Obsidian Memories

ing forgotten passes and crags marked with symbols that crumbled at the touch. The air here was thinner, scented with resin and iron, and charged wit

lt it in her bones. As if Aeolina had brought her here not just to hide her, but to show her something. Or someone. The web of fire she'd felt beneath her skin, ever sin

ck with too direct a gaze. Each step seemed to cost him more, but he didn't complain. He never did. Yet the trembling in his left hand, and the way his breath condensed more heavily

He had changed since the fall of the temple. More severe, more silent. But also more dangerous. Like a torch that knows when not to burn. He had taken up the re

e center, amidst faint plumes of smoke, rose the ruins of a fortress buried in the rock. It wasn't a refuge. It was a witness. The wind carrie

oticed the symbol on its staff: a broken spiral surrounded by fire. She recognized the mark. It was from the

igure said, its voice like muffled

ulsing beneath her clothes, against her skin. It throbbed with those wo

" Kael asked,

swered, without looking back. "Those who

marked with fiery lines that weren't tattoos, but raw scars. Or burns that hadn't hurt. Her ey

st fragment," she said. "

, and at the same time, something was falling apart. Not in her body, but in her memory. There were times when s

es," Lirien said. "They know ther

the woman added. "If the ashes are entrusted t

r swelled. Asha couldn't stop staring at his neck, as if the stone might creep out at any moment. The obs

id. To contain the memorie

t place," the old woman said.

ured her name. And the sound of that word seemed to ignite something in the ruins. Several hi

d with barely visible frescoes: battles without heroes, guardians falling at human hands,

m: men and women of all ages, bearing markings similar to the old woman's. Some young, others so old they seemed sc

an said. "To hold without turning. To remember withou

though she already

ou feel too much... they drag you down. If you feel nothing... they ignore

the ash. Of the moment she had first touched the Heart. All

n continued. "A memory to seal. An emot

fell to his knees, and Asha ran to support him. His sk

" she wh

e found it diff

.. fade away..

silence. Then she nodded, as

a price. But there is still

lt the web. She felt that the fire didn't want to be a weapon

ady," s

lves were breathing for the first time in centuries. The revolution wo