Chapter 3 Echoes Of Ash

The wind howled through the forest like a wounded beast, sending waves of dead leaves skittering across the ground. Liora stood at the edge of the glade, where the stone archway had appeared just nights ago, her breath rising in pale wisps. The mark on her palm pulsed softly, a steady thrum that echoed in her bones. Kael stood behind her, arms crossed, silver eyes wary but watchful. "You shouldn't have come out here alone," he said. "I wasn't alone," Liora replied, her voice firmer than she felt. "The mark brought me here." Kael's jaw tightened. "The mark's not a compass. It's a flare.

If others felt it..." "Then let them come," she said. He stepped forward, lowering his voice. "You don't know what you're challenging." The clearing pulsed with strange energy. The moss-covered stones had changed since her last visit-symbols were clearer, brighter. As if the archway remembered her. "Master Dalen said the Flameborn were guardians," she said. "If that's true, then what am I guarding?" Kael didn't answer. Instead, he reached into his cloak and withdrew a rune-carved pendant. It shimmered faintly. "This belonged to my brother. He was assigned to track down a rogue Flameborn ten years ago. He never came back." Liora turned to him. "You think I'll end up like him?" "I think you'll end up worse if you keep chasing echoes without answers." The ground trembled slightly beneath them. A low hum rippled through the clearing. Liora gasped and grabbed Kael's arm. "Did you feel that?" He nodded. "Something's waking." Suddenly, a sharp sound cracked through the air-like stone breaking. A seam opened in the base of the arch. Light poured out, warm and golden, unlike the cold blue glow of before. Liora stepped closer. Inside the fissure was a stairwell, spiraling down into darkness. Kael cursed under his breath. "This wasn't supposed to open. Not yet." "I think... it wants me to go," Liora whispered. Kael grabbed her shoulder. "No. This is Veil-forged magic. If we go down there, we may not come back." Liora looked down at her hand. The mark burned bright. "I have to know what's beneath." She stepped inside. --- The descent was steep and silent. The stairs were carved from obsidian, warm beneath their feet, glowing faintly with ember-like light. As they walked, the air thickened-not stale, but charged, like a storm building underground. Symbols adorned the walls-flickering between runes and imagery. Liora saw the Flameborn crest, a fire encircling a tree, and another symbol: a broken crown. "What do these mean?" she asked. Kael ran his hand along the carvings. "Flameborn used to protect the Veil. This-" he pointed to the crown, "-was the last time one of them tried to rule it." "They tried to become kings?" "They tried to become gods." At the bottom, the stairs opened into a chamber lit by hundreds of suspended crystals. In the center stood a pedestal, upon which sat a book-its cover glowing softly. Liora approached, the mark on her palm flaring with each step. "It's calling to you," Kael said, his voice reverent. She opened the book. Flames erupted around the chamber-walls lighting with images, moving like memories in fire. A battlefield. Shadows clashing with warriors cloaked in fire. A woman-her hair like molten gold-stood at the center, wielding a sword of flame. Liora stepped back, eyes wide. "That's my mother." Kael stared. "Then the stories were true." The fire twisted, reshaping. A shadowy figure cloaked in smoke, eyes like burning coals. It reached toward the arch-the same one above them-and shattered it with a single blow. The flames went out. Silence. Liora stumbled back. "What was that?" Kael turned to her, his face pale. "That... was the Ashen One." "The what?" "An ancient being sealed behind the Veil. The Flameborn were created to stop it. Your mother must've fought it-maybe even sealed it again. But if your mark has awakened..." "It means the seal is weakening," Liora finished. They both looked back at the book. Only now, the pages were blank. --- Back in Eldranth, Dalen paced the cottage, candles flickering wildly. The runes in his warding bowl glowed red-danger. "She found the vault," he murmured. "Too soon..." He reached for a scroll tucked in the rafters. A faded seal marked its center: the Circle of Flame. "I warned them," he said aloud. "She's not ready." But deep down, Dalen knew: it wasn't about readiness anymore. It was about survival. And Liora Elwyn was the only one left to fight. --- Back in the glade, Liora and Kael emerged from the vault, blinking against the returning light. "You've seen it now," Kael said. "There's no going back." Liora nodded slowly, the weight of her legacy pressing on her shoulders. "No going back," she echoed. "Only forward." And in the wind, she heard it again-her name, whispered by flame. The path ahead was uncertain. But the fire had awakened. And she would burn.