The thunder outside had not stopped since the Conclave's attack. Lightning flickered across the palace windows as Bao Bao pushed open the door to the war-room chamber. Rana, Kuro, and Raijin were already waiting inside, each showing signs of the chaos that had nearly torn the kingdom apart.
Kuro's left gauntlet was cracked, blackened by shadowfire. Raijin's cloak was torn at the shoulder. Rana looked the calmest, but his jaw was tight, her eyes sharp with calculation.
Bao Bao shut the door behind him.
"Veylara is stable," he said. His voice was steady, but it carried something none of them had heard before—an undercurrent like distant thunder. "The Conclave wanted me."
Rana exhaled. "We figured."
Raijin crossed his arms. "The power you released on the plains… that wasn't Sunfire."
Bao Bao didn't deny it. "It wasn't."
Kuro stepped forward. "Then we need to understand what it is. Before the Council uses it against us."
Rana watched him closely. "Bao… when you lost control, the sky lit up across the whole eastern ridge. That kind of force won't go unnoticed."
Bao Bao paused. "It already hasn't."
They all turned.
"What do you mean?" Raijin asked.
"I could feel eyes on us," Bao Bao said quietly. "Not the Conclave. Not Shadowmire. Someone else. From the west."
Kuro whispered, "Pyronis."
Silence settled. Heavy. Certain.
Rana walked to the window, pulling aside the curtain. "If they believe Firelonia is awakening some ancient force, they'll see us as a threat. Especially with our new armies."
"They'll think we're preparing for conquest," Kuro added.
Raijin nodded. "And Pyronis doesn't wait for its enemies to get stronger."
Bao Bao looked at each of them. "Then we prepare. Quietly. No alarms. No public announcements."
"Naelith needs to hear this," Rana said.
"She will," Bao Bao replied. "But first—what happened in that room earlier… what started there doesn't end now."
They all understood.
The Conclave's attack wasn't a warning.
It was an opening act.
But they didn't know yet that Firelonia's awakening had already been noticed.
And far to the west, beneath the molten sky of Pyronis, their enemies were gathering.
---
The volcanic winds rolled across the Valley of Embers as the Obsidian Spire trembled from a deep internal rumble. Days had passed since the Umbra incident. And already, Pyronis had received reports—scouts swearing the sky itself had burst open with light over Firelonia.
Inside the chamber of the Five Flames, the leaders gathered once more.
High Flame-Lord Kharzek Brimwrought spoke first. "More sightings. More accounts. Every report says the same thing—Firelonia's king wields a power unseen since the Sundering."
General Rythis Emberborn placed a parchment on the table. "This isn't an exaggeration anymore. We have visual confirmation of the flare. It tore through shadowfire. That should be impossible."
Flame-Speaker Lyssa Vorn scoffed. "Impossible for us. Firelonians have a way of stumbling into miracles."
Forge-Master Halvek leaned forward. "Firelonia also established three new elite armies—Golden, Silver, Bronze—led by generals they trust completely. Bao Bao among them."
Rythis nodded. "And they're growing rapidly. Too rapidly."
Lyssa folded her arms. "If Firelonia wants to play empire, let them. They haven't won a war in centuries."
"Because they never tried," Kharzek growled.
The Fifth Flame, Elder Lornak, opened his eyes. "The timing disturbs me. A new king. A new power. New armies. And shadow invaders returning after centuries. All at once."
Rythis tapped the table. "We cannot allow Firelonia to grow unchecked."
"And yet," Lornak warned, "we cannot strike too soon. Otherwise the world will call us aggressors."
Lyssa smirked. "They can call us anything they want after we win."
Kharzek ignored her. His molten gaze scanned the others. "What we need is justification. A spark that shows the world Firelonia is unstable. Dangerous."
Rythis gestured to the sealed reports. "The Conclave's attack might be enough. If Bao Bao cannot control his power, we can claim Firelonia has awakened something explosive."
Halvek growled softly. "If their king radiates power strong enough to shake our borders, the Five Flames cannot remain idle."
Lornak's voice softened, but carried weight. "If war must be waged, let Pyronis be the one who 'saves' the world. Not destroys it."
Kharzek stood.
"Then we wait. Watch. And prepare."
A tremor rolled beneath the Spire as he spoke.
"When the next flare erupts… when the world sees Firelonia's king as the danger he is becoming… Pyronis will strike."
"And this time," Lyssa said with a smile that gleamed like sharpened obsidian, "we burn the kingdom to the bones."
The flames around them rose high, reflecting the future they were ready to create.
For now, they waited.
But the moment Bao Bao lost control again—
Pyronis would ignite the war that would try to wipe Firelonia from the map.
---