The fire started in his dreams.
Kael stood alone in a sea of flame. The trees of the Wildergrove burned around him, their branches twisted into clawed hands reaching for the sky. Ash rained from above like cursed snow. And in the center of it all… stood himself.
But not just himself.
He was older. Stronger. Cloaked in black armor etched with glowing lines. And behind him loomed a monstrous dragon—ten times Cinder's size, its eyes twin suns of wrath.
Kael reached toward his reflection—and it reached back.
Then came the voice.
"Wake, Rider. The bond is not sealed."
Kael jolted awake, heart thundering, shirt soaked with sweat. The shack was dark, the only light coming from Cinder—curled beside him, softly glowing like a coal that had decided to nap.
He sat up, breathing hard.
Was that a dream?
His hand burned.
Kael looked down.
On the palm of his right hand, something new had appeared: a glowing red symbol. A twisting spiral, like a dragon coiled in sleep, pulsing faintly beneath his skin.
The Rider's Mark.
Every child in the kingdom had heard the tales. Only those chosen by dragons bore the mark. It wasn't just decoration—it was power. Magic. A bond between two souls, stronger than blood.
Kael tried to stand, but pain shot through his chest like lightning.
Cinder stirred, letting out a sleepy chirp, and blinked up at him. Then it saw the mark—and its eyes widened.
For the first time, Kael heard a voice that wasn't entirely his own.
"You are bound now. There's no turning back."
Kael blinked. "Wait. Was that… you?"
Cinder nodded—spoke, not aloud, but directly into his mind.
"We are one. You carry my flame. I carry your soul."
Kael laughed—half-hysterical. "Oh no. No, no. You talk now? That's new."
The dragon hopped onto the table, tail flicking, wings spreading with pride.
"Your mark woke my spirit. You are not just a boy anymore, Kael Stormborn. You are a Rider. Whether you want it or not."
A loud bang echoed outside.
Kael snapped his head toward the window.
Voices. Varric's. Angry. Loud.
Then—another. Rough, commanding. Unfamiliar.
Kael's blood turned cold.
"We're here for the boy," the stranger said. "And if he has what we think he has… then the village burns."
Kael grabbed Cinder and bolted out the back door just as the front one exploded into splinters.
He didn't look back.
Through back alleys and tangled brush, he ran toward the only place no one dared to go: The Wyrm Hollow, an ancient cave deep in the cliffs beyond the village.
Behind him, the sky lit up with flame.
And Ember Hollow—his home—started to burn.
Chapter End:
He thought finding the egg was the beginning.He was wrong.Someone else had been waiting for that egg.And now, they wanted their dragon back.
Next Chapter:"The Wyrm Hollow Trials" – What secrets lie beneath the cliffs? And who are the Riders who never died?