THE HIDDEN FLAME OF LUTHERCHRIS

CHAPTER 2: The Visitor from Veylar

Morning light spilled into Collins’s small room, cutting through the thin curtains like blades of gold. He hadn’t slept at all. The mark on his wrist still pulsed faintly, glowing whenever his thoughts drifted toward the strange orb.

He had tried washing it. Scrubbing it. Even wrapping it with cloth. But nothing worked. The symbol was a part of him now.

As he sat by the window, the world outside looked strangely different — the air clearer, the sound of birds sharper, every color brighter. He could feel the world breathing around him.

It was both beautiful and terrifying.

A sudden knock on the door startled him.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

He froze. No one visited him this early — or ever.

“Who’s there?” he called, tightening his hold on the chair beside him.

“By order of the Kingdom of Veylar,” a deep voice replied, “open the door.”

---

The name made his heart skip. Veylar — the city of mages. Wizards. Scholars. People who studied magic so complex that common folk like him only heard of it in stories.

He slowly unlatched the door.

Standing on the porch were three strangers.

The first was a tall man in a long black coat embroidered with silver runes. His hair was white, his eyes like molten steel.

Beside him stood a woman with violet hair and sharp, intelligent eyes — Seraphine Valea, though Collins didn’t yet know her name. The third was a silent guard, cloaked and armed with a staff glowing faintly blue.

The man spoke first. “You must be Collins Lutherchris.”

Collins nodded cautiously. “Yes… who are you?”

“I am Master Alden Trask, Envoy of the Arcane Council of Veylar. Last night, a surge of magical energy erupted from this area. It was powerful enough to awaken ancient instruments buried in our city. We traced it here — to your home.”

He looked past Collins, as if the house itself might confess something.

Collins swallowed hard. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Seraphine’s eyes softened. She stepped forward slightly. “You do,” she said quietly. “The mark on your wrist — it’s glowing even now.”

Collins instinctively hid his hand behind his back. “It’s nothing.”

Master Alden’s gaze sharpened. “Nothing does not trigger ancient wards across three realms, boy. Something happened here. Tell me.”

---

Collins hesitated. His mind spun. Should he lie? Should he tell them about the orb, the whisper, the flame that didn’t burn?

Before he could decide, a faint tremor shook the ground beneath their feet. The windows rattled. Outside, the horses tied near the fence neighed and pulled their reins.

The guard turned instantly, staff raised. “Sir, the woods!”

They all looked. The forest beyond the house was swaying unnaturally — as though something large was moving beneath the soil. Then, with a roar that tore through the silence, a creature burst from the trees.

It was a stone beast, its body made of rock and earth, its eyes burning red. Roots dangled from its jaw like tendrils. The ground shook as it lumbered toward them.

“By the gods,” Alden muttered. “An Earth Wraith. They haven’t been seen in centuries!”

---

Before anyone could react, the creature smashed its arm against the fence, splintering wood like twigs. Collins stumbled backward, heart hammering. He could feel the creature’s rage — raw and primal — calling out to him somehow.

“Get back!” Seraphine shouted. Her hands glowed as she muttered words under her breath. Blue energy circled her palms before shooting toward the monster — a bolt of pure frost. Ice crawled up its chest, but the creature shattered it with a growl.

The guard swung his staff, sending out a wave of shimmering energy that barely slowed it.

Alden turned to Collins, shouting above the noise. “If you’re linked to this power, boy, now would be a good time to show it!”

Collins shook his head. “I don’t know how!”

“Then feel it!” Alden barked. “Magic answers emotion — not thought!”

The beast roared again, striking the ground. The shockwave threw Collins off his feet, slamming him against the porch. Pain shot through his back. He gasped — and then, without thinking, raised his hand.

The mark on his wrist flared gold.

---

The air around him crackled. The wind twisted, pulling heat from nowhere. His body felt light, alive, burning from the inside out.

Fire burst from his palm — wild, uncontrolled — and slammed into the Earth Wraith.

The explosion lit the sky in orange light. The beast howled as its stone body cracked and melted. When the flames faded, it stumbled backward into the forest, leaving a trail of smoke before collapsing into ash.

Collins fell to his knees, panting. His hand trembled, glowing faintly. The mark pulsed like a heartbeat.

Silence fell again.

Alden approached slowly, eyes wide but cautious. “That power…” he said, voice low. “That was elemental fire. Untrained. Raw. But ancient.”

Seraphine knelt beside Collins, her voice softer. “You said you didn’t know how to use magic.”

“I didn’t,” Collins whispered. “It just… happened.”

She studied him for a long moment. “Then you truly are different.”

---

Alden turned to the horizon, his tone grim. “If an Earth Wraith was drawn here, others will follow. The balance has shifted.”

He faced Collins again. “You can’t stay in Wrenford. Not anymore.”

“What do you mean?”

“You’ve awakened something the world has forgotten,” Alden said. “The Elemental Flame. If we can sense it, so can those who wish to destroy it.”

Seraphine added softly, “You must come with us to Veylar. There, you’ll learn what you are… before your power consumes you.”

Collins looked at them both — strangers who seemed to know more about him than he knew himself. The thought of leaving his home terrified him, yet something deep inside whispered that his destiny no longer belonged in this quiet town.

He glanced once more at the forest, where smoke still rose from the fallen beast. His heart pounded with both fear and wonder.

“Alright,” he said finally. “I’ll go.”

---

As they prepared to leave, Seraphine lingered at the door, glancing around the dim house. Her eyes rested on the stairs leading down to the basement.

“You found it down there, didn’t you?” she asked softly.

Collins froze. “…Found what?”

She smiled faintly, though her expression carried a trace of sorrow.

“The artifact that woke your power. I can feel its echo. It’s older than you think.”

He said nothing, and she didn’t press further. But as they stepped into the road, a cold wind blew through Wrenford, carrying a faint whisper only Collins could hear:

> “The Flame awakens… but so does the Shadow.”

He shivered.

He didn’t yet know that far beyond the mountains, in the black towers of the Shadowlands, a dark figure had opened his eyes after a century of slumber.

“Finally,” the figure hissed, smiling cruelly. “The Heir of the Flame has returned.”