"To know your flame is to know your reflection. Both can warm you. Both can consume you. And both, in the end, tell the truth you're most afraid of."—Seri Vael, Chrono-Flame Teachings: Volume II
1. Dreams of the Not-Yet
Liora began dreaming at age six.
Not childish dreams.
But visions.
She would wake in the middle of the night gasping for breath, whispering names that didn't exist yet.
"Lyten. Vareh. Ashira."
Seri would hold her gently, weaving calming threads of time around her, and Ash would sit silently nearby, watching the flicker of strange-colored embers behind Liora's eyes.
"She sees the future?" he asked once.
"No," Seri said softly. "She sees the branches. Not what will be—but what might."
Ash frowned. "Can she tell the difference?"
"She will," Seri murmured. "But not before they begin to pull."
2. The Mirrorflame Ritual
By tradition, a flamebearer's eighth year is marked with the Mirrorflame Rite—a sacred trial meant not to test strength, but to reflect the soul's shape.
Kael had avoided it for decades, fearing what it would show him.
Ash had passed through it young, barely surviving the truth of what he was becoming.
Now, Liora's time had come.
The Chamber of Embers was readied. Elders from five Orders gathered. The Mirrorflame, a pool of liquid flame drawn from the original Pyrespring, waited at the center.
Ash kneeled before her.
"You don't have to do this," he whispered.
Liora looked up.
Her eyes—sunset-gold, burning steady—were calm.
"I want to see who I really am."
Seri kissed her brow.
"Then we'll walk with you. No matter who you meet."
3. Reflections of Fire
The pool shimmered as Liora stepped in.
Instantly, the world shifted.
Her body disappeared, swallowed by the light. But her mind remained, adrift in a kaleidoscope of lives, emotions, and flame.
In front of her, a mirror formed.
It didn't show her as she was.
It showed versions of herself:
—One clad in armor, leading armies across burning plains.—One standing alone at the peak of a ruined Sanctum, a trail of ash in her wake.—One in chains, wielding fire as punishment.—One in flight, chased by shadows of her own doubt.
And then—
One standing beside Ash and Seri. Smiling. Quiet. Holding a small, unnamed flame cupped between her palms like a bird.
Liora blinked.
And the mirror whispered:
"You are all of these."
"But you must choose which one becomes your shadow."
4. The Intrusion
Outside the chamber, something stirred.
A sudden crack in the sky—a fracture, like glass splitting in reverse.
Ysil, now high guardian of the temporal wardings, screamed as her spells unraveled.
Ash turned sharply. "That's not from this world."
And then—it stepped through.
A figure cloaked in fractured armor, its body half-formed from flame and memory, face covered by a glasslike mask. Its mark—white-hot and shifting—flickered with multiple timelines at once.
Seri gasped.
"That's…"
Ash stepped forward, voice like iron. "Who are you?"
The figure raised a gloved hand and spoke:
"I am the mirror's child."
"I am the version you left behind."
"And I have come to reclaim what you abandoned."
5. The Battle Beyond Time
Ash ignited first—his flames steady gold, honed by decades of purpose.
Seri followed—blue temporal fire spinning around her like a second skin.
But the Mirrorborn, as it now called itself, moved between their strikes like a thread between needles. Its fire flickered in and out of possibility, dodging attacks a breath before they happened.
It fought like someone who knew their every move.
Because it did.
Ash took a brutal blow to the ribs. Seri was nearly cleaved by a blade that bent through time.
But then—
A new flame rose.
From within the chamber.
Liora.
6. The Choice Within
In the vision realm, Liora stood surrounded by her mirrored selves. Each one beckoned. Each one offered power, certainty, direction.
But only one remained still—the quiet girl with the flame cupped in her hands.
Liora stepped toward her.
"Why are you the only one who doesn't fight for control?"
The quiet girl looked up and said:
"Because I don't need to be chosen. I only need you to remember."
And then—
The mirror fractured.
And Liora awakened.
Stepping out of the chamber—
A steady amber flame blooming across her palms.
She raised her hand.
And stopped time.
7. The Unmaking of the Mirrorborn
The Mirrorborn turned, confused, its flickers stuttering in mid-air.
Ash and Seri floated frozen behind it—caught between seconds.
But Liora moved freely.
She walked up to the figure.
Reached out.
And touched its mask.
Behind the glass, the face was her own.
Older.
Colder.
Alone.
The Mirrorborn stared at her, tears rising behind the fire.
"You chose… them? You chose warmth over strength?"
Liora nodded.
"Because strength isn't just about winning."
"It's about returning."
And she held the Mirrorborn close—
Letting the flame pass between them—
Until the reflection faded.
And she stood alone again.
8. What Remains
Ash and Seri awoke seconds later.
The chamber was quiet.
The flame was steady.
And their daughter—because that's what she had become—stood before them, glowing with a mark that pulsed gently amber, gold, and soft crimson.
No flames roared.
No banners rose.
Just warmth.
Ash knelt.
"You're ready."
Liora nodded.
"But I still want to learn."
Seri wrapped her in a quiet embrace. "Then we'll teach you."
Kael, watching from the balcony above, turned to Iria.
"She chose it. Not the fire. Not the blade. Not the power."
"What then?" Iria asked.
He smiled.
"She chose the story."
9. Epilogue: A New Legacy
Years later, the story of the Mirrorborn would be carved into the walls of the Sanctum—not as a warning, but as a reminder.
That every flame has reflection.
And every choice casts a light worth chasing.
Ash became not just a mentor—but a scribe, recording the branching paths he'd once feared.
Seri opened the first school of Temporal Artistry, teaching that love could bend time better than any spell.
And Liora?
She lit flames for others.
Helped them see their own reflections.
And when asked who she was, she simply said:
"I am the girl who chose to remember."