The frost no longer clung to our cloaks, but its bite lingered in our bones.
For two days and two nights, Skyflare carried us across the treacherous skies of the eastern borderlands, where the dying breath of the Frostlands met the first warm exhalations of the Ember Mountains. Our path was marked not by maps or stars, but by the whisper of the Sixth Spark burning steady in my chest a beacon from ages past, calling its own home.
We slept in shifts. We ate in silence. Every breath was filled with anticipation and quiet dread.
The Ember Circle.
A myth to most. A graveyard to some. A birthplace to those chosen.
And now, our only hope.
The Flame Gate
We saw it at dawn.
The mists parted as we crested a high ridge, revealing the Ember Gate like a wound carved into the mountainside a canyon framed by towering flame-tempered statues of the first Flamebearers. They stood eternal, their hands raised in both warning and welcome, each holding a blade of pure flame that never dimmed, not even in the thin morning light.
Skyflare landed with caution, its talons skimming the volcanic rock as it released a low rumble.
We dismounted.
The temperature had shifted subtly not hot, but warm enough to melt away the memory of the Frostlands. The earth beneath our feet was blackened stone, cracked and carved with ancient runes barely visible to the untrained eye.
Kaela's hand rested on the hilt of her sabers. "Something watches us."
"It always has," Dareth muttered.
I took a step forward. The Spark within me pulsed like a second heartbeat.
I lifted my right hand, summoned the old flame, and whispered the word that rose from memory.
"Flammora."
The statues responded.
Fire erupted from their mouths not in violence, but in ritual. Twin streams of living flame curled above us, forming an archway that shimmered with gold and crimson hues. The runes beneath our feet glowed in response.
The gate had opened.
We walked through.
Sanctuary in the Flame
The moment we stepped through the flame arch, the world changed.
The Ember Circle was not just a place. It was a realm folded within the heart of the mountain, preserved by magic so ancient it had no words only purpose. The air was perfumed with heated minerals and wildflowers that bloomed along the lava-fed streams. Trees with glowing amber leaves rustled despite the stillness. Birds with ember-tipped wings sang haunting melodies that echoed between stone spires.
At the heart of it all stood the Circle.
Seven spires of dark obsidian stone formed a perfect ring, each adorned with a flame-lit sigil representing a different discipline of Flamebearer magic. At their center, a great altar burned with a blue fire that never flickered, never consumed, never faded.
The Spark inside me shuddered.
We were home.
The Keepers Appear
From the shadows of the spires, six robed figures emerged. They moved with eerie silence, their ember-trimmed cloaks flowing behind them like trails of smoke. Their faces were concealed by masks made of red-tinted emberglass, etched with fire runes.
One stepped forward. Her voice, when she spoke, was like dry wood catching fire crackling, warm, and firm.
"You carry the Spark," she said. "And the shard."
I bowed slightly. "I am Auron, bearer of the Sixth Flame. These are my companions Kaela of the Twin Sabers, and Dareth of the Iron Flame. We seek sanctuary and counsel."
The robed woman studied me, then nodded. "Then present your offering to the Circle. Let the Flame judge your worth."
I removed the flameproof satchel and placed it upon the altar.
As I did, the shard floated free, rising above the blue fire.
The flame turned golden.
Gasps broke from the Keepers.
One fell to her knees. "The Mirror recognizes him."
"The Flame of Truth awakens," another whispered.
I said nothing. I did not yet understand what they saw. But the Spark within me surged in agreement.
The Trial of Embers
The lead Keeper lifted her hands. The flame on the altar surged into the sky, forming a spiral of fire that encased the shard.
"You may not simply claim the Ember Circle," she said. "You must become it."
I nodded. "I am ready."
She gestured toward a stone platform rising beside the altar.
"Then prepare for the Threefold Trial Flame of the Self, Flame of the Past, Flame of the Future."
Kaela stepped forward. "He is wounded. Exhausted from the Frostlands."
"I am tempered by fire," I said quietly. "Not broken by it."
I stepped onto the platform.
The world disappeared.
Flame of the Self
I stood in endless darkness. Then a single mirror of flame emerged, showing my reflection.
Then another.
And another.
Each reflection was a version of me weak, cruel, apathetic, greedy, broken. They spoke with my voice, whispered doubts that cut deeper than blades.
"You are nothing."
"You were a slave, and that's all you'll ever be."
"The Empire will break you."
But I stood tall.
"I am the sum of every scar, every betrayal, every choice. I rise not despite the fire but because of it."
I stepped forward and walked through the flame.
The voices vanished.
Flame of the Past
I found myself in my village again.
The sky was on fire. Screams echoed. My mother ran toward me but I was frozen.
I watched her fall. I saw the chains. I saw myself run.
The guilt suffocated me.
Then I turned.
And I walked back into the burning home.
I found her hand.
I held it.
"I did not forget you," I whispered. "I carry your fire in my soul."
The flame wrapped around me.
And it forgave me.
Flame of the Future
I stood on a throne of molten gold.
Before me, a million kneeling soldiers.
Behind me, the Spark dead and cold.
I saw what could be: conquest, glory… emptiness.
Then I saw another future.
A city rebuilt. Children laughing. Fire used not to conquer but to protect.
The voice whispered: "What will you choose?"
I stepped away from the throne.
"I will serve the fire not rule it."
And the future burned clean.
Rebirth
I awoke on the altar.
The shard had merged with the flame.
The Keepers bowed.
"You are Flameforged," the lead Keeper declared. "The Circle stands with you."
Kaela's eyes shone with pride.
Dareth gave me a rare, approving nod.
The Spark inside me pulsed with new strength.
We had one shard.
Four remained.
But now, we had more than a purpose.
We had allies.
We had a sanctuary.
And I no longer just a boy who had escaped the chains I had become the fire.