Forged by Flame, Bound by Stone

What is this? This pressure I’m feeling.

It’s a two-minute walk—two minutes!

Yet the entire kingdom watches as I take it.



I never wanted to be here.

I never wanted to walk this path and come face to face with the colossal forge that shapes nations.

Kingsmen and nobles eye me from above like hawks, as I avert my gaze and press a hand to my chest to calm my heart.



Here I am.

My entire future rests on the breath of a moment.



My palms are numb. Paralyzed.

All I have to do is make contact with the Crucible.



If that forge flares up in purple flame, my entire world changes.

If it doesn’t burn for me, I return to my old life—

But at what cost?



For in doing so, I would trample on my family’s tombstone…

And bury secrets that have long awaited the light.



Tell me, great forge that answers only to one’s will—

Am I worthy enough to wield Elementum?

Will the element that shapes creation itself bow to me,

Become an extension of my will?