CHAPTER 37: ASCENSION/DUEL OF THE FLAME

Our northern Emperor, Soren of Nevareth, woke to the sound of bells. A hundred of them, chiming from the temple towers and echoing over the crimson roofs. Sleep had not been kind to him, no, his thoughts had wandered the entire night, circling the same flame: her. The woman of Solmire. The Queen of Fire.

He had dreamed of molten gold and the taste of heat upon his tongue, and when dawn came, he found that even ice-born emperors could wake sweating.

The courtiers were already assembled in his hall, arrayed in their crisp blues and silver whites, speaking of treaties and timetables. The renewal of peace between their countries, an event older than any of them, steeped in blood and history was set to be sealed beneath the Ascendant Flame that very night.

But dear reader, Soren could hardly keep his mind on politics.

Lord Venrick, his advisor, was droning on about formalities: "Your Majesty will stand beside the Queen during the lighting, and when the High Priestess speaks the final oath, you’ll lay your hand over the flame’s crest—symbolizing—"

"Yes," Soren interrupted, half-distracted, "—symbolizing eternal unity, prosperity, the usual."

Venrick frowned. "And dignity, my Emperor. Let us not forget that."

Dignity. A fine word for a man who was dangerously close to losing his composure over a woman made of fire.

~~~

Elsewhere in the palace, the Queen herself was not immune to contemplation.

Eris sat before her mirror, the morning light striking the curve of her cheek, the soft flame of the brazier behind her casting her in gold. Her maids fluttered about, braiding her hair into a coronet, fastening jeweled cuffs to her wrists, but the Queen’s mind was already elsewhere.

On her mind was a single parchment, sealed with the mark of the High Keeper, Dareth, the last man in Solmire who still dared to know her plan.

The Fire Testament.

The scroll that would bear her abdication.

It was strange, she thought, how the thought of freedom could taste both sweet and hollow. Her life had been built upon thrones and flames, upon blood oaths and inherited ruin. Who was she, without the fire? Without the crown?

And yet, as she looked beyond her window and saw the banners unfurling across the courtyard, she felt, for the first time in years...

Peace.

Today would end it all.

Her reign. Her curse. Her chains.

But before the end, she still had one duty left: to say goodbye to her son.

Rael.

Her hands faltered only slightly as she slipped on her rings. The last thing a mother should do is tremble before her child, even if that child could not bear to look at her.

Outside, her horse, Solestra, was already saddled, its mane braided with crimson ribbons, its bridle carved from gold. Her bags were being discreetly packed while the ceremony held: scrolls, heirlooms, and a single velvet pouch containing a child’s bracelet.

Meanwhile, the palace’s eastern wing stirred with quieter concerns.

Caelen and Ophelia had risen early, the residue of last night’s tension still clinging like smoke. Yet they dressed together in practiced silence, Ophelia smoothing the folds of her gown while Caelen fastened his sword belt, their motions familiar, even tender.

Perhaps that was why they worked, dear reader: not for love’s perfect harmony, but for the art of setting aside their storms.

By the time they reached the corridor leading to the courtyard, they had already slipped back into their roles, Queen’s consort and royal matron, unshaken, unblemished, radiant in the morning blaze.

And now... the kingdom itself unfurled into brilliance.

The Procession of Fire began at the break of noon, the city gathered in waves upon the marble bridge. Priests emerged from the temple, robed in molten hues, carrying the Eternal Flame in bronze vessels that smoked with sweet resin.

"Behold the Fire of Pyronox!" they cried.

Citizens dropped to their knees. The ground trembled with reverence as the Flame crossed into the palace gates, every torch it passed igniting of its own accord, a ripple of gold spilling through Solmire’s heart.

The Pyro-Sanct Rite followed in the courtyard, a sight to rob even the breath from the gods.

Eris and the High Priestess stood before the colossal brazier of black stone. When the Queen lifted her hand, the crowd hushed. She spoke the prayer in a voice that rolled like thunder over glass, every syllable sparking in the air.

Then she touched the flame.

And it answered.

A pillar of fire burst skyward, pure and unending, reaching for the heavens. The sound it made was not a roar but a song, a high, trembling hymn that rippled through every soul present.

Soren watched, heart thudding, feeling that heat reach him where he stood, like fingers brushing his throat. He should have looked away. He did not.

Then...

The herald’s horn split the air, its echo bouncing off the marble pillars like a battle cry.

A new announcement rippled through the palace: the Duel of the Flame is to commence.

It began as a murmur, then graduated into a roar.

Crowds poured toward the Sanctum Quarter, where an arena had been carved into the very bones of the earth, a ring of blackened sand surrounded by tiered balconies and banners that fluttered like tongues of living fire.

The Queen herself had decreed it: no magic. No enchantments.

Only the raw, perilous beauty of muscle and mortal will.

