The village beneath the silver tree was unlike anything Liora had ever seen. It was carved into the roots and hollows of the ancient glowing tree, suspended in arches of vine and light. Emberlight wove through the branches like flowing fire, illuminating homes shaped like lanterns and passageways that shimmered with soft warmth.
As Liora, Kael, Ashara, and Elestria walked deeper into the village, the air grew reverent. Elders bowed. Children stared with wide eyes. Whispered words followed her: Emberborn. Chosen. Flamewalker.
"They see the flame in you," Elestria said quietly, her steps sure and graceful on the path of woven roots. "They feel the call, even if they don't understand it."
Kael glanced around uneasily. "Feels like we're in the middle of a storybook. One where the villagers worship you before they try to burn you."
Ashara smirked. "He's not wrong."
Elestria led them into the heart of the village—a great dome-shaped chamber beneath the roots of the silver tree. Glyphs lined the walls, glowing softly, each one a sigil of an emberbearer before them.
"These are the ones who came before," Elestria said. "Their embers passed into the earth, the sky, the flame. We are their echo."
Liora stepped forward, gazing at the symbols. Her fingers brushed one, and it flared briefly beneath her touch.
Ashara watched closely. "You're resonating with it. The flame remembers more than blood—it remembers spirit."
"I don't understand what it wants from me," Liora whispered.
"The ember doesn't want," Elestria said. "It calls. It offers. The choice is yours."
Elestria moved to the center of the chamber and drew a circle of glowing ash on the floor. She knelt and motioned for Liora to join her.
"The Kindling Pact is old," she said. "Formed when flamebearers first fought together. It binds will to will, heart to heart. It strengthens the ember. But it also binds our fates."
Liora hesitated. "What happens if one of us falls?"
"Then the flame must choose again," Elestria said. "But while we both stand, we are stronger than we could ever be alone."
Liora stepped into the circle.
They clasped hands.
The glyphs flared. A pulse of emberlight surged through the roots, through the village. Outside, the silver leaves shivered in response.
Kael drew his blade, watching the entrance. "We have company."
A pair of sentinels entered, cloaked in golden flame. They knelt before Elestria. "Seeress. The stormriders have crossed the outer ward. They're searching."
Elestria's calm expression didn't falter. "The Queen knows. Then our time is short."
Liora rose, still feeling the bond burning under her skin. "We need to move. Now."
Ashara agreed. "The northern path will take us toward the Everspine. If the last emberborn is truly frozen in the frostlands, we have to reach him first."
Kael looked to Elestria. "Are you coming?"
The young seeress nodded. "This is why I was born. To join her."
The group prepared quickly. Supplies, maps drawn from memory, enchanted cloaks woven to shield emberlight from detection. As they packed, the village gathered to watch.
Elder fireweavers sang a low chant, old and mournful. It was a blessing—but also a goodbye.
As the party stepped onto the northern path, Elestria turned back one last time. "Guard the tree," she said to the sentinels. "If it falls, so do we."
And then they were gone.
The Wilds faded behind them, replaced by the biting wind of the north. The path was treacherous, carved between cliffs and shadowed valleys. Wolves cried in the distance.
Liora held her hand over her heart. The ember was louder now. Fiercer.
"What do you feel?" Kael asked, walking beside her.
She looked up at the stormclouds gathering. "Change. And something waiting in the dark."
Elestria whispered, "A frost not even fire can melt."
They traveled until the sun dipped behind the jagged teeth of the Everspine. Night came swift and cold.
They camped near a frozen waterfall. Ashara raised wards. Kael kept watch.
Liora stared into the flames, feeling the tether between her and Elestria pulse with warmth.
"I don't know if I'm strong enough for what's coming," she admitted.
Elestria's voice was gentle. "You don't need to be. The ember is."
Far to the east, in a black citadel encased in obsidian, Queen Iridell stood before a map marked with glowing stones.
One blinked out.
She narrowed her eyes. "So she's made the pact."
She turned to her warlords. "Bring me the Frostwielder. The time for games is over."