Chapter 5: The Whispering Flame
Kael stood at the edge of the Solari ruins, his heart pounding. The forest behind him had grown unnaturally quiet, as if even the birds feared what slept within these ancient stones. His boots crunched over broken tiles as he stepped into the once-sacred hall. Vines wrapped around shattered pillars, and dust floated like ghosts in the shafts of sunlight cutting through the cracked ceiling.
The Temple of Solari was older than any kingdom, older than even the legends. It was said to be the final place where the last true Sun Mage, Lioran the Radiant, had vanished. Kael had heard the stories, had memorized the old maps… but standing here, he felt something deeper—like the place itself breathed with waiting.
He passed a cracked mural along the wall, depicting a mage with hair of fire standing beneath a blazing sun, hands raised as if holding it aloft. Below him were shadows—figures twisted and dark, reaching toward the light but burning when they touched it.
As Kael moved closer to the altar, his mark—the sun-shaped brand on his chest—began to throb with heat. Not painful, but insistent, like it wanted to speak.
Then he heard it.
A voice. Not aloud, but inside his head, deeper than thought.
"Child of Sol, why have you come?"
Kael gasped, looking around, but the temple was empty.
"You carry the mark. You carry the burden."
He fell to his knees, clutching his chest as the mark blazed with light. The altar flared suddenly, and golden fire rose from it, dancing but not burning. Within the fire, a shape formed—a face, old and regal, with eyes of molten gold.
"Who are you?" Kael whispered.
"I am Solvarion," the fire-being replied. "The last guardian of the sun's legacy. And you… you are its heir."
Kael shook his head. "No. I'm just a hunter. I didn't ask for this!"
Solvarion's gaze did not waver. "The sun does not choose lightly. Bloodline and soul have aligned. The power is awakening, and with it, the enemy returns."
Suddenly, Kael saw visions—not memories, but possibilities.
— A sky torn open by flame.
— Armies of darkness marching beneath a shattered moon.
— A girl with silver eyes, screaming his name as fire consumed her.
Then it was gone. Kael collapsed, sweating, heart racing.
"You must learn control," Solvarion said. "Or your light will destroy not only your enemies, but those you love."
Kael looked up, fear and defiance in his eyes. "Then teach me."
The fire flickered. "Very well. But know this—each flame you summon will feed the shadow that hunts you."
With a final pulse of golden heat, Solvarion vanished. The temple dimmed, the fire gone, but Kael felt something alive inside him now—a spark that would.
Chapter 6: Shadows Over Eldrin
The sun had barely begun its descent when Kael returned to Eldrin.
But to him, the village didn't feel the same.
Every sound, every shadow, every scent of smoke from the chimneys felt heavier, darker. As if the visions he'd seen in the Temple had reached ahead of him and tainted the land.
Children still laughed near the well. Blacksmith Roul was hammering steel at his forge, shirtless and grunting, just like always. But Kael's eyes no longer saw peace. They saw fragility.
They saw a village that could burn in seconds if the shadows found them first.
He walked slowly through the village, his cloak torn, boots caked with dust, and the mark beneath his shirt still hot like a coal pressed to his chest.
At the healer's hut, Mira waited.
She ran to him as soon as she saw him, relief flooding her face.
"Kael! You're—Kael, your eyes…" she stopped, staring.
"What?" he asked.
"They're glowing."
Kael closed his eyes and rubbed them. His heartbeat was off. His breath shallow. "It's… the power. It's started."
Mira helped him inside and handed him water. "Tell me everything."
And so he did.
The temple. The voice. The visions. Solvarion. The warning. And the fire—the fire inside him now.
When he finished, Mira stood in silence, her hands clenched.
"You shouldn't have gone alone."
"I didn't have a choice."
"There's always a choice!" she snapped. "You think this is a gift? I've read the scrolls, Kael. Sun Mages were feared, not worshipped. Light can blind. Fire can consume."
"I know," he said. "But if I don't use it… something worse will come."
A sudden crack echoed outside—like thunder without lightning.
They rushed out of the hut.
A cold wind blew through the village square. The fires in the braziers flickered violently. The sky above had dimmed unnaturally, even though the sun hadn't yet set.
Then came the whispers.
Soft, like rustling leaves, but full of hate. A language no villager understood, yet it chilled the soul.
Figures emerged from the treeline. Cloaked in black. Their faces covered. Their bodies tall, moving like smoke.
The villagers screamed. Children were rushed inside. Elders locked doors. Roul grabbed his hammer.
Kael stepped forward.
The lead shadow raised a hand.
"The flame bearer has awakened," it said in a voice like broken glass. "The balance… breaks."
Kael's pulse surged. His mark burned. Power stirred.
"What do you want?" he shouted.
"To end the cycle," the shadow hissed. "Before it consumes everything."
Mira stood beside Kael, holding a silver-bladed dagger, hands shaking.
"You'll have to go through us," she said.
The shadows moved forward.
Kael reached inside himself. To the spark. The flame. It hurt—like pulling heat from his blood—but he didn't stop.
His hand glowed.
Then it blazed.
A sphere of sunlight erupted in his palm, so bright it lit up the entire square. The shadows shrieked. One lunged at him.
Kael threw the sphere.
It struck the creature mid-air—an explosion of golden fire that turned it to ash.
The others vanished like smoke in the wind.
Silence returned.
The villagers stared at Kael—not in awe, but in fear.
He turned around, breathing heavily. Faces he'd known all his life now looked at him like a stranger.
A threat.
Only Mira stepped forward and touched his arm. "You saved them. Don't forget that."
Kael looked at his glowing hand, then the sky, where the last rays of sun were fading.
"I'm not a hero," he whispered.
"No," Mira said. "But you might be the only hope we have."
L'auteur:
Abdelali Aitali