~~~

Soren, ever the picture of diplomacy, was seated among his envoys when the news reached him. Lord Venrick was in the middle of yet another solemn monologue about protocols and posture, when the Emperor’s gaze drifted to the window and the sound outside, a city humming with anticipation.

"Your Majesty?" Venrick prompted, noticing his distraction.

"Continue without me," Soren said, rising with deceptive calm. "I find I am suddenly... curious."

Venrick blinked. "Curious, sire?"

Soren was already gone.

He followed the tide of armored men into the holding quarters beneath the arena, where torchlight spilled over oiled blades and faces painted with ash. The scent of iron and sweat was thick, alive, defiant, utterly human.

Knights muttered quiet prayers. Younger men laughed to disguise their fear.

And there, among them, stood Caelen, the Queen’s consort, resplendent in scarlet and gold, his every movement marked by the quiet authority of a man who had led armies and buried them. Beside him was Ophelia, graceful even in her modest ceremonial gown, her eyes steady and bright as polished amber.

When they spotted Soren, surprise flickered across Ophelia’s face.

"Your Majesty," she said, bowing lightly. "This is an unexpected sight. Though I must admit I already take you for a man drawn to blood sport."

Soren smiled, faintly wolfish. "Curiosity is the privilege of visiting monarchs, Lady Ophelia. I thought I might observe how Solmire measures its heroes."

Caelen chuckled under his breath. "We measure them in scars."

The jest earned him a smile, though not one without weight.

When the horns blared again, Caelen stepped forward, voice commanding as he addressed the gathered men.

"Listen well!" he called. "Today you do not fight for crowns or coin, you fight before the eyes of Pyronox Himself! Win, and the Queen may grant you a wish. Lose, and the flame claims you as its own."

A murmur rippled through the ranks.

"A wish?" Soren echoed, glancing sideways at him. "Truly anything?"

"If the Queen deems it worthy," Ophelia replied softly, folding her hands. "It is said even the desperate have walked away blessed... once, a dying man asked for his son who was condemned to be executed, and she granted him freedom without a price."

Soren hummed low, thoughtful. "Then I imagine the brave ask for glory..."

"And the foolish," Caelen added dryly, "ask for love."

For a moment, the three of them stood in companionable silence, the heat of the brazier flickering between them. And perhaps, dear reader, that is when the idea first took root, something reckless, glinting behind Soren’s usually measured gaze.

What would he ask for, if he won?

The knights dispersed, the clang of armor and steel filling the air as they prepared for the call to battle. Soren lingered, hands clasped behind his back, watching them ready themselves with almost boyish fascination.

"You look as though you mean to join them," Ophelia said lightly, a teasing smile ghosting across her lips.

Soren glanced at her, expression unreadable. "Would you call it madness?"

"I would call it unnecessary."

"Ah," he murmured, eyes shifting to the arena gate as the crowd above began to chant. "But so is fascination, and yet..."

He did not finish.

Caelen clapped him on the shoulder, grounding the air of levity. "I’ve seen men who fight for sport, and men who fight for gods. The ones who fight for questions they can’t answer?" His eyes darkened faintly. "They’re the ones you should fear."

Soren only smiled.

Perhaps because he had no answer himself.

Above them, the arena thundered with anticipation as the gates began to rise.

Sunlight poured through the openings like liquid gold, spilling over the waiting men.

The Duel of the Flame had begun.