The sun dipped below the jagged peaks of the Obsidian Range, casting the city of Avaris into a twilight that never ended. Kaela wiped soot from her hands, the acrid tang of molten iron sharp in her nostrils. The forge’s glow painted her face in hues of amber and crimson, a stark contrast to the gray sky above. She had spent her life shaping steel, but tonight, the metal refused to bend. The bell tower’s gong echoed through the streets, its deep reverberation shaking the soot-streaked windows of her father’s shop. Avaris was dying, and the people knew it.
Kaela’s fingers tightened around the hammer as she stared at the half-forged blade on the anvil. The iron was cold, lifeless, as if the very earth had lost its fire. She had heard the rumors—the sun’s light waned each day, its warmth thinning like a thread unraveling. The High Council spoke of a ‘seasonal shift,’ but the farmers’ crops withered, the rivers ran sluggish, and the stars above flickered like dying embers. The city’s heartbeat pulsed in the forge’s rhythm, but even that felt hollow.
A crash shattered the silence. Kaela spun, hammer raised, as a figure stumbled into the shop. The man’s cloak was torn, his boots caked with mud. His face was hidden beneath a hood, but his voice cut through the smoke like a blade. ‘You’re the blacksmith’s daughter,’ he said, his tone not a question but a statement.
Kaela stepped forward, her boots crunching over scattered embers. ‘Who are you?’
‘A traveler,’ he replied. ‘And I need your help.’
She studied him, the way his hand hovered near the hilt of a dagger at his belt. ‘Help with what?’
‘The sun,’ he said. ‘It’s not just fading. It’s being stolen.’
Kaela scoffed, but the words stuck in her throat. She had heard madmen speak of such things, of ancient gods who fed on light, of curses that seeped into the world like poison. Yet something in the man’s voice—steady, certain—made her hesitate. ‘You expect me to believe that?’
‘Look up,’ he said.
She did. The sky was darker now, the stars dimmer. Avaris had always been a city of shadows, but this was different. The darkness felt… alive, as if it were watching.
The man stepped closer. ‘The High Council hides the truth. They’ve sealed the old tunnels beneath the city, but I found a way in. There’s a place where the light is kept, a chamber deep beneath the ruins of the First Temple. If we don’t stop them, Avaris will burn out like a dead ember.’
Kaela’s pulse quickened. She thought of her father, his hands blistered from years of work, his voice gruff but kind. She thought of the people in the streets, their faces gaunt, their eyes hollow. ‘Why me?’
‘Because you’re the only one who can shape the key,’ he said. ‘The blade you’re forging—it’s not just steel. It’s a relic, a fragment of the old world. You feel it, don’t you? The fire in your hands, the way it responds to you.’
She looked down at the anvil, the blade still cold. But as her fingers brushed the hilt, a flicker of warmth pulsed beneath her skin. The metal was alive, waiting.
‘I’ll go with you,’ she said.
The man nodded. ‘Then we leave at dawn.’
—
The tunnels beneath Avaris reeked of damp stone and decay. Kaela’s boots splashed through puddles as she followed the man deeper into the earth. The air was thick, heavy with the scent of moss and something else—something metallic, like blood. Her torch cast flickering shadows on the walls, revealing carvings of stars and strange symbols. She had seen them before, etched into the foundations of the city, but never this close.
‘This place is older than Avaris,’ the man said, his voice low. ‘The First Temple was built to hold the light, to keep it from falling into the wrong hands.’
‘And now it’s being taken,’ Kaela muttered.
He didn’t answer. Instead, he stopped at a massive stone door, its surface etched with spirals that seemed to shift when she looked too long. ‘The key is here,’ he said. ‘But it won’t open easily.’
Kaela stepped forward, her hammer in hand. The door was cold, unyielding. She struck it, the sound echoing through the tunnel. Nothing happened. She tried again, harder, but the metal resisted. Frustration burned in her chest.
‘You’re not hitting it right,’ the man said. ‘The key isn’t just a tool. It’s a part of you.’
She frowned. ‘What does that mean?’
‘The blade you forged—it’s not just steel. It’s a piece of the old world, a fragment of the First Flame. You have to let it guide you.’
Kaela hesitated, then placed the blade against the door. The metal pulsed beneath her fingers, warm and alive. She pressed harder, and the carvings on the door flared with light. A low rumble echoed through the tunnel as the stone shifted, grinding open to reveal a vast chamber beyond.
