Prologue – Flames of Havenbrook
The morning in Havenbrook started like every other morning—with the lazy burble of the river and the scent of fresh bread wafting from the baker's shop. The stones on the street were still wet of the rain falling in the night before, and there was a lingering fragrance of cool earth soaking up the water on the air that promised a bountiful harvest season ahead.
Kael Ardyn rested his chin on his arms, leaning back against the railing of the pasture fence as the sheep gazed in the pasture. Past the pasture, the town unfolded in a blanket of thatched roofs and stone chimneys, with smoke rising softly in threads through the air. Frolicking children dashed from one booth to another in the marketplace, their laughter covering the clatter of shopkeeper's banter and the odd barking dog.
In Havenbrook, life never really changed. And for Kael, who had never ventured outside the forested hills that cradled the town, that it never would.
"Kael!"
Just in time to watch Liora go sprawling face-down in the mud. She had been running after one of the lambs again, her dark braid slapping free of its weaving; her arms working in windmill action in pursuit of the runaway. The lamb sprang just beyond her fingertips, bleating in derision.
Kael couldn't help it—he laughed.
"You're hopeless," he called, straightening.
"You could help, you know!" Liora screamed, wiping the mud from her face as it trickled down her cheek. And as she did so, with unsurpassable subtlety, her voice, its burden being light and weak, was at the same time persuasive and bland, in no wise different from her refrain whensoever she attempted to drag him into her schemes "You're taller than me, just grab it!"
With a theatrical groan, more for attention than as a real reaction, Kael slid himself over the fence. He trudged through the slush with brisk strides, picked up the little lamb and brought it back over his arms as though it weighed nothing.
Liora pouted. "You make it look too easy."
"Because you chase it like you've lost your mind."
She wrinkled her nose but the corners of her mouth twitched. "One day I'm going to catch one quicker than you."
"You said that last week."
"And I said it last week, and I meant it last week too!
Then she smiled, wide and unselfconscious. Kael loved her smile more than anything. It was loud and bright and real, and it had always reassured him there were still things to laugh over in the world.
Because Havenbrook wasn't exactly pristine, not really. Whispers and rumors had been growing for weeks—traders with sunken eyes told of villages that vanished in the night, of caravans that had been waylaid on forest roads, of beasts that feasted on fear itself. Wraithborn, they called them. Shadows given flesh.
Kael had overheard the town guard dismissing it as drunken talk in the tavern, but the guard's laughter had been too thin and their glances too sharp. He remembered the tremble in the captain's hand when he raised his mug. Havenbrook's wood palisade seemed that much shorter every time Kael passed it.
He didn't tell Liora. She was only sixteen. She had always believed the town's walls and watchtowers would keep anything out. And Kael—though he was just two years her senior—let her think so, because sometimes a fib was more merciful than the truth.
On a planet where electrified light was accessible to only a few, their ship's lights were blazing in broad daylight, and each family in the Ardyn tribe goggled as they approached. Behind his big sisters, their father slouched on his stool, whittling the edge of a hoe, which served as a weapon in lean years. The firelight glistened over the hard planes of his face, accentuating the worry lines.
"You heard more travelers today?" he inquired Kael without even glancing at him.
Kael nodded. "Two from Dalewood. Said their town's gone."
The whetstone froze in his father's grip.for a long moment, the crackle of the fire was the only sound in the room.
"Enough," said his father, sudden and flat and final. "Tonight we eat. Whatever comes, comes. Havenbrook will stand."
Kael glanced at him, at the hardening of his jaw, at the smooth muscles that still rippled from decades of field work. Their father meant what he said. Or perhaps he only wanted them to think that.
Liora made an effort to be upbeat, humming as she stirred the stew pot, not acknowledging the hands Kael balled on the table. She caught his eye and winked, as if challenging him to frown even more.
Kael almost smiled back. Almost.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
The night shattered with the split of bells.
With his heart pounding, Kael jumped up in bed. Once more, the bells tolled frantically and loudly, the kind of ringing that could only mean one thing. Not a fire. Not a celebration. A caution.
Outside, the thunder of boots on cobblestone was mingled with shouts. The first scream came next.
Liora's eyes were wide in the dark as she sat up in the bed across the room. "Kael...?"
