he'd never seen before. The moment he touched the ring to it, the door opened. Inside: a circular room filled with tomes bound in dragonhi

llow Flame. A power hidden by the ancients, feared by the Council, and sealed by blood. We kept it from you to protect you. But the Severed knows." > "Find the Ember Vault beneath the m

end - and death. Alec traveled alone, guided only by faded maps and the pull of something ancient in his blood. He avoided the war-torn cities, stuck to

is ribs now, not constant, but wat

er stood a pedestal. Upon it, a single object: a sword. No blade Alec had ever seen looked like this. It was blackened steel, etched with glowing veins of amber. Fire pulsed inside it - not wild, but contained, like a star in a cage. As Alec stepped closer, the air grew thick with memory. He reached for it. And the world fractured. Alec was no longer in the Vault. He stood in a world of ash and fire. The sky above him bled orange. Around him, shadow-warriors clashed with robed mages wielding flame and light. He knew this was no vision - this was a memory. A battle long forgotten. At the center stood a woman, cloaked in white flame. Her hair was silver, her eyes gold. She raised the same sword now before Alec - and with it, she cleaved through an army of shadows.

ian, wrapped in screaming souls. He did not speak right away. Only studied Alec with something between amusement and curiosity. > "The child lives," he finally said. "And he carries her flame. I had hoped the bloodline had died with your parents." Alec raised the blade. It glowed in answer. > "You killed them," Alec said.

narl. Malrik raised his staf