Crownfire Citadel, Seat of Flame Imperium
It was a city built not on land, but decrees.Every stone bore a verdict.Every breath passed through rings of surveillance flame.Every shadow knew its shape, or was erased.
And in the center—high above the Pillar sigils—sat the Sovereign of Crownfire.
❖ Name: Sovereign Velrith
Title: Flame Adjudicator, Warden of the Flame CourtsElemental Pillar: CrownfireFlame Tier: Sovereign Command Absolute (Tier 8 of Sovereign Path)Resonance: 99%Talent: Lawborne Flame, capable of burning abstract truths into fixed form.
He did not sit on a throne.
He stood, always.
Wrapped in robes of molten decree, his mask never shifted, carved from the remains of the last rebellion's sovereign.
Before him: a glowing sheet of flame-data, displaying the impossible:
Kaien Maerok – Ashen Line – Echo Tier ActivationVerdant Halo: Alliance RegisteredVerdict Delay Rejected by 3 Minor CourtsSystem Interference: Pillar Response Overriding Court Judgment
He tapped the flame-scroll once.
The fire dimmed.And the room's temperature dropped with it.
"It begins again."
His voice did not echo.
It carved.
"He has not claimed dominion."
"He has not sworn oath to the Court."
"He is remembering."
He turned to the three Adjudicants kneeling before him.
"Issue the First Flame Notice."
"Label the Hollow a Sovereign-Unsanctioned Sect."
"And raise the Echo Bounty: 300 Flame Marks to whoever brings me Kaien's severed flamecore."
Meanwhile: Hidden Flame Vault, beneath the Citadel
A figure stirred.
Bound in twelve chains of verdict-flame,sealed in a prism of unbreaking law,the First Adjudicant Sovereign—long thought forgotten—whispered.
She had once walked beside Alvar.She had once dared to break Crownfire's unbending law.
"So the last heir lives," she whispered.
"And Velrith fears what cannot be decreed."
"Then the fire… may finally choose again."
Back in the Judgment Hall
Velrith moved to the window of his tower, watching the flame towers flicker with encoded war-scripts.
He opened a palm, revealing a shard of burned ash.
The last remnant of Alvar Maerok's soulbrand.
He crushed it without ceremony.
"Your descendant will not save this world."
"He will drown it in memory."
"And I… will erase that name once more."
[System Notice: Global Hostility Raised – Crownfire Sovereign Opposes Hollow]
✦ "Unsanctioned Sovereign" status applied to Kaien Maerok✦ Sect bounty broadcast to all Court-aligned guilds✦ Lawborne Flame Marker issued: Kaien's flame signature now traceable across 3 Realms
Far away, in the Hollow's ember sanctum, Kaien paused mid-meditation.
His flame rippled—offbeat. Tethered.
He felt it.
Velrith's eyes.
Watching.
Judging.
Preparing not for war—but for erasure.