He didn't respond. He was unable to. He was strangled by the truth as it clambered up his throat.
The wraithborn had come.
With a weapon in hand, their father rushed into the room. His voice was steady, but his face was pale. "Get up. We need to move. now.
Taking Liora by the hand, Kael dragged her off the bed. She held her shawl tightly around her shoulders, as though it would protect her from the chaos outside.
The world was already over when they entered the street.
Fire blazed red in the night sky. Between burning houses, shadows lurked, too long and twisted to be any man's. With each step, the Wraithborn's bodies rippled, moving like living smoke. Everywhere they went, people fell, and their eyes glowed dimly, cold and hungry.
The smell of iron and ash filled the air.
Kael felt a lurch in his stomach. His legs wanted to run, to take him somewhere other than here.
Their father, who was already running toward the middle of the street where the town guard had gathered in a frantic line, yelled, "Stay with your sister."
Kael tightened his grip on Liora's hand. "Go on!"
They took off running. Flames licked at their heels, and smoke clawed at their throats. Neighbors' ragged, sharp shrieks pierced the night. A child's toy was left in the gutter, already burning, and a woman was pulled screaming into the darkness.
In order to hide behind an overturned cart, Kael pushed Liora in front of him. His heart pounded in his chest. Fire was in every breath. Every noise was fear.
Kael—
The cart burst into pieces.
A Wraithborn loomed over them, its skin rippling across glass like ink spilled, its limbs bent at odd angles. With teeth that gleamed in the firelight like sharp shards, its mouth opened too wide. The world shrank to nothing but its luminous eyes as they stared at Kael.
He stopped. He was immobile. unable to breathe.
The creature's shadow stretched across the cobblestones as it grew stronger and drank in his fear.
"Kael!" The fog was broken by Liora's cries. The Wraithborn lunged, but she pushed him away. Her arm was raked by its claws. She screamed as she fell, her blood splashing onto the stones.
"No!" With his hands pressed against the wound and his own breath ragged, Kael fell to her side. His sister had wide, pain-glistening eyes.
Slowly, the Wraithborn moved forward, relishing their misery.
And something broke inside Kael.
The shadow of the Wraithborn hung over them. Kael's hands were slick with Liora's blood as his arms pressed against her wound. His entire body trembled. He wanted to scream, but he was immobile.
His fear was the creature's food. Its grin expanded, its eyes brightened, and its shadow grew thicker.
"No, no, no, no." Kael murmured, his vision blurred by tears.
Beside him, Liora moaned. "Kael..."
Even though her voice was weak, it made him feel something. The terror burned, twisted, and became something more abrasive. Anger.
Heaved his chest. His eyes glowed crimson. Like a fire attempting to escape, heat rose quickly from beneath his skin.
The voice then emerged.
[Detection of resonance.]
[Source of Emotion: Anger]
[Inferno Strike: Unlocked Abilities]
Kael was unable to comprehend. He was too busy to do so. Before he could think, the fire broke out.
Flames poured from his hands as a roar of heat blasted from his body. With its shadow-body tearing apart under the fire, the Wraithborn let out a shriek. It was completely consumed by fire and turned to ash in a matter of seconds.
The fire didn't just burn when Kael's anger reached a boiling point; it roared like a living beast. The flames held on to the Wraithborn's shadow-body like chains as it attempted to stretch and disperse, melting into the earth.
The creature let out a cry that shook Kael's bones with its piercing wail. As the fire consumed it, its long limbs thrashed and curled inward. Like fat on a pan, the dark mist that comprised its form hissed and cracked, exploding in black smoke sparks.
Its bright eyes met Kael's for a brief moment. Fear now, not hunger. With a final shuddering scream, the Wraithborn fell to cinders as the flames swept higher and encircled its head.
A faint red glow gave way to nothingness as ash strewn across the street.
However, the Wraithborn did not put out the fire. It jumped ravenously onto carts, stalls, and the wooden beams of the houses until Kael's rage had turned the entire street into a fire.
Kael stood with his arms shaking and his chest heaving. The flames clung to him like living things, covering his hands. He wasn't burned by them. Everything else was burned.
Orange light filled the street. Houses burned, and wood popped and cracked. Once more, people screamed at him rather than the Wraithborn.
