"Some names are not erased by death. They are exiled by the gods."
---
The crypt was hidden beneath the old citadel of Velmar — a ruined city that even vultures refused to nest in.
Siyara had followed the map etched into the back of Kaien's journal, the same one Rhaelor had found.
But unlike him, she didn't come seeking a sword.
She came looking for his truth.
---
The staircase spiraled downward for hours.
At the base was a stone hall filled with thrones — not for kings, but for identities.
Each one bore a name chiseled in marble.
Each name had a single vertical line across it — a mark of erasure.
Rhaen. Kael. Ashtar. Eiran. Thorne. Velis.
She ran her fingers along dozens of them, all eerily familiar.
Then her breath caught.
A throne with no name crossed out.
Only one name remained untouched:
> Rhaelor.
---
Etched beneath it was a prophecy:
> "The one who gave his name to the void shall remember when the sword beneath ash burns again.
And the girl whose blood was spared shall awaken as the Crownless Flame."
---
Siyara stepped back, her heart racing.
Was this her?
Was she the reason he was forgotten — the bargain for which he gave up his birthright?
---
Behind her, a soft sound — like a breath.
The shadows stirred.
A voice spoke, ancient and feminine:
> "You carry the flame, but fear its light."
Siyara spun around. No one was there.
> "Who are you?" she called.
> "I am the one who kept your memory hidden… from yourself."
And then the air shimmered, and a shape emerged — a tall woman with eyes like dying stars and hands made of emberdust.
> "You are not just the girl he loved.
You are the one who burned the gods' order to save him."
> "But I don't remember—"
> "Then drink," the woman said, and offered her a silver goblet.
> "What is it?"
> "Your forgotten self."
---
Siyara hesitated.
She had always feared the flicker in her — the dreams, the fire, the memories of lives she didn't live.
But now it made sense.
She wasn't just reborn.
She was preserved — until he found the sword again.
She drank.
---
Flames danced in her eyes.
And the goddess smiled.
> "Welcome back, Flameborne Queen."
---
End of Chapter 17: The Crown of Names Forgotten
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