Chapter 21 Embers Of War

• Ashmire. The cursed city.
• Once, it had been the jewel of the southern frontier—a shining trade hub known for its glass towers and river bridges. Now, it stood abandoned, draped in soot and silence. The Ashborn King had claimed it as his first conquest and turned it into his throne of smoke.
• Elara stood at the edge of a blackened hill, staring down at the city from afar. Smoke coiled into the sky in unnatural spirals. There were no birds. No wind. Only the oppressive weight of what waited below.