All Chapters of Wielder Of The Dragon Flame : Chapter 31
- Chapter 40
45 chapters
Chapter 31
His footsteps echoed on the marble floors as he made his way through the Xavier mansion's corridors. The building was massive,three centuries of additions and expansions had created a labyrinth of halls and chambers, all decorated with the wealth and power accumulated over generations. Portraits of previous Xavier clan leaders stared down from the walls with painted eyes that seemed to follow him as he passed. Suits of ceremonial armor stood at attention in alcoves, their metal still bearing the scorch marks from battles long forgotten. Display cases held artifacts of flame-working artistry: sculptures of frozen fire, weapons that still glowed faintly with residual power, ancient texts bound in flame-proof materials.Malachar ignored it all, his pace steady and unhurried as he navigated toward the main entrance. Servants pressed themselves against walls as he passed, bowing slightly, their eyes carefully averted. The Black Flame Clan's reputation preceded them,better to show respec
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Gregor seemed unable to continue, the words stuck in his throat, and Malachar could see the old butler struggling with whether to speak freely in front of his companions, with what was appropriate to say, with the lifetime of trained discretion that warred against his obvious distress.Malachar made a decision quickly. "Come with me." He said, his tone leaving no room for argument. "All three of you. Now."The bungalow was small,tiny, really, compared to the servants' quarters Gregor would have occupied in the Xavier mansion proper. Just three rooms: a common area with a table and a few chairs, and two small bedrooms barely large enough for the narrow cots they contained. The walls were bare stone, the furniture was simple and well-worn, and the single window was covered with a thin curtain that did little to keep out the cold.But it was clean, Malachar noted. Despite everything, despite the obvious poverty and hardship, the space was meticulously maintained. The floor was swept
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Malachar leaned forward slightly, his dark eyes moving from Gregor to Helena to Marcus and back again. "Pack your things. Whatever you have here, whatever you need, gather it. I'm taking you with me. All three of you.""My lord?" Gregor's voice was barely a whisper, disbelieving. "I don't... what do you mean?""I mean." Malachar said patiently. "That I'm hiring you. All of you. The Black Flame Clan could use people with your skills, your experience, your dedication. Gregor, my household could benefit from a butler of your caliber. Helena, Marcus,my kitchens have been... uninspired lately. I could use cooks who actually understand flame-based cuisine preparation."He held up a hand before they could protest or question. "I'll pay fair wages,actually, I'll pay better than fair. You'll have proper quarters, proper treatment, proper respect. And..." He paused, letting this sink in. "And you'll be free to send as many letters to Asta as you want, without anyone intercepting them or
Chapter 34
Meanwhile, back at the labor quarters bunker...The room was dark except for the pale moonlight filtering through the small window near the door, casting a silver rectangle across the wooden floor between their bunks. The day's exhaustion should have pulled them both into immediate sleep. Four months in the labor section had trained their bodies to pass out the moment they hit their beds,but tonight, something was different.Asta lay on his back on the top bunk, his hands folded behind his head, staring at the ceiling he'd memorized over four months. Every crack, every water stain, every place where the wood had warped slightly,he knew them all by heart. Beside him, pushed against the wall, his practice sword rested within easy reach. A habit he'd developed early: always keep your weapon close. You never knew when you might need it.Below him, he could hear Jabber shifting on his bunk, the old wood creaking softly with each movement. The sound was familiar now, comforting in its way
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"I don't know. Anything. Everything. Where you're from. What your family likes. How you ended up here. Whatever you want to share."Another pause, this one thoughtful rather than hesitant. Then Jabber began to speak, and his words painted pictures in the darkness."I'm from the western territories." Jabber said. "Small village called Sunset Ridge,you probably haven't heard of it. Maybe three hundred people, all connected to the Sunset Clan in some way. My family... we weren't important. Not clan leaders or elite warriors or anything like that. My father was a blacksmith.”“Made tools mostly, farming equipment, horseshoes. Sometimes weapons if someone paid enough, but mostly just practical things that people actually needed."Asta listened, picturing it. A small forge, the sound of hammer on anvil, the smell of hot metal and coal smoke."My mother helped run the village healer's house." Jabber continued. "She had a small healing flame,nothing powerful, just enough to ease fevers an
