Their path was lit, but not easy.
After the meeting at Halethor, Aurelith left no words—only a glimmer in the air and the warmth of fading light. The Flamebearers knew they had to follow... but follow where?
Kael stepped forward.He placed a hand on the ancient altar and whispered words that none but the stars understood.
"The path is not forward," he said."It is inward."
A rumble.The altar split open.And beneath it, a stairway into mist and stone—The Shattered Vale.
What Is the Shattered Vale?
Once, it was a sacred space between realms—a testing ground for angels before they were given wings. But when the Great Veil fractured, the Vale became a mirror of the soul—a place twisted by fear, temptation, and pain.
Each Flamebearer would face their own Trial within.
They would not walk side by side.They would walk alone.
Seren's Trial – The Guilt of Survival
She finds herself back in the Emerald Glade… but it burns.
Her people scream her name. She reaches for her bow, but her arms are vines. She cannot save them.A shadow, shaped like her mother, whispers:
"You ran."
Only when she forgives herself—not for leaving, but for surviving—does the fire fade.
Kael's Trial – The Fear of Truth
He stands in an endless library with blank pages.
Every book bears his name.
A faceless figure offers him one quill.
"Write what they want to hear."
Kael almost does. Almost.
But then he closes his eyes… and listens to a sound that is not sound. He writes one word: "Love." The books light up. The figure vanishes.
Vaelrix's Trial – The Choice of the Flame
He wakes in a pit of bones, his old clan surrounding him.
"You are a mistake," they say."Not dragon. Not man."
But then Elarion's voice echoes faintly:
"You are not what made you. You are what you become."
He breathes. Not fire—but light. The bones become stars.
Each emerges, reborn.
Their marks now glow with divine warmth. Their steps carry purpose.And above the Vale, unseen, Aurelith smiles.