Darkness moved before the dawn.
In the silent ruins of a Rider outpost long forgotten—tucked in the mountain ridges just beyond the Whispering Expanse—a cold wind stirred the dust of bones and banners.
But this was no ordinary wind.
It smelled of rot.
Of death.
And of fire turned wrong.
Meanwhile: Kael, Lira, and the Dragons
Kael awoke to a cold silence.
They had camped within an ancient skyhold: moss-covered stone towers, dragon perches broken by time, and murals telling tales of the Old Riders. The kind of place whispered about in bedtime stories… or in hushed warnings from cautious elders.
"This place is sacred," Lira had said the night before. "Built in the First War. Abandoned after the Fall. No one comes here anymore."
But something had.
Kael felt it before he saw it—an itch along the back of his neck. The same gut-feeling that had warned him the night Arik first attacked.
Cinder… something's wrong.
The dragon stirred beside him, already alert. His red eyes glowed faintly, wings half-spread.
Lira emerged from the shadows, lightning dragon at her side.
"We're not alone," she whispered. "I saw boot prints. Fresh."
Kael nodded grimly. "They followed us."
"No," Lira said, her face pale."They were already here."
The Shadows Inside the Walls
Suddenly, a screech ripped through the skyhold.
A soldier came running from the northern watchtower—his eyes pitch black, mouth open in a silent scream, before collapsing into ash mid-sprint.
Kael froze.
Then he saw the figure behind him:
A tall man in bone-white armor. A twisted version of a Rider's uniform, corrupted and cracked with veins of obsidian. And from his back—
No dragon. Only smoke.
His Mark was not a circle like Kael's, but a spiral. And it bled black fire.
"Inquisitor Rael," Lira whispered. "Ashborn assassin.He doesn't burn the weak. He consumes the strong."
Rael raised his hand. The walls around them shivered.
"You've bonded dragons," he said. "You've awakened what should've stayed dead."
"And now… you'll join the flame."
The Battle Begins
Rael launched forward with a sudden, bone-snapping speed.
Cinder jumped in front of Kael, unleashing a wave of fire—but it bent around Rael like smoke, passing harmlessly aside.
Kael barely rolled away in time.
Lira and her dragon surged into the fight, lightning streaking across the ruined hall. The bolt hit Rael squarely—and for a moment, he stumbled.
"He absorbs magic," Lira shouted. "Physical strikes—aim for his mark!"
Kael drew his dagger—a Rider-forged shard, sharp as dragon glass—and ran.
Cinder roared and leapt, distracting Rael just long enough for Kael to strike—
The blade stabbed deep into Rael's Mark.
For a heartbeat, everything went still.
Then Rael screamed. A sound like steel screaming across stone.
His chest cracked, black fire pouring from the wound. He lashed out blindly, striking Cinder and Lira's dragon with enough force to throw them both.
"This isn't over," Rael hissed, retreating into a swirl of ash."Tell the boy… the Crown isn't afraid of another Rider.We've killed thousands before."
And just like that—he was gone.
The Aftermath
Cinder was hurt—wounded across his flank, scales scorched and tail bleeding.
Lira's dragon limped, one wing singed.
Kael knelt beside his dragon, heart pounding.
"I wasn't ready," he whispered. "We almost died…"
Lira sat beside him. "But you didn't. That's what matters."
She unrolled the ancient map again, the symbols now glowing faintly.
One sigil—far to the north—had begun to pulse with a red light.
"Another Rider's bond just awakened," she said."We're not alone, Kael. But if the Ashborn are this close… we need to find the others before the Inquisitors do."
Chapter End:
The Ashborn have infiltrated even the ruins of the old world. Kael and Lira survived… but barely. And a new Rider has awakened—One who may tip the balance of war, for better… or far worse.
Next Chapter: Chapter 9: The Crimson Heir