The sky cracked with thunder as the Crown's army loomed at the edge of the horizon. Clouds churned overhead, heavy with the promise of rain—or war. Elira stood at the city wall of Kirevale, her cloak whipping in the wind, eyes fixed on the approaching storm.
Beneath her, the rebels moved like a swarm—arming barricades, reinforcing gates, helping frightened villagers take shelter. Yet despite the flurry of activity, the tension was a wire pulled tight.
Auren appeared at her side. "They've set camp. No attack until morning, most likely."
Elira nodded. "Then tonight we prepare. Tomorrow, we decide if Kirevale stands—or falls."
---
In the ancient chapel beneath the city, lit only by flickering torchlight, Elira knelt before the crumbling altar. The walls were marked by old carvings—symbols of the First Flame long erased from public memory.
She whispered to the silence:
> "If I fall tomorrow, let it be with fire in my bones."
Footsteps echoed behind her. Auren approached quietly and sat beside her.
> "Do you regret it? Any of this?" he asked.
She looked at him—at the prince who had given up his crown for rebellion, for her. For truth.
> "I regret not starting sooner," she said. "But never the fire."
He reached into his coat and drew something out—a thin, beaten circlet of black iron, half-melted at the edges.
> "I found this in the ruins. It was a Flameborn crown once. Yours, maybe."
Elira took it reverently, hands trembling.
> "Then let it be more than a relic. Let it be a promise."
Together, they stood beneath the ancient sigil of the Flame, and Elira placed the crown upon her head—not as a ruler, but as a bearer of hope.
---
At sunrise, the rebel camp stood ready at the walls. Bows drawn. Blades sharpened. Magic humming like a song just waiting for its first note.
Elira stepped forward, the crown catching the morning light.
> "Today, we fight not to destroy the kingdom—but to reclaim it."
> "For the forgotten. For the silenced. For the fire they tried to smother."
The gates creaked open. And the rebellion surged forward—into the blaze of destiny.