Ifey

In a world scarred by fire and shadow, where the sky burns with the dying light of a forgotten age, Mara is one of the last Keepers—guardians of secrets whispered beneath the ember sky. Haunted by memories of a lost family and driven by a mysterious call she can’t ignore, Mara embarks on a journey across a fractured land where danger lurks in every shadow.

As whispers of rebellion and ancient magic rise from the ashes, Mara must unravel the truth behind the Ember Sky’s curse—and confront a power that threatens to consume everything she loves. Betrayal, hope, and sacrifice intertwine in a tale where the past’s darkest secrets hold the key to the future.

In “Whispers Beneath the Ember Sky,” the fate of a broken world rests on the courage of one girl willing to listen when the silence speaks.


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Whispers Beneath the Ember Sky

The wind carried ash now — not from flame, but from memory.

Mara rode westward through the Whispering Wilds, where old battlegrounds lay quiet under moss and fog. She wasn't alone. The world was shifting again, and some had felt it.

Her ember pulsed with urgency, warning her that the time of whispers was ending.

She found him where she left him — tending the grave of the Prime.

Vaerion no longer wore armor. His fire had dimmed, but his purpose had not.

"You've come for soldiers," he said, standing as if he'd expected her.

"I've come for you," she answered. "And anyone else who remembers how to burn for something true."

He studied her face. "You found something worse than the Gate, didn't you?"

She nodded. "Her name is Azereth."

Vaerion closed his eyes, muttering a prayer to gods who no longer answered.

"I'll ride," he said. "But not as a soldier. As a warning."

In the eastern ruins of the Iron Hollow, Mara found Talon again—surrounded by the bodies of mercenaries who had tried to claim the shards' remnants.

He cleaned his blade in silence as she approached.

"They followed the heat," he said. "Thought there was still power to be stolen."

"There is," Mara said. "But not here. Beneath the sea. Beneath the world."

Talon sheathed his blade. "I said I'd follow you once."

"I don't want followers," she replied. "I want flamebearers."

He raised an eyebrow. "Then lead, Flameborn. Before we're too late."

By dusk, they had lit the first Kindling Fire — a signal fire made not of wood, but of intention. Magic stirred in its sparks, whispering across the land to those who had once held a shard… or a dream.

Tessara saw it from the southern hills and turned her horse north.

Serai traced the flame's echo across starlight and followed.

Even former enemies paused beneath its glow, feeling something shift in their bones.

As the fire burned, the wind twisted sharply, and a figure stepped from the shadow of the trees. Soaked in brine. Eyes black. Mouth bleeding flame.

He dropped a scroll wrapped in coral at Mara's feet and then disintegrated into salt.

A single sentence was scrawled across it in burnt ink:

> "The Ember Queen awakens. Kneel, or drown in ash."

Mara stared into the Kindling Fire.

She felt the ember in her chest pulse once.

Kindling the Broken