The gates of Pyrelith yawned open with a deep groan of metal and stone. The caravan rolled forward, swallowed whole by the shadow of the massive archway. Alex felt the weight of it pressing down on him as though the city itself were testing his resolve.
The moment they passed through, the noise struck him like a physical blow.
Pyrelith was alive.
The streets teemed with people merchants shouting prices over the clamor of a thousand voices, hawkers waving skewers of roasted meat dripping with fat, smiths hammering iron on anvils that rang like bells.
Carts laden with goods creaked past, drawn by oxen with horns wrapped in bronze. Children darted between legs and wheels, chasing each other through the chaos.
The air was thick with scents: smoke from endless forges, the sweetness of spiced bread, the tang of molten metal. Heat radiated from the very ground, as though fire pulsed beneath the cobblestones.
Alex's breath caught. Elderleaf had been a single street with a handful of homes. This… this was a world unto itself.
Beside him, the nobles leaned out of the wagon, their eyes alight with pride. "Look at the banners!" one exclaimed, pointing at a crimson standard that fluttered from a tower. The cloth bore the image of a dragon coiled around a flame. "The capital welcomes us!"
The common-born children were silent, their gazes downcast. They clutched their bags tighter, shrinking under the scrutiny of the bustling crowd.
And the crowd did watch them. Citizens stopped what they were doing to stare as the recruits rolled past. Some looked curious, others disdainful. Whispers followed in their wake:
"More children for the Academy."
"Another batch to burn or break."
"They don't even look ready."
The words crawled under Alex's skin. He hunched his shoulders, keeping his eyes fixed on the wooden floor of the wagon. But even then, he could feel the city pressing in from all sides, vast and suffocating.
The caravan wound through wide boulevards lined with towering buildings. Crimson banners hung from balconies, each one rippling in the wind. Soldiers in polished armor patrolled the intersections, their halberds gleaming under the sun.
Alex's gaze flicked from one sight to the next, trying to take it all in. A fountain carved in the shape of a dragon's maw spewed fire instead of water, its flames somehow burning without fuel.
A group of robed priests chanted in low tones before a shrine where a brazier blazed eternally. Vendors sold charms said to bring fortune in battle, their stalls crowded with eager buyers.
The city seemed endless. Every turn revealed another street, another crowd, another wonder.
[Ding!]
[Passive Effect: Awe of the Capital.]
[Focus reduced by 10%. Emotional state heightened.]
Alex flinched slightly at the System's chime, but it was right. He could barely think, swept up in the immensity of it all.
Eventually, the caravan turned toward an elevated road that climbed higher into the city. Here, the crowds thinned. The buildings grew taller, their walls of black stone etched with veins of glowing crimson. Guards stood at regular intervals, their gazes sharp.
"This is the Inner District," one of the nobles announced proudly, puffing his chest. "Only the strongest families live here."
He wasn't wrong. Alex could see it: estates with high walls, gardens where flame-lit lanterns floated in the air without strings, stables filled with sleek horses bred for war. Servants in fine robes bowed as their masters passed.
The common-born recruits stared in silence. The divide between their worn clothes and the splendor before them felt like a chasm.
Alex clenched his fists. This was the Fire Nation's heart. Power lived here, and it made no attempt to hide itself.
At last, the caravan reached a vast plaza at the base of a mountain that loomed over the city. Carved directly into the rock was a structure so immense Alex's breath failed him.
The Fire Academy.
Its gates were wrought from black iron, etched with runes that glowed faintly as though alive.
Towers rose from the mountainside, their tips wreathed in perpetual flame. Balconies jutted out like the perches of predators.
The main building stretched upward and outward, half fortress, half temple. It seemed less like a school and more like the lair of some great beast.
The wagons rolled to a stop before the gates. Soldiers barked orders, herding the recruits down onto the stone.
Alex's legs trembled as his boots touched the plaza. He craned his neck back, struggling to take in the scale of the Academy. His heart pounded in his ears.
[Ding!]
[Quest Update: Path of the Flame – Stage 1 Complete.]
[New Objective: Endure the Fire Academy's Trial of Embers.]
[Reward Pending.]
Alex swallowed hard. A trial. Of course there would be a trial. Nothing in this city would come without fire.
The recruits were lined up in rows, nobles in front, common-born behind. Alex found himself in the second line, pressed between two children whose eyes were wide with fear.
The gates of the Academy opened with a grinding roar. Out stepped a figure that silenced the plaza.
A man clad in crimson and black robes, his shoulders broad, his presence suffocating. His hair was tied back in a crown-knot, and his eyes burned like coals. He carried no weapon, but Alex felt more threatened by him than by any soldier he had ever seen.
"Welcome, recruits," the man said, his voice low and commanding. "I am Master Kaelit , Warden of the Academy."
His gaze swept over them like a blade. Some children flinched. A noble boy tried to straighten his back further, but Kaelit's eyes lingered on him until he faltered.
"You stand at the threshold of fire. Here, you will be broken and reforged. The weak will be cast aside. The strong will rise. Flame cares nothing for birth or name only strength."
His words rang out across the plaza. Alex felt them burn into his chest.
Kaelith raised one hand. A flicker of fire appeared in his palm. With a twist of his wrist, it leapt into the air and expanded, becoming a great arc of flame that hovered above them like a burning gate. The recruits gasped.
"This is the Trial of Embers," Kaelit declared. "You will pass through the flame. If the fire accepts you, you may enter. If it rejects you… you will be left behind."
Murmurs rippled through the recruits. Fear thickened the air.
Alex's stomach turned. Pass through fire? How could anyone survive that?
But then the nobles stepped forward, their faces set in grim determination. One by one, they walked toward the arch of flame.
The first boy clenched his fists, summoned a spark in his palm, and strode through. The fire parted slightly, washing over him like a heated wind. He emerged on the other side, coughing but alive.
The second noble girl followed, her steps trembling. The flames licked at her robes but did not consume her. She stumbled but reached the other side.
Cheers rose from the noble children, but the common-born recruits remained silent.
Then Kaelith's eyes fixed on them. "Next."
Alex's throat went dry. His legs locked in place.
[Ding!]
[Quest Activated: Trial of Embers.]
[Objective: Pass through the Flame Arch without collapsing.]
[Failure: Expulsion from the Academy.]
[Reward: +200 EXP, Flame Affinity Assessment unlocked.]
His heart pounded so hard it hurt.
The boy beside him whimpered. The girl on his other side clutched her hands together, whispering a prayer.
Alex forced himself to take a breath. He had survived Elderleaf. He had survived the journey. He could survive this. He had to.
When the soldier barked his name, Alex stepped forward.
The arch of fire roared before him, its heat slamming into his skin like a wall. Sweat beaded on his forehead, soaking his collar. His legs shook, but he lifted one foot, then the other.
The flames reached for him.
And Alex walked into the fire.