They came at dawn.
Not with fanfare — with silence.
Smoke curled from the treetops around the Crownless camp. Kael jolted awake, the ember shard in his grip suddenly freezing cold. His breath fogged as if winter had descended, but it wasn't frost — it was fear.
"Ash Blades," Riven growled, sword already drawn. "They've found you."
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Betrayal in the Smoke
It wasn't a siege. It was a message.
The Ash Blades — black-cloaked, eyes gleaming red — swept through the edge of the camp like ghosts, fast and merciless.
Kael fought like instinct led him, shadowfire flickering from his fists. But he wasn't ready — not for Varis, the blade-captain of the Ash Blades, whose obsidian spear pierced light and magic alike.
"We're not here to kill you, Heir," Varis said, circling. "We're here to remind you whose fire you carry."
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The Brand of Obedience
Kael was struck — not by a weapon, but by a mark.
A crimson glyph flared on his forearm, searing into skin. A brand, old magic from the Ember King's war days. It was meant to bind flame-bearers — force obedience.
"They want to control me," Kael gasped, the glyph pulsing with heat.
"They always have," Riven snapped. "That's why we burned the banners."
Thalia and Lyss managed to drive the Ash Blades back with smoke and illusion, but the damage was done: Kael was marked. And the brand... whispered to him.
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A Fracture in Flame
Doubt began to bloom. Was Kael strong enough to resist the will of fire?
He started seeing visions — the Ember King's battles, tortures, victories. The brand was pulling his mind backward.
"This mark links you to every wielder before you," Thalia said. "But it also chains you."
"Then let's break the chain," Kael replied. "Before it wraps around someone else."
They had to move. The Ash Blades would return — stronger, next time.
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🌪 The Sky-breaker's Warning
Just as they began to leave, a storm answered.
Not thunder — a beast of lightning descended: the Sky-breaker, a messenger from the Kingdom of Storms.
A voice boomed through the clouds:
"The storm watches the flame. Choose your path, heir — king... or weapon."
With a flash, the beast vanished, leaving a charred symbol in the ground: a spiral of flame split by lightning.
"The other kingdoms are awakening," Thalia whispered.
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A New Direction
Lyss revealed a stolen Ash Blade map — the next sigil site: a ruined city beneath a petrified forest, where time itself was said to slow.
"We're not just racing soldiers anymore," she said. "We're racing prophecy."
Kael stood beneath the storm-mark, his brand glowing, the ember shard cold in his palm.
"Let them come," he said. "Let the kingdoms watch. I won't be their weapon."
"Then you'd better learn how to be their fire," Thalia murmured.
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