Ashes of the First Flame

A novel by [Francis 9439]

For centuries, the world of Elaris has burned under the divine light of the First Flame, a sacred fire worshiped by the tyrannical Solar Dominion — a theocratic empire that claims godhood and unity through conquest. The Empress rules with holy fire and iron will, casting down cities that refuse her light, branding all who resist as heretics and rebels.

But across the shattered lands of the Free Marches, a spark of defiance refuses to die.

Kaelen Virelth, the exiled son of a disgraced noble house, is thrust into leadership after his brother is assassinated. Once a scholar and a pacifist, Kaelen becomes the reluctant face of a rebellion. As war spreads like wildfire, Kaelen must decide whether to become a killer to save the world — or lose everything he loves.

On the other side of the war, Serenya Valir, a devoted priestess of the Flame, begins to question the cost of blind faith. Sent to root out traitors within the Dominion, she uncovers dark secrets buried beneath sacred temples — and a prophecy foretelling a choice that will either redeem the world or end it in ash.

Amid the chaos rise other forces: the exiled Scorched Order, mage-knights blamed for a forgotten catastrophe; the elemental Aetherborn Tribes, whose magic the Dominion fears and hates; and the seductive spies of the Sable Garden, who pull strings behind every throne.

As old gods stir and ancient powers awaken, love blooms between enemies, loyalty crumbles into betrayal, and the line between salvation and damnation blurs. To stop the cycle of fire and ruin, someone must destroy the First Flame — or become its final bearer.

But power never dies quietly.

And Serenya stood alone, hands open, heart breaking — because no matter what she chose, something would be lost.


Behind her, the Dominion's chants faltered.


Tharek, barely conscious, had realized what was happening. "Kill the heretic," he rasped. "Kill them both before it's too late—"


But the Vault did not permit violence within its circle anymore.


Before her, the First Flame shimmered in its twin forms:


One fire whispered rebirth through ruin.


And so Serenya asked the only question that mattered:


"Who will carry the weight of this choice after I make it?"


Of the child they never had time to speak of.


Of the temple steps, the burnt pages, the blood.


She thought of the rebels — not saints, but believers.


She thought of the children in the outer provinces, who still sang songs that the Dominion had banned.


"I will not burn the world," Serenya said.


Her voice rang like a blade drawn from fire.


"I choose the path of memory. Of rebuilding. Of scars that teach, not wounds that destroy."


The Flame pulsed — not in defiance, but recognition.


Kaelen stepped forward, hand reaching for hers again. She took it.


Together, they placed their hands on the Flame.


The Vault flared, and the entire mountain wept heat.


Across the world, hidden truths reappeared:


In a coastal monastery, an ancient scroll once burned was found restored. In the northern wilds, a lost tongue was heard again in children's dreams. In the capital, statues cracked open to reveal the names of those erased.


Tharek screamed, falling to his knees, not in pain — but in revelation. His mind flooded with the truths he had denied. He would never recover his power again.


Kaelen and Serenya held each other in the Vault, as the light faded.


And the child — the First Flame — spoke one last time:


And the Vault sealed behind them, quietly, gently — like a story ending.


Chapter 13 - The Choice of Flame