The first light of dawn painted the horizon in soft hues of orange and violet as the small expedition gathered at the edge of Salverdine's capital. The air was crisp, tinged with the scent of pine and distant stone. Far to the north, the Shattered Peaks rose like the jagged teeth of some ancient giant icy, wind blasted spires shaped by forgotten storms and centuries of silence.
Cobard stood at the front, his armor catching the early sun with a quiet gleam. Beside him, Aric adjusted the ember pendant against his chest, its steady pulse syncing with the tension in the air. Maelis, ever watchful, scanned the gathered group a mix of warriors, mages, and scouts, all bound together by urgency and a mission most would call madness.
"Are we truly ready for what lies ahead?" Aric asked quietly, his gaze moving from face to face.
Cobard didn't flinch. "We have no choice. The Codex of the First Flame is our only hope against the rising darkness."
Their journey began beneath clear skies and uneasy silence. The forest soon gave way to rugged foothills where the trees thinned and the wind carried a colder bite. The path was rough, winding through cliffs and broken stone, demanding their full focus and every ounce of strength.
Maelis took the lead, her silver hair a flickering thread in the sunlight.
"The peaks are home to ancient guardians," she warned. "They will not welcome us. And they will not test us with weapons alone."
As they climbed, the world seemed to change. The air grew thinner. The wind whispered in tongues that no one spoke. Shadows danced on the edges of sight, and often, someone would turn suddenly certain they were being watched.
Each night, they camped beneath ancient rock overhangs or beside frozen streams. One evening, as flames crackled and the mountain cold settled in, Maelis told a story from a time long past.
"The Codex was forged in the First Flame a celestial source of light and fire," she said, voice low. "It contains the knowledge to shape a weapon powerful enough to bind the darkness forever."
Aric leaned forward. "Why was it hidden?"
"Because it nearly destroyed everything. The guardians sealed it away, deep beneath the peaks, to wait until it was truly needed."
Cobard's jaw tightened. "And that time is now."
After days of climbing, they reached the mouth of a vast cavern wide and dark as a great wound in the mountainside. Ancient runes glowed faintly around its entrance, alive with flickering power.
Before they could pass through, the ground shuddered. From the depths emerged towering figures of living stone, eyes burning with inner flame. The mountain guardians.
"Prove your worth," one of them said, voice booming through the rock like thunder.
The guardians attacked without hesitation. The battle was brutal. Steel rang against stone, and fire met fire. Mages unleashed torrents of ice and wind. Aric's ember pendant flared to life, lending force to his blade. Maelis fought like a shadow made real, darting between enemies with deadly precision, her magic flowing in quiet pulses of protection and precision.
Inside the cavern, they faced a different kind of trial. The stone corridors twisted like a maze, filled with traps, illusions, and ancient riddles. Cobard led with relentless determination, solving the etched puzzles of fire and frost. Aric, his connection to the ember deepening, began to sense the truth of things hidden paths, false walls, forgotten doors.
At last, they reached the heart of the mountain. In a chamber lit by swirling fire, the Codex waited a tome bound in golden light, hovering above a pedestal of obsidian. Flames circled the room like watchful spirits.
As Cobard stepped forward to claim it, the ground trembled once again.
A figure emerged from the gloom cloaked in darkness, eyes burning with cruel fire.
"I am Morvath," the figure said, voice thick with malice. "Harbinger of the Voidflame. You will not leave this place with what you seek."
He raised his arms, and the shadows answered. Tendrils of black flame whipped through the air, crawling across the walls, choking the light. The chamber seemed to shrink as darkness spread like rot.
Aric drew his sword. "He was waiting for us."
The Codex began to glow more intensely, pulsing in reaction to something something distant, yet powerful. Aric felt it too a presence, familiar and radiant.
"The child," he said, barely above a whisper. "The Codex is connected to the child."
Cobard raised his voice above the rising storm. "We hold the line. We fight, or everything ends here."
Maelis stepped forward, her voice calm amid the chaos. "The flame chooses its bearer. It will decide who is worthy."
The chamber erupted into fire and shadow. Magic and steel clashed in a storm of ancient power and new resolve. And in the heart of it all, the Codex blazed, waiting for its moment ,waiting to choose.