The ember prophecy vol 1
Chapter 1: A Village Beneath the Stars
Before the fire, there was peace.
Kael Valen was a boy of thirteen, chasing dragonflies along the riverbanks of Aerath. His younger sister, Lira, followed, laughing as their father — Elden — watched from the hill with quiet pride.
Elden Valen was no ordinary farmer. The villagers whispered he had once been a warrior of the Ember Guard — an ancient order bound to light and balance. But he never spoke of it.
At night, he told Kael stories of the seven flames — powers gifted to mankind to protect them from darkness.
"Fire," Elden said, "is both life and death. It depends on who holds it."
Kael laughed. "Then I'll hold it carefully."
His father smiled, though his eyes lingered too long on the horizon — as if expecting the world to end.
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Chapter 2: The Night of Cinders
That end came with thunder.
A horn blared across the valley. Shadows poured into the streets — the Pale Riders, soldiers of the Crimson Sun.
Their armor gleamed like blood under moonlight.
Elden's voice broke the silence: "Lira, take Kael and run!"
Kael froze as his father pressed the glowing pendant into his palm.
"This is your legacy. It will protect you when I cannot."
Before Kael could answer, the door burst open. His father's sword ignited — white fire tearing through darkness.
The last thing Kael saw before he fled was his home collapsing in flames, his parents standing defiant until the end.
By morning, Aerath was gone.
And Kael's world was nothing but smoke and ash.
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Chapter 3: The Graves of Ash
Kael dug with his bare hands until dawn.
He buried what remained of his family beneath an oak tree — his fingers raw, his tears dry.
"I'll come back for you," he whispered. "When I'm strong enough to make them pay."
That night, as he slept, the pendant at his chest pulsed — once.
A voice, faint and distant, echoed in his dreams:
> "Kael… remember the flame."
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Chapter 4: The Whispering Woods
Days passed. Kael wandered into the Ruinwood — a forest feared by all.
The deeper he went, the quieter the world became. No birds, no wind, only whispers.
The pendant guided him — its glow growing brighter each night.
On the seventh night, he reached a clearing where ancient stones circled an altar covered in moss.
When Kael placed the pendant upon it, the air split with fire.
From the flame rose a figure — his father's face flickering within it.
> "Kael," the spirit said, "the world thinks the flame is gone. But it sleeps within you.
Guard it well… or it will consume you."
Kael fell to his knees. "Why me? Why not you?"
> "Because your heart still burns with purpose. Mine burns with regret."
The flame surged forward — merging with Kael's chest. His scream echoed through the forest as molten light filled his veins.
When the fire faded, the boy who rose was no longer human — but something between man and myth.
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Chapter 5: The Forge of Exile
For five years, Kael trained in solitude, guided by the Ember Spirits — shadows of warriors long gone.
He learned to control his new power, to mold fire as both weapon and shield.
But the fire demanded a price. Each spell left his skin glowing faintly, his heartbeat pulsing like flame.
His reflection flickered in water — neither wholly alive nor dead.
At night, he whispered to the fire,
"Teach me to burn only what must burn."
But the flame often answered,
> "All things burn eventually."
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Chapter 6: The Name of the Enemy
During his years of exile, Kael hunted remnants of the Crimson Sun — small bands of soldiers who terrorized the innocent.
From them, he learned the truth: the attack on Aerath had been commanded by General Corvin Dareth, warlord of the order and wielder of forbidden shadow magic.
Corvin sought the Ember — the power to merge light and darkness into eternal dominion.
Kael carved the name Corvin into stone.
"Your fire ends where mine begins."
The ember within his chest pulsed in agreement.
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Chapter 7: The Path of Smoke and Blood
Kael's journey took him through ruined kingdoms and broken lands.
He saved farmers from slavers, burned monsters from the deep woods, and whispered to the flames of fallen villages.
The world began to whisper about him in return —
The Fireborn. The Burning Wanderer. The Last Warden.
But for every tyrant he destroyed, his soul dimmed.
The line between justice and vengeance blurred like smoke.
And in his dreams, he began to see his father again — but now the spirit's eyes burned in accusation, not pride.
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Chapter 8: The City of Chains
Kael arrived at Solreth — capital of the Crimson Sun — under disguise.
The city was vast, beautiful, and enslaved. Men bowed to banners stitched with burning symbols. Women prayed to a false god of flame.
In the underground, he met Mira, a healer hiding those condemned by the regime. She was brave and quiet, her hands glowing faintly when she touched the wounded.
"You're not from here," she said, studying him.
Kael hesitated. "No one is from where I am anymore."
They fought together — freeing prisoners and setting fire to the slave caravans. For the first time, Kael felt something close to peace.
But peace, like fire, never lasted.
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Chapter 9: The Betrayal of Shadows
Mira was captured.
Kael stormed the palace to save her — only to discover she had betrayed him. She wasn't a prisoner; she was Corvin's ward, raised as his spy.
"I didn't mean to—" she pleaded. "He said you'd destroy everything, Kael. That your flame was the end."
Kael's rage broke loose. Fire exploded through the throne room, melting stone.
"Then let the end come," he said, as the Citadel caught flame.
He walked through the burning corridors, leaving her tears behind.
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Chapter 10: The General's Throne
At last, Kael faced Corvin.
The general waited in the Hall of Embers, surrounded by molten glass and red banners.
Corvin smiled, unafraid. "Your father once stood where you are now. He begged for peace. You come for war."
Kael raised his sword of flame. "He believed in mercy. I learned from your cruelty."
Their clash tore through the Citadel — fire against shadow, vengeance against control.
Corvin's power drew from darkness itself, but Kael's burned with truth and pain.
In the final strike, Kael drove his blade through Corvin's chest.
The general's last words whispered like smoke:
> "The flame was never yours to hold."
The palace exploded in a pillar of light.
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Chapter 11: The Price of Power
When the fire cleared, Solreth was gone.
Kael stood amid ruins, surrounded by ash and silence. The flames refused to die — they followed him, bending to his grief.
He looked down at his hands, trembling.
"I killed him. But I burned everything with him."
The ember within his chest dimmed — not from weakness, but sorrow.
He realized vengeance had not healed him; it had hollowed him.
The wind carried his father's voice:
> "Kael… the fire was never for destruction. It was for remembrance."
Tears fell, sizzling against his burning skin.
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Chapter 12: The Warden of Flame
Kael vanished from the world that day.
Legends rose in his place — tales of a man who appeared wherever tyranny spread, whose presence lit the dark.
Children left candles at crossroads, whispering his name.
Warriors prayed to him before battle.
And when storms passed over the ruins of Solreth, they said a figure of light could be seen walking the embers — silent, eternal, watchful.
He was no longer Kael Valen.
He was The Last Ember.
The fire that remembered.