Story 1036: Fang and Flame

The forest of Ashmere Hollow had always been cursed—older than the town that dared to live beside it, and hungrier than anyone knew.

Long ago, before roads cut paths through the wilderness, before names claimed land and fire held meaning, there was a pact between two ancient forces:

Fang, the wolf god of the midnight hunt.

And Flame, the fire witch who devoured sins in smoke and ash.

They kept the Hollow in balance—Fang feeding on the guilty, Flame purifying what was left. But humans broke that pact when they buried their dead in sacred ground and salted the trees with industry.

The Hollow slept, but it never forgot.

Marla Dorne, a traveling fire-dancer with a burn-scarred past, arrived in Ashmere one blood-orange evening. She bore a necklace of charred bone and whispered to her flames like they were family. Locals watched her street shows with awe… and unease.

They said she came with the wind.

They didn’t know she came to rekindle a promise.