The Village Without Names

The village sat in silence.

No dogs barking.

No children laughing.

No carts creaking over stones.

Just wind — curling through broken shutters like breath through teeth.

Ariana dismounted slowly. Damian was already scanning the street, hand on the hilt of his blade. Behind them, Kairo and two trusted guards held back, letting the quiet settle.

The Hollow Coast had always been full of ghost stories. But this… this wasn't a story.

It was a warning.

Houses stood with doors wide open, meals left rotting on wooden tables. No blood. No bodies. Just absence, so complete it made Ariana's skin crawl.

"Something's not right," she murmured.

Damian stepped beside her, his voice tense. "This was done recently. No sign of a fight, no scavengers. It's like they… vanished."

Ariana's breath hitched as her eyes landed on the center of the village.

A single tree. Gnarled, ancient.

And carved into its bark—her name.

Burnt into the wood.

ARIANA

RETURNED.

NOW SHE BURNS.

Damian moved to stand between her and the tree.

But Ariana pushed past him, drawn like a moth to a match.

"It's my brother," she whispered. "Ashen… or whoever he's become. He's leaving messages. Traps."

Kairo finally spoke from behind. "Or invitations."

She turned sharply. "To what?"

"Reckoning."

The word fell like a stone into the quiet. Ariana took a step back from the tree, her hands clenched.

Suddenly, the air shifted.

A sound.

A cry.

Faint, desperate — from inside one of the boarded homes.

Damian drew his sword. Ariana followed the sound, heart hammering in her chest, until they found the house with the red-stained door. She pushed it open and found—

A child.

Curled beneath the bed. Barely breathing. Her eyes wide and terrified.

Ariana dropped to her knees. "It's okay. I won't hurt you."

The girl didn't speak. But she reached out slowly, placing something in Ariana's palm.

A torn scrap of black fabric.

Embroidered with a silver sigil.

The mark of the Eldareth flame. Twisted, inverted.

Damian cursed. "He's not just sending messages. He's gathering forces."

Ariana's eyes filled with tears as she hugged the child close. The girl clung to her like she was the last real thing left in the world.

And in that moment, Ariana knew:

This wasn't just about revenge or thrones anymore. This was about protecting the innocent. About stopping a legacy of ruin that had begun long before her birth.

"Tell the men," she said. "We ride at first light. We follow the flames."

Damian nodded, but stopped her before she turned away.

"Whatever happens next," he said, brushing hair from her face, "I'm with you. Even into the fire."

She kissed him. Soft. Human. Real.

And it reminded them both:

Even in the ruins, love survives.