The sun was setting when Rihan, Elira, and Kael left the council's stone gates behind. Crimson light washed over the ancient city of Valdorium, turning its towers into spears of fire against the sky. Yet for all its beauty, Rihan felt the weight of the stares that followed him. Soldiers, merchants, and children alike looked at him with a mixture of awe, fear, and doubt.
"Elira," he muttered, adjusting the sword strapped at his back, "why do they all look at me like I'm some kind of monster?"
Her voice was calm, though her eyes scanned the road ahead.
"Because you are. A monster to our enemies… and maybe even to some of our allies. That's the fate of the Flame's Champion."
Kael snorted. "Don't let it get to your head. They just don't know whether to worship you or stab you in the back."
Rihan forced a smile, but his hands tightened around his cloak. Inside, he could still hear the council's words echoing — trial… bait… unfit.
---
🌌 The Road Ahead
The three rode on horseback down the main road, their path lined with banners of crimson flame. Dozens of soldiers marched alongside them — the first vanguard of the Champion's March. Behind, supply wagons creaked with weapons and rations.
Elira leaned closer to Rihan, whispering, "Our first destination is the Ashen Vale. Reports say a cult stronghold has been growing there. If Draemir's sigil spreads further, the eastern frontier will fall."
Kael's eyes gleamed with anticipation. "Good. I'm tired of watching shadows dance. Let's burn their nest to the ground."
But Rihan's heart was heavy. Every step forward felt like stepping deeper into something he barely understood.
---
🔥 Campfire Confessions
That night, the vanguard made camp by the river. Torches flickered, and soldiers sharpened blades or whispered prayers. Rihan sat a little apart from them, staring at his reflection in the water.
He whispered, "Why me?"
Elira approached quietly, carrying two mugs of heated ale. She handed one to him and sat beside him.
"You're thinking about the council."
Rihan nodded. "They said it was all a test. People died… and it was just to see if I was 'worthy.' How do you live with decisions like that?"
For a long moment, Elira didn't answer. Then she looked up at the stars.
"You don't. You just… carry them. Every soul you couldn't save. Every village that burned. You carry them so the next place doesn't suffer the same fate."
Her words settled into him like heavy stone. But somehow, her presence made the weight bearable.
Before Rihan could answer, Kael's voice cut through the night.
"Save the sad talk for later. We've got movement."
---
⚔️ The First Ambush
From the treeline, shadows stirred. At first, it looked like smoke drifting unnaturally against the wind. Then eyes gleamed within the dark — dozens of them.
"Cultists," Elira hissed, already drawing her bow.
Figures cloaked in black surged forward, their blades curved and dripping with a faint violet glow. Behind them, twisted beasts crawled on all fours, their skin cracked and leaking shadow.
Rihan drew his sword, the steel humming faintly with inner fire. "So much for a quiet night."
Kael cracked his knuckles, grinning savagely. "Finally."
The cultists screamed in unison — a chant to Draemir. "Eclipse rises! Eclipse rises!"
---
🔥 Rihan's Fire Unleashed
The first wave crashed into their line. Soldiers clashed shields, steel ringing against steel. Elira's arrows found throats and skulls, dropping enemies before they reached the vanguard.
But it was Rihan the cultists wanted. They rushed him in groups of three and four, blades raised high.
Something inside him snapped. His blade ignited with raw flame, not from steel but from within himself. He moved faster than he thought possible — cutting through shadows, his fire searing them to ash.
The cultists screamed as their bodies burned, their chants breaking into shrieks.
Yet with every strike, Rihan felt something tugging at him — like Draemir's whispers trying to turn his flame into darkness.
"Rihan!" Elira's voice cut through the noise. "Stay with us! Don't lose control!"
Her voice grounded him, pulling him back from the edge.
---
💀 The Serpent's Herald
Then the ground itself trembled. From the treeline emerged a massive creature — a beast shaped like a wolf but with the scales of a serpent, its eyes glowing violet. The serpent mark blazed across its chest.
Kael's grin vanished. "That's no ordinary shadowspawn."
Rihan stepped forward, flame dancing on his sword. "Then it's mine."
The beast lunged, its roar shaking the camp. Soldiers scattered, Elira loosed arrows into its hide, and Kael charged from the flank. But the monster only had eyes for Rihan.
As it collided with him, fangs snapping, Rihan roared back — his blade flaring like the sun.
---
🌑 End Scene
The clash shook the night, flame against shadow, light against serpent. Sparks rained down like stars falling from the heavens.
And as Rihan struck the beast's chest, the serpent sigil pulsed — not in pain, but in recognition.
Somewhere far away, in her shadowed cavern, Lyra's eyes snapped open.
She smiled faintly.
"So… the Champion has finally stepped onto the road."