Someone exclaimed, "It's him!"
"Everything is being burned by him!"
"Monster!"
Kael stumbled back and gazed at his hands. He was unable to extinguish the fire. It grew stronger with each breath and heartbeat.
Behind him, Liora coughed. "Kael... Please stop.
"I—I'm not sure how!" His voice cracked.
A line of stalls was devoured as the fire jumped higher and crawled up a rooftop. As the flames spread across the street, soldiers jumped aside. Kael's rage continued to fuel it and spiral out of control.
Once more, the voice rang again.
[Warning: Unstable emotional resonance.]
[Anger Scale: 92%]
[Imminent Ability Overload]
"Stop talking!" Kael yelled. His words caused a guard to fall to the ground as the fire exploded outward.
Kael seized his head. His rage was only growing stronger, tearing at him and demanding more devastation. He sensed it penetrating his thoughts and urging him to destroy everything by burning it.
The storm was broken by Liora's voice. "Kael!"
Her eyes were clear, but she was pale and bleeding as she stumbled toward him. "You'll kill us too if you don't stop!"
Her voice cut through the mist. For a brief moment, Kael saw what was happening: the fire dancing where his rage commanded it to, Havenbrook in flames, survivors staring at him in fear.
His heart broke. His anger shuddered.
The flames flickered. Around him, the flames dwindled, flickered, and died in sparks. The air was heavy with smoke, and the street was broken and charred.
Shaking, Kael fell to his knees. His hands were bare now, but they smoked. empty.
People stared at him from all sides. Faces smeared with ash, terrified eyes wide.
A man whispered, "It's him."
"He is cursed."
"The Wraithborn is no different.
Unable to look them in the eye, Kael lowered his head. At what cost had he saved Liora?
---
Hours flew by. Even when his body wanted to give out, Kael kept his legs moving as he carried his sister over debris and through alleys. Ash and fire rose into the night as Havenbrook burned behind them.
He placed her on the grass by the river. Blood was seeping through a strip of ripped cloth that was wrapped around her arm. She was alive, but pale.
With a faint smile tugging at her lips, she whispered, "You saved me."
Kael gave a headshake. "I nearly killed everyone else." His throat constricted. "Perhaps I am cursed."
Liora's trembling fingers brushed his cheek as she reached up. "You're not a monster. My brother is you.
He was calmed by her words, but the fire within remained. It was still there, waiting, pulsing beneath his skin.
The voice then came back.
[Activation of the resonance system.]
[Skill Learned: Fire Strike.]
[Emotional Mastery: A New Path Unlocked]
Kael's jaw tightened. "Why me? Who are you?
The system did not respond. Just quiet.
---
The Wraithborn had vanished by morning. Havenbrook was in ruins. Walls collapsed, roofs disappeared, and half the town was blackened. The air was thick with the stench of death and ash.
Liora was leaning feebly against Kael, who was standing at the edge of the wreckage. The faces of the survivors were hollow and blank as they picked through the debris. When they saw him, they glared or quickly averted their gaze.
"That cursed boy."
"The person who set the street on fire."
"He poses an imminent danger."
No blade could penetrate as deeply as their whispers. At his sides, Kael's fists shook. He wanted to yell that he couldn't control it and that he hadn't meant it, but the burned houses showed that they were correct.
With a helmet under one arm, a soldier approached. He had a weary, grim face. After giving Kael a long look, he said, "Take your sister. Get out. People will turn against you if you stay.
Kael gasped. Go? He lived in Havenbrook. He owned every tree, every stone, and every memory. However, it was no longer his.
He nodded slowly.
Liora was raised into his arms by him. She was too light. After giving the remains of Havenbrook one final glance, he turned away.
---
The voice returned, cold and certain, as he moved toward the gray horizon.
[Level of Resonance: Started.]
[Emotional Paths Unlocked: Fear (Dormant), Anger (Fire)]
[Warning: Unstable emotional core.]
Kael tightened his jaw. His inner fire smoldered, restless, and ravenous.
He gripped Liora more tightly. He had no idea where the path would take him or why he had been selected for this curse. However, he made one vow:
He'd get the hang of it.
Or it would eat him.