anger. If you can harness it, you might mend what's been shattered. But if you let it scare you… you'll become the very thing that destroyed your lineage.
Images danced in the air. her father's palace engulfed in flames, the uprising, her mother's scream swallowed by the smoke. Elara felt her legs give way. "Why me?"
Because your blood remembers fire.
The light surged around her, filling her with warmth and visions, endless battles, kings crowned in flames, and a single truth that made her shiver.
The First Flame had once been human.
A queen betrayed by those she held dear.
And the spirit now residing within Elara wasn't divine at all, it was a piece of that queen's soul, reborn time and again through royal bloodlines, always in search of redemption, yet always ending in tragedy.
The realization hit her like a shard of ice in her chest. "You were one of us."
The spirit's voice softened. I was. And I let them all down.
The vision began to fade.
Learn from me, child. Don't burn for revenge, burn for rebirth. That is the true crown.
The fire dimmed, the hall faded away, and the ruins of Solmar reappeared.
Elara collapsed to her knees on the stone dais, gasping for breath. Kai and Seren rushed to her side.
"What happened?" Seren asked, gripping her shoulders tightly.
Elara's voice was faint "She spoke to me. The First Flame. She was real, she is real. And she was once like me."
Kai's brow furrowed. "What did she want?"
Elara looked up, her eyes still glowing faintly gold. "To complete what she began. To rise again."
The ground shook beneath their feet.
Before anyone could react, the far side of the temple exploded. A brilliant wave of golden light surged from the shattered walls, and a group of figures stepped out of the mist clad in armor, carrying banners emblazoned with the sigil of House Vael.
Leading them was a woman in striking black and silver armor, her pale hair intricately braided with gold thread. Her smile was both chilling and captivating.
"Princess Elara," she said, her voice smooth. "Alive after all. My father will be… quite intrigued."
Kai unsheathed his sword, positioning himself protectively between Elara and the soldiers. "Lady Maelis," he spat.
Elara slowly rose, her fatigue overshadowed by a surge of anger. "You orchestrated the coup."
Maelis nodded slightly. "And put an end to your father's tyranny. You should be thankful. I've left you a kingdom to reclaim, if you can last long enough to try."
Seren grasped Elara's hand. "We're surrounded."
Elara's heartbeat steadied. "Then let's show them whose blood burns the brightest."
The runes beneath her feet glowed fiercely once more. Flames twisted around her hands, forming twin arcs of fire.
Kai smirked grimly. "I take it we're not backing down."
Elara's eyes shone with a golden light. "Not today."
The soldiers moved forward. The air thickened with heat, the ground quaking as fire clashed with steel. Elara fought like the storm she was born from, flames bending to her command, burning bright and controlled this time.
When Maelis drew her sword, it glimmered with dark energy, a weapon forged from corrupted magic. She met Elara's strike head-on, fire and shadow colliding in a deafening explosion.
For a brief moment, the ruins of Solmar blazed as they once did in legend.
And as the firelight flickered in Elara's eyes, the First Flame whispered once more:
Rise, Queen of Embers. Rise.