POV: Mixed – Ariya and Ruvan 🗺️🔥
The sun had risen by the time the four emerged from Emberfall.
They stood atop the ridge where it had all begun — wind tugging at their cloaks, smoke still drifting faintly from the canyon below. Behind them, the great gate of flame sealed shut with a final hiss, burying the ancient arena once more.
No one spoke for a moment.
The silence was no longer tense, or heavy.
It was calm.
Earned.
Ariya stepped forward and unrolled her map. The worn parchment shimmered faintly in the morning light — and then, without warning, glowed.
A thin red trail began to slither across the surface, sketching itself with molten ink.
It led northeast.
Toward a jagged mountain range labeled only in faded script: Ashfall Reach.
"That wasn't there before," Lyra said quietly.
"It appeared the moment I stepped out," Ariya replied, still watching the glowing trail."I think the ring unlocked it."
She looked down at the simple band now resting on her finger. It didn't shine with magic. It didn't hum or burn. But when she wore it, her mark felt calmer — like a part of her had stopped fighting and started listening.
"Ashfall Reach," Kael read aloud. "Sounds cozy."
"Sounds like a place with fifty-foot fire lizards," Jax muttered, pulling his hood up. "I'm going to get crisped like a festival kebab."
Lyra smiled faintly. "We've survived worse."
"We also nearly died worse."
Ariya folded the map and slid it away. "Then let's not waste the warning."
She glanced toward the distant peaks.
And for the first time… they didn't seem so far.
Meanwhile… in the Shadow Citadel 🏰🌫️
POV: Ruvan
The mirror pulsed faintly, the image flickering but holding.
Ruvan watched as Ariya and her companions stood at the cliffside, the glow of the ancient arena still fading behind them.
She had survived.
She had passed the Ember Trials.
She had taken the ring.
He leaned back in his throne, one leg crossed over the other, fingers steepled beneath his chin. His dark hair was tied loosely at the nape, shadows coiling lazily around the edges of his cloak like loyal pets.
"She's growing," he murmured. "Faster than expected."
The illusion beside him flickered — Lira's projection, frozen in mid-step. She had no idea he was watching her, too.
"Your little visits won't help her, sister," he said under his breath. "The fire she holds… it will consume her, just like it did the first one."
He stood and paced to the tall arched window, staring out at the storm clouds brewing above the mountains.
He had planned to test her.
Break her, even.
But she was proving harder to corner than expected.
Which meant it was time to adjust the game.
"Summon Corven," Ruvan said aloud, and the shadows curled around him in response."The next move must look like mercy. A chance. A gift."
His lips curled into a slow, cold smile.
"She will not know it's a cage until the door is already shut."
Back with the Team... 🛤️🔥
The path ahead was rough, but their steps were light.
Even Jax had stopped complaining for once — instead walking backward, narrating his imaginary memoir aloud.
"Chapter Seventeen: I heroically prevented the group from falling into a lava pit using only my charm and a half-melted spoon."
"You did nothing of the sort," Lyra said, rolling her eyes.
"You're just mad you didn't write it first."
Kael chuckled.
Ariya didn't speak. But her gaze stayed on the mountains.
The Reach was calling.
And this time, she wasn't afraid to answer.
POV: Mixed – Ariya and Ruvan 🗺️🔥👁️
The sun had risen by the time the four emerged from Emberfall.
They stood atop the ridge where it had all begun — wind tugging at their cloaks, smoke still drifting faintly from the canyon below. Behind them, the great gate of flame sealed shut with a final hiss, burying the ancient arena once more.
No one spoke for a moment.
The silence was no longer tense, or heavy.
It was calm.
Earned.
Ariya stepped forward and unrolled her map. The worn parchment shimmered faintly in the morning light — and then, without warning, glowed.
A thin red trail began to slither across the surface, sketching itself with molten ink.
It led northeast.
Toward a jagged mountain range labeled only in faded script: Ashfall Reach.
"That wasn't there before," Lyra said quietly.
"It appeared the moment I stepped out," Ariya replied, still watching the glowing trail."I think the ring unlocked it."
She looked down at the simple band now resting on her finger. It didn't shine with magic. It didn't hum or burn. But when she wore it, her mark felt calmer — like a part of her had stopped fighting and started listening.
"Ashfall Reach," Kael read aloud. "Sounds cozy."
"Sounds like a place with fifty-foot fire lizards," Jax muttered, pulling his hood up. "I'm going to get crisped like a festival kebab."
Lyra smiled faintly. "We've survived worse."
"We also nearly died worse."
Ariya folded the map and slid it away. "Then let's not waste the warning."
She glanced toward the distant peaks.
And for the first time… they didn't seem so far.
Meanwhile… in the Shadow Citadel 🏰🌫️
POV: Ruvan
The mirror pulsed faintly, the image flickering but holding.
Ruvan watched as Ariya and her companions stood at the cliffside, the glow of the ancient arena still fading behind them.
She had survived.
She had passed the Ember Trials.
She had taken the ring.
He leaned back in his throne, one leg crossed over the other, fingers steepled beneath his chin. His dark hair was tied loosely at the nape, shadows coiling lazily around the edges of his cloak like loyal pets.
"She's growing," he murmured. "Faster than expected."
The illusion beside him flickered — Lira's projection, frozen in mid-step. She had no idea he was watching her, too.
"Your little visits won't help her, sister," he said under his breath. "The fire she holds… it will consume her, just like it did the first one."
He stood and paced to the tall arched window, staring out at the storm clouds brewing above the mountains.
He had planned to test her.
Break her, even.
But she was proving harder to corner than expected.
Which meant it was time to adjust the game.
"Summon Corven," Ruvan said aloud, and the shadows curled around him in response."The next move must look like mercy. A chance. A gift."
His lips curled into a slow, cold smile.
"She will not know it's a cage until the door is already shut."
Back with the Team... 🛤️🔥
The path ahead was rough, but their steps were light.
Even Jax had stopped complaining for once — instead walking backward, narrating his imaginary memoir aloud.
"Chapter Seventeen: I heroically prevented the group from falling into a lava pit using only my charm and a half-melted spoon."
"You did nothing of the sort," Lyra said, rolling her eyes.
"You're just mad you didn't write it first."
Kael chuckled.
Ariya didn't speak. But her gaze stayed on the mountains.
The Reach was calling.
And this time, she wasn't afraid to answer.