The sun rose red over the canyon, hazy behind drifting smoke. The air was still hot from the battle, but the silence felt heavier than before — like the world itself was holding its breath.
Talon led them through a narrow crevice at the canyon's base, into a hidden hollow carved into the stone. It was small but sheltered, cooled by underground springs that steamed faintly in the heat.
"This place was once a miner's rest," Talon said, setting down his pack. "No one comes here anymore. The ground's too unstable, and the fire veins run deep beneath it. We'll be safe — for now."
Jack helped Lyra sit near the spring. Her shoulder was still bandaged from the arrow wound, the white fabric stained with red and ash.
She smiled weakly. "You should rest too."
He shook his head. "You got shot. I just got lucky."
Kael leaned his sword against the wall. "Luck doesn't melt a dozen bounty hunters."
Jack looked away. "That wasn't me. That was… something else."
Talon tossed him a canteen. "Then you'd better learn what that 'something else' is before it learns you."
The group fell into quiet routine. Kael scouted the outer ridge. Talon worked over his tools, hammering dents from his armor. Jack gathered kindling near the springs, though most of it turned to smoke before catching flame.
Lyra sat beside the water, her reflection wavering in the steam. She touched the wound on her shoulder — it burned faintly with golden light, a mixture of her healing magic and the fire that had saved her.
Jack approached, kneeling nearby. "You're healing fast."
"Thanks to your fire," she said softly. "It's strange — it should've burned me, but it felt… warm, almost familiar."
He hesitated. "Maybe the fire recognized your light."
Lyra smiled faintly. "You say that like fire has feelings."
Jack shrugged. "After everything I've seen, I'm not sure it doesn't."
Their eyes met briefly — the warmth between them as fragile as the steam rising from the spring.
Later, as the sun dimmed and the canyon glowed with veins of molten red, Talon sat across from them, sharpening a short blade. The firelight reflected off his eyes, making them look like burning embers.
"You've been asking about the Twelve Veins," he said quietly. "Maybe it's time you heard what I know."
Jack leaned forward. "You mean the kingdoms' magic?"
Talon nodded. "Each kingdom was born from a Vein — a current of elemental energy that flows beneath Fonterra. Fire, Water, Wind, Earth, Light, and so on. They give life… but they also demand balance."
Lyra's gaze turned distant. "And when that balance is broken, the world fractures."
"Exactly." Talon flipped the blade in his hand. "The Fire Vein's been unstable for years. Too many forge-masters draw from it, too many wars burn its energy. That's why Emberhold keeps erupting — the veins are angry."
Jack frowned. "So if I'm somehow connected to these Veins…"
"Then you're part of the balance," Talon said. "Maybe even the key to fixing it — or breaking it completely."
Kael returned from the ridge, overhearing the last words. "Sounds like a curse to me."
Talon smirked. "Most blessings are, if you look close enough."
That night, they gathered around a small campfire — one Jack kept carefully controlled, the flames low and steady.
Kael cleaned his blade in silence. Talon leaned against the wall, half-asleep. The only sound was the soft crackle of burning wood.
Lyra sat beside Jack, watching the flame. "You've changed," she said quietly.
He looked at her. "Since the fire?"
"Since Schiera." She turned toward him. "Back then, you were lost. Afraid. Now… you carry something heavy, but you don't let it crush you."
Jack smiled faintly. "Guess being thrown into a war does that."
She shook her head. "No. It's not the war changing you. It's the choice to keep fighting it."
He watched the light dance in her eyes, softer than the fire's glow. "And what about you? You still try to protect everyone else first."
Lyra's lips curved in a sad smile. "It's easier than protecting myself."
Jack wanted to ask what she meant, but her expression — distant, almost haunted — told him not to.
The fire popped softly between them, and for a brief moment, their hands brushed. His flame didn't burn her. Her light didn't blind him. They simply existed, side by side — warmth meeting warmth.
As the others slept, Jack found himself unable to rest.He stared at his hand — the mark faintly glowing red-gold, alive even in the dark.
He clenched his fist. "You saved her. But you nearly destroyed everything."
The flame flickered brighter, as if responding.
He whispered, "If you're really part of me… then help me protect them. Don't turn me into a monster."
A soft rustle made him look up. Lyra stood nearby, wrapped in her cloak, her hair glimmering faintly in the firelight.
"You're still awake," she said gently.
"Couldn't sleep."
She knelt beside him. "You're not a monster, Jack. Fire doesn't choose the wicked — it chooses those who can bear its pain."
He met her gaze, uncertain. "And if I can't?"
"Then you won't have to bear it alone."
Her words lingered in the air like a promise — fragile, but real.
By morning, the canyon was quiet again. Kael was already preparing their packs. Talon doused the fire with a splash of water.
Jack stood at the cave's mouth, looking out at the rising smoke beyond the horizon. "Where do we go next?"
Talon joined him. "North. Toward the Ember Plains. My apprentice's trail leads there — and if what we saw in the forge was true, someone's spreading those forged sigils across the other kingdoms."
Lyra stepped up beside them, her wound now faintly glowing with healing light. "Then we stop whoever's behind it."
Kael gripped his sword. "And if we can't?"
Jack glanced back, his eyes reflecting both fire and determination. "Then we make sure they remember who tried."
The four of them stepped out into the burning dawn, their shadows stretching long across the canyon floor.
For the first time, they walked not as strangers — but as allies bound by flame, light, and purpose.
And far away, beyond the horizon, something stirred beneath the earth — a faint, rhythmic pulse echoing through Fonterra's veins.