Fire In The Sky.

  Velran sat still, reading the report for the third time.

  Something had ascended shortly after sunset—golden, fast, and violent in its acceleration.

  Later, thunder followed.

  Not storms, but siblings flying hard enough to tear sound from the air.

  The sky caught fire in waves of light, green and blue, visible across the region.

  Shortly after, the fort erupted in cheering and music.

  The Minister frowned.

  That same day, his first attempt to return the village to hunting Ferals had ended with House Chamberline being executed for speaking out of turn.

  Their body was left on the road to Ironwood.

  Velran felt the familiar irritation of power denied.

  Were they stupid?

  Or was young master trying to send a message?

  He rang his chime.

  “Send a messenger to Ironwood,” he ordered when his attendant arrived. “I want to know what information they have regarding the lights last night.”

  The man bowed, hesitated, then spoke.

  “Minister… the Matriarch gave birth to a child last night. A son. General Jang’s disciple was reportedly overheard celebrating.”

  Velran’s frown deepened.

  “How would he know?” he demanded. “Does he possess a communication device? If so, who authorized it?”

  The attendant had no answer.

  Two days later, three riders reached Ironwood.

  Stone walls rose before them.

  People watched from above. No one smiled.

  No invitation came.

  When the gate finally opened, and a woman in armor stepped out, they stiffened.

  Mira smiled and drove her javelin into the stone road. The ring echoed.

  “Greetings, travelers. I’m Mira, Ironwood Guard Sergeant. What may I do for you?”

  “High Minister Cyreth Velran sends us,” the lead rider said. “We seek information.”

  Mira nodded easily. “Ask. We’ll answer as best we can.”

  “Three nights passed, the sky burned green and blue. Do you know why?”

  “We saw it,” Mira said. “It turned night strange. But as for why? We don’t know. Only that it happened overhead, and far above us.”

  The men exchanged looks.

  “We’ve heard the Matriarch of Ironwood gave birth,” the rider said. “Our congratulations.”

  Mira’s smile brightened. “Your kindness is appreciated. The child was born healthy.”

  She glanced back at the closed gate.

  “As you can see, we won’t be welcoming visitors until she’s ready.”

  “When was the child born?”

  Mira’s smile faded.

  “Recently.”

  The lead rider shifted in his saddle. "Minister Cyreth will want to know the exact day. For the record."

  Mira's hand stayed on her javelin. "Three nights ago," she said. "Same night as the lights. Is that specific enough for your record?"

  The rider nodded slowly. "And the lights—you're certain you don't know their cause?"

  "We saw what you saw," Mira said. Her tone stayed pleasant. Her stance did not.

  "Green and blue fire in the sky. Beautiful. Terrifying. We don't know why it happened." She paused. "Is there anything else the Minister needs to know?"

  The riders looked at each other. The lead rider glanced up at the walls. At the watching figures.

  At the javelin still ringing in the stone. "No," he said finally.

  "Thank you for your time." One of the other riders stated.

  Mira nodded. "Safe travels back to Seldara." She pulled her javelin free and turned.

  The youngest man called out to her before she disappeared.

  “Lady! Please wait, with such beauty and strength, might I know what Sect you hail from?”

  Mira turned and nodded. “I was exiled with the Matriarch over two decades ago; we hail from the Bloodforge clan…farewell!” she grinned.

  The gate closed behind her. The riders sat in silence for a moment. Then the men turned and rode away.

  The horses moved slowly as the three talked quietly.

  “Did you notice almost every single face we saw was a woman?” The leader said with curiosity.

  The messenger nodded. “All of them looked young.” He added.

  The youngest thought for a few moments.

  “If Mira were near the same age as Nadia Bloodforge, that puts her in her fifties. She looked no older than twenty, which means either a youth cultivation or…she is Foundation Establishment…or higher.”

  The riders kept an eye out for the chamberlain's body but found none.