The air inside was different—cooler, charged with energy. At the center of the room stood a massive pillar of light, swirling like a star trapped in a cage. Kaela’s breath caught. It was beautiful, terrifying. The light pulsed in time with her heartbeat.
A voice echoed through the chamber, deep and resonant. ‘You dare trespass here?’
Kaela turned, her hammer raised. A figure emerged from the shadows, cloaked in black, his face obscured by a mask of polished obsidian. ‘The High Council sent you,’ she said, her voice steady despite the fear coiling in her stomach.
‘We are the keepers of the light,’ the man replied. ‘And you are an intruder.’
‘The light isn’t yours to hoard,’ Kaela shot back. ‘Avaris is dying because of you.’
The masked figure stepped forward, his movements fluid, deliberate. ‘You don’t understand what you’re meddling with. The light is not a gift—it’s a burden. It feeds on the world, and if it is not controlled, it will consume everything.’
Kaela’s grip tightened on the hammer. ‘Then let it burn.’
The man’s laughter was cold. ‘You think you can stop this? You are just a blacksmith’s daughter, a child playing with fire.’
‘I’m not afraid of you,’ she said, stepping forward. ‘I’ve seen what happens when the light is taken. I’ll fight for Avaris, for the people who have nothing left.’
The masked figure raised a hand, and the chamber filled with a blinding flash of light. Kaela staggered, her vision swimming. The pillar of light pulsed violently, its glow intensifying. She could feel it—heat, power, a force beyond anything she had known.
‘You are not ready,’ the man said. ‘But I will show you the truth.’
The light surged, and Kaela felt herself being pulled into it, her body weightless, her mind unraveling. She saw images—cities consumed by darkness, people screaming as the light was stripped from them. She saw the First Temple, its walls gleaming with stolen fire, the High Council standing in a circle, their hands outstretched as they siphoned the sun’s energy.
Then she saw herself, standing at the edge of a vast chasm, the light swirling around her like a living thing. She reached out, and the flame responded, wrapping around her fingers like a serpent. The vision faded, and she was back in the chamber, gasping for breath.
The masked figure stared at her, his expression unreadable. ‘You have seen what lies ahead,’ he said. ‘But will you still fight?’
Kaela met his gaze, her resolve unshaken. ‘Yes.’
The man nodded, then turned away. ‘Then let the trial begin.’
—
The trial was not of steel or strength, but of choice. The chamber shifted around them, the walls melting into a vast expanse of darkness. Kaela stood at the edge of a precipice, looking down at a city bathed in light. Avaris, vibrant and alive, its streets filled with laughter, its people thriving. But as she looked closer, she saw the cost—the light was drawn from the earth itself, from the very bones of the world. The trees were withered, the rivers dry, and the sky above was a deep, endless void.
A voice whispered in her ear. ‘This is what you would save. But at what price?’
Kaela clenched her fists. She had seen the alternative—the slow, agonizing death of Avaris, the people starving, the city crumbling into darkness. She had felt the fire in her hands, the power that pulsed through her veins. But was it worth it? Was she willing to become what the High Council had become?
The masked figure stepped beside her. ‘You must choose,’ he said. ‘The light or the world. One cannot survive without the other.’
Kaela looked down at the blade in her hand, its edge gleaming with a faint, golden light. She thought of her father, of the forge, of the people who had trusted her. She thought of the fire that had always burned in her, not just in the metal she shaped, but in her heart.
‘I choose both,’ she said.
The chamber trembled. The light from the pillar flared, and Kaela felt a surge of energy coursing through her. The masked figure’s expression shifted, something like admiration flickering behind his mask. ‘Then let the balance be restored.’
The light surged outward, filling the chamber, the tunnels, the city above. Kaela felt it in her bones, a rhythm that matched her heartbeat. The darkness receded, and for the first time in years, the sun broke through the clouds, its golden rays spilling over Avaris like a promise fulfilled.
As the light settled, Kaela stood at the edge of the precipice, the city below alive with color and life. The trial was over, but she knew the work was just beginning. The balance had been restored, but the world would always need guardians—people who understood the fire in their hands and the weight of their choices.
She turned to the masked figure, who was already disappearing into the shadows. ‘What happens now?’
He didn’t answer, but his presence lingered, a reminder that the light would always need protectors. Kaela looked up at the sky, the sun shining bright and unyielding. Avaris had been saved, but the fire in her heart would never fade.
