Chapter 44: Ember of the ascendant
Night had already claimed the plateau when Thalen awoke. Moonlight filtered through the shattered ruins, glinting against the new blade’s script. He drew it from his belt and held it toward the sky. The markings glowed faintly silver shifting to violet as if sensing the moon’s pull. A whisper in his mind: "You are no longer hidden."
He knelt and pressed the steel to the ground. He was alone, yet not. Memories surfaced of the Foundry’s fire, Varos’s trials, and every vow written upon this blade. The planet felt distant here: wind, stone, and emptiness. No distractions. Only his breath and heartbeat.
He spoke aloud: "I am Thalen of Reuven. I carry no lies." The blade pulsed stronger, humming like a heartbeat of its own. He nodded. "I am ready."
Morning came with a faint glow at the horizon. Thalen dressed simply: dark tunic, trousers reinforced at the knees, and his sword at his hip. The path off the plateau had been sealed with stone during the Trial, but for the first time, a stair descended from the summit a slender spiral of marble. He followed it, senses alert, aura humming.
At its base, he found an archway carved with nine sigils the Nine Heroes of the Tyrant Spirit. Beyond, the plateau gave way to a ledge overlooking the Tyrant Citadel. A colossal fortress floated on immense chains of arcane light tethered to mountain peaks. Its spires pierced the sky, each crowned with sigils of the founding Tyrants.
Below, the land sprawled: forests and rivers, and in the distance, smoke rose from a colossal forge. This might be where the Tenth began his journey: no solid ground but ascending to legend.
A voice came from behind.
"You have come at dawn." Varos stepped beside him, cloak catching the wind. "That is good. The Nine wait, and they watch daylight change the world."
Thalen nodded. "What awaits me there?"
"Challenge," Varos said. "Not all the Nine will welcome you. Some will see new strength. Others, weakness. You must prove yourself worthy."
He gestured toward the citadel’s entrance. "Go. You will represent not just yourself but what the Foundry forged."