  What they did come across were women with children marking trees for cutting, collecting herbs, and what looked like they were teaching a single man who looked like a warrior, who moved with a young man and two girls, all under twelve years old.

  The children carried javelins, and the man had a bow and a short, straight blade. Not a short Jian but a blade that seemed too broad and straight.

  The men didn’t stop; they spurred their horses and began their two-day ride back.

  Velran listened to the report and then held council with his faction.

  The primary discussion was that nearly all interactions were female-dominated.

  From the side, Gilded Sect Master Yue listened with interest.

  After four days, the first welcomed visitor arrived at Ironwood Fortress.

  While the lights had died that night, the awe they had brought to the residents lingered.

  Everyone in the fortress had met Auriel Valen Bloodforge; she would forever be their dear daughter.

  Her eyes enraptured them, her beauty stunned them, and Thornes hair, which crowned her head, made them want to touch it as it glistened with vitality.

  There was a strength in the child that no one had ever seen before.

  The banners were Crown-red.

  The gifts might have followed protocol.

  But the smile on Matron Gaila Hyun-Soo’s face as she stepped down from her carriage?

  Pure joy.

  Alia Hyun-Soo was already waiting at the courtyard’s edge — hands on hips — all mock sternness and barely contained joy.

  "Mother, you took too long." She complained.

  "And don't think for a second that formality saves you from kitchen duty tonight," Alia added.

  Matron Gaila snorted — in a way no bureaucrat would dare witness.

  "Formality is for the scribes, little one." Gaila laughed.

  Her gaze slid past the waiting Ironwood guards — not with suspicion.

  With approval.

  This was their fortress now.

  Jianrong stepped out of her residence, a baby swaddled and warm in her arms, as Lin Su and Janice moved with her to welcome the woman they had all heard stories about but were now meeting.

  She wore a long robe and a matching scarf on her head.

  Dar Luso and Shepard appeared along with everyone else who knew the family.

  They embraced in turn—Dar whispered that his mother was relieved to have her here.

  Inspector Jang Hyun-Soo remained dutifully quiet — but even he relaxed here, Jianrong took his arm.

  “Father, mother looks well. You, on the other hand, do not.” Said as Jang turned and rested his hand on the child's head.

  The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  “She is healthy, impossibly vibrant,” Jang said softly, touching her with Spirit Sense.

  Rong nodded. “My gift and curse is great for kids, so cycling through children who are still nursing.”

  Jang glanced at Nadia, who had appeared, holding Gaila tight.

  Then his eyes lingered on his own wife.

  When Jang looked down once more, Rong nodded. “Of course that will be happening, we are family. Hurry up, Valen already has the men cooking meat, and a wine keg is already open.”

  Jang laughed, then leaned down and kissed her on top of the head. “This form suits you.” He murmured.

  Rong kicked his ankle, making the man wince, then trotted off as she tried to kick him once more.

  Jang and Gaila had brought a physician and Professor Chang, who had happily greeted Dar but gawked when he met his brother and sister.

  “Little Rong, we have the same tools to test your sister that we did with your older brother. Is your mother willing?” Chang asked excitedly, then licked his lips. “If you like, we can test you too.”

  Jianrong smiled at him. She knew he was a cog in the machine, but a good man. “As long as she is treated as the angel she is, it is fine. We are all curious about the power we feel from her, “ with a sigh. “As for me, we can also do that.”

  When Rong turned, Nadia was just letting go, so the two could talk.

  "I come bearing both duty and joy," Gaila said with quiet humor for the Crown scribe.” Now take me to see my new niece.” She whispered

  "The Bloodforge daughter has turned the capital upside down, you know," Jang said quietly to Dar and Shepard, who embraced and moved along with him.

  "The rumors say the stars bent low to kiss her brow." He continued.

  Dar only smiled faintly.

  "There is some truth to that, worry not, you will get the whole story as I am sure dad will make us retell it again.” Dar Luso muttered.

