The Ashroad Tribe lived by fire, and fire demanded offerings.
At the height of the red moon, the tribe gathered at the edge of the forest where volcanic trees grew in twisted knots of black bark and glowing veins. Their roots pulsed with molten light, casting eerie shadows across the hunters.
Mira stood at the front, bow strung, amber eyes sharp. Beside her, Kaelen shifted nervously with his training spear. Around them were half a dozen other young hunters, each armed with obsidian blades and bone axes.
Jorah towered behind them, his voice rumbling like shifting stone.
"Tonight, you hunt as one. Your quarry is the Emberbeast—a wolf born of magma and hate. Bring its core back, or burn with it."
A hush fell. Everyone knew the tales. Emberbeasts were creatures of molten sinew and volcanic breath, lurking in the chasms where fire pooled like rivers.
Kaelen swallowed. This was no training match.
They entered the ash-forest. Leaves of blackened glass crunched underfoot, the air thick with sulfur. Every tree seemed to whisper, sparks hissing through its branches.
Mira moved like a shadow, every step precise. Kaelen tried to mimic her, but his foot caught a brittle root that cracked loudly. Mira glared back, whispering:
"Do you want it to eat us alive before we even find it?"
Kaelen bit his tongue. He forced himself to slow, to breathe, to focus the ember within his chest. The Code of Ash flickered faintly, guiding his steps.
Hours passed until the earth trembled.
Then came the growl.
From a fissure in the ground, molten cracks split open. A creature pulled itself free—a wolf the size of a horse, fur like smoldering coal, eyes burning yellow. Every breath poured out waves of blistering heat.
The Emberbeast's maw opened, dripping lava.
"Form the circle!" Jorah bellowed.
The young hunters spread out, weapons raised. Mira loosed the first arrow; it struck the beast's hide and shattered, sparking harmlessly.
The Emberbeast roared and lunged. Hunters scattered, but Kaelen froze. The sight of its blazing fangs brought back the night his village burned. His body locked—until Mira's voice cut through.
"Move, idiot!"
An obsidian claw swiped inches from his face. Kaelen staggered back, gripping his spear. The ember within him surged—hotter, brighter.
The Emberbeast pounced toward Mira. She rolled aside, loosing another arrow that buried into its glowing eye, making it howl.
Kaelen saw his chance.
"Flame dances, but it clings…" Jorah's voice echoed in his mind.
He planted his feet, thrusting his spear forward. For the first time, his motion was not clumsy—it was fueled by the ember of his grief.
The golden-dragon coils along his weapon shimmered. A faint spark burst at the tip as it struck the Emberbeast's shoulder.
Crack!
The spear pierced, hissing as molten blood sprayed. The beast howled in fury, swiping at Kaelen with claws that could shatter stone. He barely managed to roll away, heart pounding.
The tribe gasped. No one had ever seen a mere initiate wound such a beast.
Mira's eyes widened—not in mockery this time, but in recognition.
"…You're not useless after all."
The Emberbeast roared again, preparing to spew a torrent of lava. The heat alone seared Kaelen's skin. But within, his ember blazed brighter.
Ash remembers. Ash resists.
He thrust the spear again, but this time the ember inside him flared. A stream of grey fire burst forth—ashen flame that devoured the beast's molten breath, smothering it midair.
The hunters froze.
Elder Druin's voice whispered in Kaelen's memory: Code of Ash… the flame that consumes flame itself.
Kaelen's knees buckled from the effort, but the path was clear. With Mira's arrow pinning its eye and Kaelen's ashfire burning its chest, the beast faltered. The hunters closed in, axes and blades hacking.
With a final thrust of Kaelen's spear, the Emberbeast collapsed, its molten body hissing into stone.
From its chest, a glowing ember pulsed—the beast's core. Jorah stepped forward, wrenching it free.
He turned to Kaelen, his voice rough.
"You… lit the fire. Without you, this hunt would have burned half our youth to ash."
Kaelen panted, barely able to stand. But Mira approached, tossing him a half-smile.
"Not bad, outsider. Next time, try not to freeze up."
For the first time since the night his home burned, Kaelen felt something new rising with the ember in his chest.
Not just grief.
Hope.