The battle was over, but the ashes still whispered.
Smoke rose lazily over the broken village of Hollowspire. What remained of the stone watchtowers crumbled quietly in the wind. The once-bustling square was a graveyard of flame-scorched rubble. And yet… there was peace. A rare, brittle kind of peace. The kind that only came after survival.
Kael Stormbond stood at the edge of the cliff overlooking the leyline scar, Cinder curled beside him, eyes half-closed but ever-watchful.
He hadn't spoken in hours.
The Weight of Victory
"You're doing that brooding hero thing again," Lira said, stepping beside him with a limp. Her armor was scratched. Blood on her cheek. Still standing.
"I'm not brooding," Kael muttered.
"Mmhm." She folded her arms, voice quieter. "That gate nearly took you apart, you know."
Kael didn't answer.
Lira kicked a small stone off the edge. "You saved the village. They're calling you the Emberborn now. Some are saying you're a chosen one. You gonna start giving speeches?"
He looked at her, deadpan. "I'm terrible at speeches."
She smirked. "Good. Because we're not done. That was just a small gate. The Ashborn don't open something like that for fun."
Kael turned back to the horizon. His rune still glowed faintly beneath his shirt. The fire hadn't left. It was just… waiting.
The Gathering
That night, they lit no ceremonial pyres. There was no celebration.
Instead, Kael, Lira, Finnel, and a few villagers gathered inside the broken temple ruins—its shattered statue of the Sky Mother leaning like a wounded guardian.
Captain Orin, a soldier who'd helped rally survivors, brought them grim news.
"Other villages have fallen," he said. "Same magic. Same corruption. The Ashborn are moving through the old dragon roads. And rumor is… they're looking for keys."
Kael narrowed his eyes. "What kind of keys?"
"Ancient ones. Dragonforged. Said to unlock the Vaults of the First Flame."
Even Cinder stirred at that.
"That is not myth," the dragon said in Kael's mind. "The Vaults exist. And if Raven opens them…"
Kael finished aloud, "He won't just summon monsters. He'll rewrite the laws of fire itself."
A New Bond
Later, as the others rested, Finnel approached Kael by the fire.
"I… I froze today," he said, not meeting Kael's eyes. "During the gate. I—I should've helped. I could've—"
Kael stood and placed a hand on his shoulder. "You helped. You kept people alive. You stood your ground."
Finnel looked up. "But you—"
"I didn't do it alone, Finn. None of us did."
Cinder looked over from the shadows and gave a soft growl of approval.
Something changed in Finnel's eyes that night. The boy who trembled at battle now sat a little taller beside his dragon. A flame had caught. It would grow.
Final Scene – Raven's Return
Far away, in the ruined castle of Blackthorn Hollow, Raven Drake stood before a mirror made of obsidian flame. Vraxion curled around the room like a living shadow.
Behind him, a new figure emerged—cloaked in red armor, face hidden behind a half-mask forged from bone.
"He destroyed the gate," Raven said.
The figure nodded. "Good. That means he's stronger now. The ritual will need a worthy flame."
Raven's grin returned, slow and dangerous.
"Soon, Kael Stormbond. Soon, you'll understand why fire kneels… or breaks."