"A kingdom is easiest to break when its king believes he has already won."
Firelonia had celebrated the coronation.
The clans had accepted Bao Bao as Sun-King.
And yet… beneath the lava-lit stone of the Sunspire, something ancient had awakened.
A force older than clans.
Older than the war.
Older even than the Sun Thrones themselves.
The world believed peace had arrived.
The shadows knew otherwise.
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I. The Caverns Beneath the Volcano
Few in Firelonia knew of the tunnels carved at the world's beginning—winding, pulsing with dormant flame, lined with cracks that whispered whenever a new prophecy stirred.
These halls had once been sealed with molten stone.
Now they hummed.
A group of hooded figures walked through the darkness, their robes woven from night-black cloth that absorbed light rather than reflected it.
Their leader—the same hooded stranger who had offered the Mountain-Fang rebels secret routes and stolen maps—stopped beside a huge slab of obsidian.
With one gloved hand, they traced a circle over the stone.
Runes flared.
A doorway split open.
Inside was a chamber shaped like a sun with twelve spokes, each pointing to a different direction of Firelonia.
This place had a name—the world had simply forgotten it.
The Umbra Conclave.
The hooded figure entered.
Torches ignited automatically, each flame burning blue instead of gold.
Already waiting were five other members of the Conclave.
All silent.
All masked.
All watching.
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II. The Meeting Begins
The leader stepped onto the central platform.
A woman's voice—cold and sharp—spoke first.
"Shadowcaller. You took too long."
The leader removed their hood.
Their face remained hidden behind a silver mask shaped like a split sun.
Their voice was calm.
"I was collecting opportunity."
Another member leaned forward.
Their copper mask reflected the blue firelight.
"The rebellion has begun, then?"
"Yes," the Shadowcaller answered.
"The Mountain-Fang clan rejects Bao Bao's rule. The spark has taken."
A low hum of approval spread through the chamber.
The tall masked figure at the back spoke:
"Can they topple the Sun-King?"
"No," the Shadowcaller said.
"But they can weaken him."
The chamber grew colder.
The Conclave was not after rebellion for the sake of rebellion.
They had a purpose.
A long-hidden purpose.
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III. Their Name Revealed
A bronze-masked member tapped their fingers on their chair.
"Then we must move to the next stage. Should we finally reveal our presence to the world?"
The Shadowcaller shook their head.
"Not yet. But the clans will soon learn our name regardless."
They lifted their hand.
Blue fire coiled around their fingers.
The runes on the chamber walls brightened.
"We are the Eclipse Order."
A whisper of power rippled across the stone.
The torches flared.
The chamber responded, as if recognizing a name it had been waiting to hear spoken again.
"The realm worships the Sun," the Shadowcaller continued.
"We worship its absence."
A silent bow of agreement went around the circle.
---
IV. The History of the Eclipse Order
The Shadowcaller opened an ancient scroll, the parchment cracked and yellow.
"The clans believe the Sun Thrones were formed to protect the world from chaos.
They are wrong."
They turned the scroll around so the others could see the faded symbols.
"Before the Age of Embers… before the clans… Firelonia had a single ruler—
the Dawn Sovereign."
Murmurs rose.
Even the masked members stiffened.
The Dawn Sovereign was a myth—spoken in broken verses, half-forgotten by time.
The Shadowcaller continued:
"The Sun Thrones were forged to imprison the Dawn Sovereign's power.
Not protect it."
One figure slammed their fist into their chair.
"If this is true, then the Sun-King commands a fraction of a prison, not a throne!"
"Exactly."
The Shadowcaller spread their hands.
"Bao Bao Hamato believes he unified Firelonia.
But all he has done is reawaken the seal."
The chamber darkened further.
"And that is why the Eclipse Order was formed—to break that seal."
---
V. The First Strike Is Chosen
A new flame lit up on the far side of the chamber—a scrying flame used for remote visions.
Inside the fire, an image formed:
Bao Bao preparing to travel to the mountains to negotiate with the rebels.
The bronze-masked figure laughed softly.
"He walks into danger willingly."
"He's predictable," another added.
"And too honorable to suspect betrayal."
The Shadowcaller raised one hand.
"We cannot kill him."
The room blinked in surprise.
"His death would unite the clans.
We need division, not vengeance."
Instead, they pointed at the image of Bao Bao on the scry-flame.
"We shall break his influence.
Fracture his council.
Turn his allies against him."
The woman with the steel mask spoke:
"And the child?"
The blue flames dimmed.
Prince Saku's birth had already been noticed by the Order.
The Shadowcaller spoke slowly.
"The prophecy awakens in him.
He is our greatest threat."
"Then let us extinguish him," the copper-masked one hissed.
But the Shadowcaller did not agree.
"Not yet. A child cannot rule."
A pause.
"A child can, however, divide the clans further."
---
VI. The Enemy in the Palace
The Shadowcaller moved their hand over the fire again.
A new image appeared—
A disguised servant walking through the Sun Palace.
Carrying messages.
Observing the guards.
Noticing the king's schedule.
One of the masked members chuckled.
"Our agent performs well."
"They will sabotage the king's peace negotiations," the Shadowcaller said.
"Plant false evidence.
Create suspicion.
Make it appear that the Rana clan is planning a coup."
"The Rana?" asked the bronze mask.
"Yes," the leader said.
"The clans already whisper they hold too much influence.
Push them one inch further and Firelonia will split."
A dangerous idea.
A masterful one.
The Conclave nodded.
---
VII. The Eclipse's Second Plan
The Shadowcaller unrolled a different scroll—this one newer, ink still sharp.
"We have located the Sunforge—
the ancient forge where the first flame was born."
Gasps.
The masked members leaned forward.
"This is the key to the Dawn Sovereign's return," the leader said.
"We must get there before the Sun-King does."
A cloaked figure closer to the fire whispered:
"Does he know it exists?"
"No.
But his son will lead him there eventually."
The Shadowcaller looked around the chamber.
"We must not allow that."
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VIII. The Oath of Eclipse
The leader raised their hand, and blue fire wrapped around their wrist in the shape of a broken sun.
"Repeat after me."
The members stood.
"In the light, we hide."
"In the shadow, we rise."
"In the eclipse, we are born."
"In the eclipse, the world is remade."
The flames roared.
The prophecy carved onto the wall glowed:
"When the Returning Flame rises,
the Shadow will demand balance."
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IX. The Leader's Final Words
The Shadowcaller turned their mask toward the flickering scry-flame.
Bao Bao's figure glowed inside it.
"He believes the first rebellion is his greatest challenge…"
The image shifted—now showing the Mountain-Fang clan sharpening their weapons.
"…but rebellions are only storms."
The image shifted again—now showing Prince Saku glowing faintly in his cradle.
"…while prophecy is a wildfire."
The hooded leader lowered their voice:
"Let the Sun-King walk into the mountains."
"Let his council fracture."
"Let his child unsettle the clans."
A whisper rippled around the chamber:
"Let Firelonia descend into eclipse."
The torches extinguished.
The chamber went dark.
Only the Shadowcaller's silver mask remained lit by faint blue fire.
And then—
Darkness swallowed everything.
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