They left at dawn.
The fire had gone cold, but its warmth clung to Elira's skin like the last hug of a dream. Kesh walked ahead, his silver hair catching the early light. Myn trailed behind, her eyes always watching the sky.
Elira didn't know where they were going. But for the first time, that didn't scare her.
She had people.
And the fire inside her—quiet, steady—felt like a promise.
"We should head toward the Ashlands," Myn said after a long silence.
Kesh looked back. "Why there?"
"That's where the Oathstone lies," she replied. "It's where the old powers made their promises. If the First Fire is truly stirring, it will wake the stone too."
Elira furrowed her brows. "What kind of promises?"
"The kind that can't be broken," Myn said. "Even if you want to."
They reached a hill crowned with black trees. From the top, the world unfolded like a blanket of shadow and silver. Far off, the Ashlands smudged the horizon, a gray stretch of land where nothing green dared to grow.
Kesh whistled low. "We're really going there."
"We have to," Elira said, surprising herself.
They walked until their legs ached. The forest changed as they moved—branches grew twisted, the sky faded from blue to iron, and ash began to fall like snow.
Elira caught a flake on her palm. It melted into soot.
The air was thicker here. Heavier.
And the silence was deeper than before. No wind. No birds. Just the crunch of steps and the distant groan of the world remembering something it had long forgotten.
Finally, they saw it.
The Oathstone.
It rose from the cracked earth like a buried tooth, tall and jagged. Black veins ran through it, pulsing faintly with orange light. Symbols were carved deep into its sides—some old, some even older. Elira couldn't read them, but something about them made her chest tighten.
As they approached, Myn stopped. "Only she can go forward."
Kesh looked at Elira. "Are you sure?"
Elira nodded. "Yes."
She stepped up to the stone.
It hummed. A sound so low she felt it in her bones before she heard it.
A voice—not spoken, not sung. Ancient. Tired. Waiting.
"Name yourself," it said.
"Elira Gray."
"What do you seek?"
"I don't know yet," she admitted. "But I think I'm meant to find out."
The stone flared with heat, and smoke curled around its base. The ash in the air swirled into patterns—shapes of people, fire, stars.
"Will you bind yourself to the flame?"
Elira's throat tightened. She didn't understand the full meaning. But she knew this mattered. This wasn't about power. This was about trust. About becoming something new. Something whole.
"Yes," she said.
The Oathstone cracked.
A small piece broke off and hovered in the air. It glowed red, then blue, then white-hot gold. It flew to Elira and pressed itself into her chest.
She didn't scream.
She didn't cry.
She glowed.
Her hair lifted. Her eyes widened. The fire inside her rose like the sun, spilling warmth into every dark corner of her heart.
Then it faded.
She dropped to her knees, panting.
Kesh ran to her. "Elira!"
"I'm okay," she whispered.
Myn approached slowly. "The oath is made."
Kesh helped her up. "What does this mean?"
Elira looked at her hands. They shimmered faintly with light.
"It means the First Fire chose me."
They turned to leave—but the world didn't let them go easily.
From the ash came movement.
Figures stepped out, one by one. Tall. Cloaked. Faces wrapped in cloth. Eyes glowing like embers.
Myn cursed under her breath. "Ashbound."
"Who are they?" Elira asked.
"Oathbreakers," Kesh answered, pulling her behind him. "They swore to protect the fire... and then tried to steal it instead."
The tallest Ashbound stepped forward. His voice cracked like dry wood. "We felt the Oath awaken. We felt you awaken."
Elira stood straighter. "I'm not here to fight."
"Then you shouldn't have come."
The Ashbound raised a hand.
Myn's fire leapt out, a blue flame racing across the ground, but the Ashbound twisted the air and snuffed it out.
"We must go," she said quickly.
They ran.
The Ashbound followed, silent and fast.
Elira's legs burned, her chest ached, but the fire inside her kept her moving. Every step lit the ground faintly, guiding their path through the haze.
Kesh skidded to a stop. "There!"
An old stone archway stood half-buried in the ash.
They darted through it.
The world blurred.
Light. Heat. Wind.
Then—
Silence.
They were somewhere else.
A cave.
Cool. Dark. Safe.
Myn fell to her knees. "That was a ley gate. Ancient travel magic. We're lucky it still worked."
Kesh sat beside her, out of breath. "Where are we?"
Elira touched the wall. It pulsed warm beneath her hand. "Somewhere the fire remembers."
No one spoke for a while.
Then Kesh asked the question they all felt forming.
"What now?"
Elira closed her eyes.
She saw more people. More creatures. Some scared. Some brave. All waiting.
"We find them," she said. "The rest of the circle. The ones who still believe."
And somewhere deep in
side, the First Fire stirred again.