The sky was dark by the time Kael brought Jackie the broken chestplate.
It hissed softly—cooling down from battle—Riftmetal slowly flaking off in scales like old snakeskin. But something inside glimmered with unnatural heat.
> "He didn't even know it was in there," Kael said.
Jackie took the piece gently, the runes on her hands lighting up in response.
There was something inside the metal—a sliver of black obsidian, no bigger than a coin.
She turned it over.
And saw the symbol burned into the surface:
> The sigil of Jazira.
A spiral flame, wrapped around a single draconic eye.
---
🜂 The Hidden Message
When Jackie touched it, fire leapt from her fingers—not burning, but illuminating.
A voice emerged from the stone, old and tired.
> "If this finds its way to Flame… then I was not too late."
A woman's voice. Worn. Warden-like—but softer. Not cruel.
> "My name is Commander Lyra Vos. I defected from the Warden High Circle twelve years ago. I was… loyal to Jazira, once."
> "She left me a fragment. A map. A choice."
Jackie's heart stopped.
> "There is a vault beneath Hollowspire. Older than the Rift. Buried in stone even dragons feared."
> "Jazira told me… that if she didn't return… someone else might. Someone born after her flame fell."
The message crackled, warping.
> "If you carry her fire—if you speak her name—then go."
> "Find the place where the first Flameborne tried to rewrite the laws of the world."
> "Find the place called… Valecrown."
---
🜂 Shadows Over Hollowspire
Jackie stood for a long time in silence.
Kael finally asked, "You believe it?"
She nodded once. "Yeah."
> "I think it's the reason Jazira never ran.
And why they had to silence her."
She looked out over the Circle—her Circle—and then up to the night sky where distant Riftstorms pulsed like stars.
> "Valecrown wasn't just a vault."
> "It was a plan."