Chapter 36
"Don't do that. Don't take their judgment and make it your truth. You're not weak, Jabber. I saw your flame today…it was incredible. Beautiful and powerful and yes, wild, but that doesn't make it less valuable. It just makes it yours.”“And you controlled it when it mattered most. When it could have hurt us, you redirected it. That takes strength. That takes skill, even if it's instinctive skill.”He shifted on his bunk, leaning slightly over the edge so his words would carry better down to where Jabber lay. "And you know what else takes strength? Surviving two years in this place without giving up completely. Continuing to get up every morning even though everyone treats you like you're nothing. Staying kind and decent even when the world has been cruel to you. That's not a weakness, Jabber. That's the opposite of weakness."For a long moment, Jabber didn't respond. Then, very quietly: "Thanks, Asta. I... thanks.""I mean it.""I know. That's what makes it mean something."They fel
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He fell silent, thinking about everything he'd lost. The mansion he'd grown up in but couldn't enter. The clan name he carried but couldn't claim. The inheritance that should have been his but had been given to someone whose blood wasn't even fully Xavier."The Sacred Crystal test." Asta continued after a moment. "That was the final nail. Everyone gathered in the great hall,all the nobles, all the clan leaders, the Empress herself. And I stood there with my hand on that crystal, praying for even the tiniest spark. Just one ember, one flicker, anything to prove I wasn't completely empty.”His hands clenched into fists. "Nothing. The crystal stayed dark. Completely, absolutely dark. And the entire hall erupted in whispers. I could hear them all,'useless,' 'cursed,' 'should have died with his mother.' The Empress called me a worm. Told me to get out of her sight before I tainted the air she breathed.""That's cruel." Jabber said, anger creeping into his usually flat tone. "She had n
Chapter 38
Morning arrived like it always did in the labor quarters,suddenly and without mercy.The sun hadn't even fully cleared the horizon when the announcement bell shattered the pre-dawn quiet. It wasn't a gentle chime or a melodic ringing. It was a harsh, grating clang that echoed off every stone wall and seemed specifically designed to jolt people from sleep in the most unpleasant way possible.CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!The sound reverberated through Asta's small room, drilling into his skull like a physical force. He jerked awake with a startled gasp, his body instinctively trying to sit up before his brain had fully processed what was happening. The result was that his head connected solidly with the low ceiling beam above his bunk."JEZZ! WHAT IS THAT?!" Asta yelled, his hand flying to his forehead where a knot was already forming. He fell back onto his thin mattress, wincing, eyes squeezed shut against both the pain and the continued assault of that horrible bell.CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!"I
Chapter 39
Inside the compartment was a metal box, dented and scratched from years of use. It had a simple lock,nothing fancy, just a basic mechanism that could be opened with the key each laborer was issued. Asta pulled his key from the pocket of his tunic where he always kept it. The metal was warm from his body heat as he fitted it into the lock and turned.Click.The box opened.Inside were three folded pieces of paper, each one sealed with different wax stamps. Asta's hands were definitely shaking now as he carefully pulled them out, holding them like they were made of glass that might shatter at any moment.The first letter had a simple brown wax seal,nothing fancy, just functional. He recognized the handwriting on the outside immediately: Gregor 's careful, precise script that came from decades of writing formal correspondence for the Xavier household.Asta's throat tightened as he broke the seal and unfolded the letter. The paper was cheap,the kind laborers could afford,but Gregor 's han
Chapter 40
“Also, I'm enclosing a recipe in case you ever get access to cooking facilities. It's your favorite,the honey cakes I used to make for your birthday. The ingredients are simple enough that you might be able to acquire them, and the process isn't too complicated. Something sweet to remind you of better days.”Asta looked at the bottom of the letter where Helena had indeed written out the recipe in careful detail, each step numbered and explained as if she were standing beside him in a kitchen, guiding his hands. His vision blurred again.“Write back to us, dear boy. Even a short note would mean the world.”“With love,Helena”“P.S Marcus says to tell you he's been practicing some new knife techniques and when you visit “notice I said 'when,' not 'if',I'm an optimist”, he'll teach them to you. They're quite impressive, if I do say so myself.”The third letter was from Marcus, and it was much shorter.Marcus had never been much for writing, preferring to express himself through his cookin