The fire crackled low beneath the trees, casting dim orange light across the forest clearing. Riven sat still, eyes locked on the half-burned book in his lap.
The name glowed on the page:
Vaelen.
His brother.
A piece of his forgotten past—no, stolen past—finally surfacing.
Kael stirred nearby, still shaken from the events in Duskridge. "You never mentioned a brother."
"I didn't know I had one," Riven said quietly. "Until now."
> "I remember shadows," Veyron said softly in his mind. "Two figures in the fire. Not just you. He was there too."
"Why didn't you say anything?"
> "Because my memory is fragmented—torn like yours. But this name… Vaelen… it pulls something loose."
Riven flipped the page. More glowing text appeared, like whispers burning through time:
> "The second flame did not die. He turned away from the light and embraced the hollow. He became the Gate's first guardian… and its final key."
"Gate?" Kael asked, watching over his shoulder.
"The Aether Gate," Riven murmured. "Whatever lies behind it… Vaelen is connected."
The wind shifted.
Suddenly, the fire dimmed.
From the darkness, a voice echoed—not from Veyron, not from Kael, but from within the book itself.
> "Brother…"
Riven shot to his feet. The flame flared. The book's pages began to flutter, glowing brighter.
> "You left me. You survived. I burned alone."
"Vaelen?" Riven whispered.
The fire exploded upward for a moment, taking shape — a flicker of a boy's face, eyes wide with betrayal… and power.
Then the flames died.
Only embers remained.
> "That was no memory," Veyron said grimly. "That was his echo. He's still alive… or what's left of him is."
Riven clenched his fists. "Then I'll find him."
> "And if he's no longer the brother you remember?"
"I'll still find him," Riven said coldly. "And I'll decide what to do then."
---
Later that night, Kael hesitated before speaking. "You think he betrayed Velmora?"
"I think the truth's been buried too long," Riven said. "And the Order's trying to control that truth."
> "Nine bloodlines," Veyron muttered. "But only one held the Hollow Flame. If Vaelen now serves the Gate… he may not want it sealed again."
Riven looked up at the stars through the tree branches.
The fire in his chest wasn't from rage or fear this time.
It was from resolve.
The path ahead was dark, but his name was a beacon.
Riven Caelthorn Valenhart.
Ashborn Prince.
Last Heir of Velmora.
And now—
A brother in pursuit of a forgotten flame.
---