Chapter 6: The Cradle of Embers
The mountains rose before them like sleeping giants.
After three days of travel beyond the Whispering Lakes, Kavin, Lyra, and Riven reached the edge of the Ashen Highlands, a barren stretch of scorched land said to be cursed by the Queen of Ashes herself. In the distance stood the Cradle of Embers—a jagged mountain with a crown of fire and smoke swirling around its peak.
"Many who enter never return," Lyra warned, her hand resting on the hilt of her blade.
"That's comforting," Kavin muttered, adjusting the satchel on his back.
Riven stepped forward, holding his glowing amulet. "This place is more than a mountain. It's alive with ancient flame. And it's watching us."
The climb was brutal.
The ground cracked beneath their boots. Rivers of lava pulsed between stone ridges. Ash choked the air. But the closer they got to the summit, the more Kavin's mark began to burn—not painfully, but as if something inside him was being pulled toward a long-forgotten source.
By nightfall, they reached a narrow ledge with a cave mouth carved into the mountain's heart. Strange symbols were etched around the entrance, glowing faintly red.
"This is it," Riven whispered.
Kavin stepped forward. As soon as he passed through the threshold, the air changed.
Warm.
Heavy.
Full of memories not his own.
Inside the cave was a vast chamber—round, with a glowing stone platform at the center surrounded by molten rivers. In the middle of the platform stood a figure.
A man.
Or at least—he had once been a man.
His body was blackened stone, cracked with glowing veins of fire. His eyes burned like dying suns. Chained to the ground, he turned his head slowly toward Kavin.
"You..." the creature growled. "Starborn."
Kavin felt the mark on his arm surge with heat.
"What is this place?" he asked.
The creature snarled. "This is the prison of Ignaroth, the Flamebound Titan. I was once protector of the realm—until your ancestor betrayed me and bound me here."
Lyra's eyes widened. "That's impossible. The Titans were myths."
"I am no myth," the being growled, chains rattling. "And now... you come to judge me?"
"I came to take the first flame," Kavin said, stepping closer. "To pass the trial."
Ignaroth tilted his head. "Then burn, Starborn. Let us see what lies in your soul."
The platform erupted into fire.
Kavin stood alone.
The chains vanished. Ignaroth rose, full height, a tower of burning wrath. "Show me your fire," he thundered. "Or be consumed by mine!"
Kavin drew his blade—but as he did, fire shot up his arm from the mark. His sword caught flame—blue and gold. Starfire.
They clashed.
Flame against flame.
Steel against stone.
The chamber shook with their battle. Lava exploded, sending waves of heat across the room. Kavin dodged, struck, rolled, his body moving on instinct as the fire inside him grew wilder, brighter.
But he was no match.
Ignaroth slammed his molten fist into the ground, sending a shockwave that threw Kavin across the platform.
"You are weak!" the Titan roared. "Unworthy!"
Kavin lay on the ground, gasping, the flames dying around him.
But then—he heard it.
A voice inside him.
"Remember who you are."
Not just a blacksmith's grandson. Not just a boy.
A Starborn.
He pushed to his knees.
Raised his hand.
And let the fire inside him rise—not from anger or fear—but from purpose.
The flames turned white-gold.
He shouted—and released a blast of pure Starfire.
It struck Ignaroth in the chest.
The Titan froze.
Then slowly, knelt.
"You carry the fire of the first," Ignaroth said, voice soft now. "You are worthy."
A flame lifted from his chest—a small, glowing ember—and drifted toward Kavin. It floated into his hand and sank into his mark. The glow on his arm spread, now reaching his shoulder.
The first flame was his.
"I... feel stronger," Kavin whispered. "More clear."
"You have passed the Trial of Flame," Ignaroth said. "But beware... the fire in you will draw both light and shadow."
Lyra and Riven stepped forward again, eyes wide.
Riven nodded. "One down. Two to go."
Lyra added quietly, "And the Queen... will know."
Far away, in a throne of burning obsidian, the Queen of Ashes opened her eyes.
She smiled.
"The Starborn rises. The game begins."