All Chapters of LIROIDS: SNAKE: Chapter 11
- Chapter 14
14 chapters
Crown of Ashes
The altar flames of Tan guttered and died. For the first time in living memory, the eternal fire was nothing but ash.Silence filled the temple, a silence more terrible than any scream. Priests fell to their knees, torches dropping from trembling hands. Soldiers stumbled, their chants breaking into cries of disbelief. The crusader king himself, golden armor streaked with soot, stared at the extinguished brazier with eyes that no longer burned. His sword, once radiant with Tan’s blessing, flickered with a pale, uncertain glow. Was all this for naught?And in the midst of that silence stood Passion.Her dagger dripped black smoke, the blade still steaming from its plunge into the fire. Her hand trembled, yet her eyes blazed, not with fear, but with a resolve sharpened by years of secrecy. She had walked the path of faith, knelt at Tan’s altar, whispered prayers she did not mean, all to come close enough for this single strike.“I prayed,” she said, her voice cutting through the ruin. “I
stirring
The temple of Tan lay in ruin. Ash clung to the air like a second skin, seeping into stone and breath alike. The brazier that once burned eternally was nothing but a cracked bowl of soot, its pedestal splintered by Passion’s strike.Snake stood over the remnants, his daggers dripping with rain that had begun to fall in thin threads. Shadows coiled at his feet, serpents hissing as if the ash itself offended them. Dragon paced nearby, his blade resting across his shoulders, his fiery hair damp but still glowing faintly in the stormlight.Between them stood Passion. Her dagger, blackened and smoking, remained tight in her grip. She did not tremble. She did not weep. Her eyes burned with something fiercer than fire, something even her father could not name.“You played priestess to strike a god’s fire,” Snake said at last. His voice was cold, sharper than his blades. “But shadows do not forgive lies, even for truth.”Passion lifted her chin, unyielding. “I struck for us all. Tan’s fire bl
Fractures
The storm had not ceased since the fire died. Rain lashed the land, drumming on tents, towers, and temples alike. The people of Tan called it an omen, the courtiers of Doomsany called it a blessing, but all knew the world had changed.Something was stirring.DoomsanyQueen Dark stood before her war council, her crown humming with whispers, her black robes dripping with rain from the ride back to her fortress. The chamber smelled of wet stone and iron. Generals and spies bowed before her, but their voices trembled when they spoke.“The eternal fire is gone, Your Majesty. The crusader king’s men falter, priests despair. Some villages already abandon Tan’s banners, fleeing to the hills.”Dark smiled, her teeth glinting in the torchlight. “Fear spreads faster than flame. Let it spread. While they scatter, we strike.”Tan would not fall so easily; he was cunning. She needed to move quickly.She lifted her hand, pale and cold. “Bring me the girl.”Murmurs rippled across the chamber. One gen
The War of Broken Crowns
Dawn crawled across the plains like a wounded thing. Clouds hung low and bruised, veiling the first light in crimson haze. On the far ridges, two seas of banners rose, one black as midnight, one gold as burning wheat. Between them stretched the field of Tan: trampled grass, churned mud, and the bones of yesterday’s dead.The wind smelled of iron and rain. Even the earth seemed to wait.The Shadow HostFrom the west came the armies of Doomsany ranks of Liroid soldiers armored in black steel, cloaks rippling like living smoke. At their head rode Snake and Dragon, the assassins turned generals, their banners woven with sigils of shadow and flame.Snake’s eyes gleamed behind his hood, calm, calculating. Serpents twined about his wrists, whispering through the air. Beside him, Dragon’s laughter rolled like thunder. Fire licked along the edge of his great blade as though eager for blood.Above them, storm clouds twisted into a single spiral. From its heart descended a chariot drawn by creat