Ignis-Kahl let out a roar that shook the foundations of the world, but he did not strike. Perhaps it was the Shard’s magic, or perhaps he realized that leaving the people to starve in the wasteland he’d created was a far more poetic vengeance than a quick death by fire.
The first sign was the heat. A dry, suffocating wind swept down from the Iron Peaks, wilting crops in seconds. Then came the shadow. Ignis-Kahl was not merely a beast; he was an avalanche with wings. When he descended upon Oakhaven, he didn’t just breathe fire—he unleashed a rhythmic, molten pulse that turned stone to glass. Rage of the Dragon
With a single, massive beat of his wings, he took to the sky, trailing embers like falling stars. He returned to the peaks, leaving Aethelgard alive, but broken—a kingdom of ash that would never forget the cost of waking the fire. Ignis-Kahl let out a roar that shook the
In the capital, King Alaric watched the horizon glow a sickly, permanent orange. "It isn't hunger," the court mage whispered, hands trembling over a scrying orb. "It is retribution. We have stolen his marrow, and now he comes to reclaim the debt in ash." A dry, suffocating wind swept down from the
The sky over the Kingdom of Aethelgard did not darken with clouds; it darkened with scales.