Ash in the Valley
The valley was silent.
Not the silence of peace.
But the breathless stillness before blood.
Kael stood on a ridgeline overlooking the rebel camp nestled in the Nareth valley—a crude fortress formed from burnt-out wagons, spiked barricades, and corrupted wood. A pale fog curled through the trees like smoke, heavy with something wrong.
Beside him, Serentha scouted through an enchanted lens.
"They've formed a wedge-line. Standard mercenary structure. But see that center tent?"
She pointed to a structure marked by an unnatural red symbol.
"Velcras. Their real commander is there."
Kael nodded.
Behind him, the Lion's Teeth waited in disciplined silence—no jingling armor, no stomping horses. Just seventy-two weapons, breathing in rhythm with the wind.
He raised two fingers.
Rin's eyes lit up from behind her helm.
"Formation S-2?" she whispered excitedly.
Kael nodded.
She grinned and darted off to relay the command.
---
Ten Minutes Later – Battle Begins
From the trees came a whispering storm.
Arrows rained down in silence, blessed to muffle the air as they struck.
Cries erupted from the rebel camp.
Kael's vanguard burst from the mist, swords drawn, moving like wolves through the cracks of the crude defenses. The Lion's Teeth weren't loud—they were inevitable.
Kael led the charge at the right flank. His blade carved through two spearmen before they fully turned.
He ducked a halberd and countered with a sharp elbow, flipping the soldier into a barricade. The knight behind him finished the job.
Lyra was a blur on the left flank—her glaive sweeping in arcs of silver flame. Her stance was precise, almost rhythmic.
Rin leapt from behind Kael, dagger in hand, disarming a stunned archer and yanking their leg out from under them.
"Three!" she shouted gleefully.
"Stay with the formation!" Kael called, ducking a crossbow bolt.
The battlefield was theirs within minutes—too easily.
Then the ground shook.
A low chant rose from the rebel center.
Kael's eyes snapped toward the red-marked tent.
"Rin. With me."
They sprinted through the camp, cutting through the last desperate defenders.
As they reached the tent flap, a masked figure stepped out.
Tall. Clad in layered black robes. A silver pendant shaped like a broken circle glowed at his chest.
"Kael Vaelthorn," the man said.
Kael stopped.
"You know who I am?"
"I know what sleeps beneath your crypt," the man replied calmly. "And I know why your bloodline was cursed to keep it."
Kael's hand went to the dagger.
"Who are you?"
The man didn't answer. He drew a crooked sword made of etched obsidian, its edge flickering with rune fire.
"I am the Knotted Flame, and I will show you the price of inheritance."
---
The Duel
Kael met the first strike with his sword—sparks flaring on contact.
The Knotted Flame was fast—unnaturally so. His blade curved like a serpent, bending physics, skipping patterns.
Kael ducked a spin-slash and countered with a high kick, knocking the man back a step. He followed with a thrust, but the enemy sidestepped and dragged a clawed hand across the air.
Flame erupted in a spiral, narrowly missing Kael.
"Rin—stay back!"
But Rin was already casting—a shimmering ward shield rising behind Kael just in time to deflect a bolt of runic energy.
"Get behind him!" Kael ordered.
Rin vanished into the shadows.
Kael closed the gap again—feinting a leftward strike but slashing high from the right.
He grazed the enemy's shoulder—but no blood came out. Only smoke.
"You're not human," Kael muttered.
"No," the man said. "I am what remains."
---
The Final Move
The Knotted Flame jumped back, chanting again. The sky above them twisted—runes forming in the clouds.
Kael gritted his teeth. If that spell completed—
He reached for the dagger.
It pulsed in his palm. Once. Twice.
> Blood.
Kael grit his teeth—and pressed the dagger to his own palm.
The blade drank.
Power surged through him. Dark, sharp, but controlled—for now.
He dashed forward at a speed that tore through the air itself.
The Knotted Flame's eyes widened.
Kael's blade split the sky and shattered the enemy's spell mid-air.
Rin appeared behind the enemy, slicing the pendant clean off his chest.
The enemy screamed—not in pain, but in rage—as his form destabilized into black ash.
"You…" his voice hissed as his body disintegrated. "You awakened it… You'll regret—"
Gone.
---
Aftermath
Kael stood panting.
The dagger's pulse faded. Its hunger was gone—for now.
Lyra arrived a moment later, bloodied but uninjured.
"The camp's cleared," she reported. "Minimal casualties on our side."
Kael turned to Rin. "Are you hurt?"
"Nope," she beamed, "but I did get his necklace."
She held up the broken circle pendant. Still faintly warm.
Kael took it and stared.
The symbol on it—matched one found inside the Thorn Vault.
He pocketed it.
"This isn't over," he said.
And the wind carried the ash of enemies who should not have known his name.
---
End of Chapter 61