The City That Forgot the Sea

At the edge of the Glassstrand Coast, there stood a city built on denial.

Deln'ir.

Once a stronghold of scholars and keepers of flame, now it whispered with unease. The waves had pulled back unnaturally, revealing jagged coral spires where none had ever grown.

The people said nothing.

But they knew.

They had turned their backs on Azereth once.

Now she was coming home.

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Arrival of the Ash Tide

Just before dusk, the tide returned.

But not with water.

With steam.

With salt.

With voices.

The Ash Tide rolled in—gray and glowing. Not hot, not cold, just wrong. It curled around the city's stone walls and seeped into the crevices of memory.

At its center walked Azereth.

Crowned in living coral. Cloaked in molten silk. Her eyes were twin vortices of unquenched flame.

She did not knock.

She did not speak.

She simply walked into Deln'ir and the gates melted behind her.

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The Mirrorstone Throne

At the heart of Deln'ir stood the Mirrorstone Palace, once built to reflect light in every direction — a tribute to truth.

Now, it reflected only her.

Azereth ascended the steps without challenge. The guards bowed, not out of loyalty — but because they remembered her. Even if they never knew why.

She sat upon the high throne of the scholars.

And flame erupted from the floor.

Not to destroy — but to remake.

The palace bent and twisted into a new shape: curved, spiraled, crowned with horns of salt and fire.

From its peak, a single beacon ignited.

Not of warning.

Of invitation.

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A Proclamation of Flame

Across the world, all who bore a spark — even a flicker — heard her voice.

It was not spoken.

It was understood.

> I am Azereth. I was the first and the last. The forgotten and the flame.

You locked me beneath the world. Now I rise as its heart.

Those who wish to burn freely… come to me.

Those who cling to the past… prepare to be unmade.

And in her hand, she held a burning thread of coral — tied to the ember that lived in Mara's chest.

She smiled, though none could see it.

> "Come, little Flameborn. Let us finish the question we started."

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