MIRROR OF FIREPOV: CeresThe fire was not outside her anymore.It was inside.Since returning from the Sealed Gate, Ceres hadn’t slept. Couldn’t sleep. The Codex no longer glowed. It breathed. The scrolls in the Ember Library flared and curled when she passed. Her skin, bare beneath her ceremonial silk, shimmered faintly in the dark.But it wasn’t power. Not anymore.It was unbinding.Ceres stood in the inner sanctum of the Dreamflame Sanctuary, the flame altar burning steadily be
THE SEALED GATEPOV: CeresThe Codex would not stop glowing.Even after Arion’s capture. Even after the pyres were lit in Hollowfen, Xavier’s soldiers sang war songs under flame-drenched skies. Even after she had scrubbed her hands raw, she tried to feel clean.It kept glowing.And humming.Like something beneath the ink was awake.Ceres sat cross-legged in the Dreamflame Chamber, the Codex spread open before her, its language shifting with each flicker of candlelight. The Flame didn’t
The Battle of HollowfenPOV: XavierThe air thickened as they reached the edge of Hollowfen. The fog curled low, dragging itself across the ground like wounded breath. Trees stood like broken sentinels, twisted and clawing at the sky. The ground squelched beneath hooves, and the stench of iron, old magic, and death clung to every breath.Xavier pulled his horse to a slow halt and scanned the horizon. “This place smells of old war.”“It is old war,” said Commander Veyna, riding beside him, her voice muffled slightly behind her helm. “They say the first Fla
RISE OF THE UNNAMED FLAMEThe Whispering Hollow | Outskirts of FlamewatchThe morning was unremarkable.The dew clung to the moss. The air smelled of pine and petrichor. But something was missing—not visibly, not physically. Just… gone.Ceres stepped into the grove, her breath caught in the stillness. This was where Nya was last seen—kneeling among the ash trees, fingers pressed to the earth, whispering to something no one else could hear.Now, only the imprint of her presence remained. Not footprints. Not heat.Just a feeling i
THE SKY BURIALThe Fire-Cliff Ridge | Border of Red Court TerritoryThe sky had been silent for hours. Not a bird. Not a wind. Even the clouds had stopped moving, like the heavens held their breath.Lena crouched at the edge of the cliff, her cloak tattered and soot-streaked, her eyes fixed on the obsidian tower in the distance—the last spell forge of the Red Court."Are you sure you want to do this alone?" asked Thorne, his voice gravelly behind her. His armor bore the burns of the last battle, and his left eye was still bloodshot from a spell that had nearly turned his mind inside out.Lena didn't loo
THE BROKEN OATHSThe Flameguard Barracks, Flamewatch CitadelThe clang of steel against stone rang through the lower halls. Not in training—no drills echoed now. The sound was fractured, raw. A table overturned, a helm thrown in fury. Honor was no longer uniform.Captain Emeric slammed his fist against the oak war-map. "You heard what the flames said. You saw the wall. She's not a child anymore. She's a reckoning.""You're speaking treason," Lieutenant Halden snapped. "She's the Queen's blood. We swore oaths, Emeric. You don't get to unmake them because a little fire scared you."Emeric's jaw clenched.