  “Likely twice.” Shepard chirped,

  Then a thump came from above, and a cheer from the wall went up.

  Andrew fell from the sky to land right next to them, Dar and Jang, with a smile.

  Before they could say a word, he ran off to meet his sister.

  Back in the house, Gaila marveled at the newborn.

  She was so healthy it seemed a miracle. Her hand moved to her own waist.

  Nadia took her arm. “Sister, best to stay here from time to time, especially when the time is near. His brothers won't let him suffer injustice.”

  The woman's throat tightened, as did her grip. But all she did was nod when she felt a hand find hers.

  Jianrong had joined to watch and be tested.

  Nadia, with the help of her sons, had fully recovered.

  She had been so radiant that Valen had been seen clutching at her, flirting, when her sons descended and beat him up, telling him he would wait before placing another child in her.

  Nadia laughed, her voice like silver bells, but she helped her man up and shooed her boys away.

  It seemed his charms were too much for her to rebuff.

  They performed the Affinity Test.

  Not because it was demanded but because they respected Seldara’s Royal tradition.

  To have Chang here in person was a gift.

  Better to know now and provide all the support she needed.

  The Jade Lattice Disc flared beneath Auriel's tiny palm — too small, too new to the world — but utterly unafraid.

  There was no hesitation. No flicker. The colors rose like dawn breaking over an untouched world.

  First — Violet. Deep and haunting.

  The mark of shadow, of the hidden soul — feared in sect doctrine, whispered as "illusion's curse."

  But there it was... soft. Steady. Not the color of deception — but of depth.

  "She sees further than we do..." Elder Chang whispered without realizing.

  Not the violent purple of mind-breakers.

  But the gentle violet of twilight — the space between day and dream where truth lives unguarded.

  The root of those who perceive without forcing, who touch souls without wounding them.

  Then — Silver. Rare. Boundary root.

  The element of crossing spaces and bridging divides.

  Almost extinct among the noble academies.

  Called "unstable" by those who fear what moves between worlds.

  But it glowed from Auriel as if it had been waiting.

  Not the harsh silver of blades — but the quiet silver of moonlight on water.

  Boundaries recognized, not violated. Doors opened, not shattered.

  The root of those who walk between and belong in both.

  Then — Green. Life root. Wind. Growth. Healing.

  But this was no "support root" as the court called it.

  Here, it pulsed like breath itself — the gentle expansion of a forest after rain.

  Not the aggressive green of strangling vines.

  But the nurturing green of new leaves catches light.

  Movement without violence. Growth without conquest.

  The root of those who make things live — not by commanding, but by caring.

  Nadia's breath caught. Three affinities. Balanced. None dominating the others.

  Gaila's hand found her sister's shoulder — steadying, proud.

  Jianrong smiled, knowing. Of course, she would be remarkable.

  Her Aura would be Opalescent Verdant.

  Green at the heart — touched with pearlescent violet and silver blooming across her skin like dawn breaking through leaves.

  Not elements competing. But elements were singing in harmony.

  "Heaven reached for her," Nadia breathed.

  "Then found us there waiting," Jianrong said coldly.

  Elder Chang set down his instruments with trembling hands.

  Qi was moving in her. Already. Not as wild flux.

  Not chaotic infant breath. But deliberate flow — like water following ancient carved channels through stone.

  "She's already gathering Qi..." he breathed — disbelieving.

  Gaila Hyun-Soo's head turned sharply.

  "Impossible."

  Chang barely heard her.

  "No infant... No human infant starts cultivation naturally. Without guidance. Without breathing methods. Without—"

  He leaned closer. Peered beneath the Disc's glow — adjusting the measuring array.

  "Heavenly assistance..."

  "I... I will have to study this further. To speak without care would be dishonor."

  "But... this child..." He swallowed. Hard. "...this child does not wait for Heaven's favor."

  "She was born favored," Chang murmured.

  Nadia turned as did Gaila to Jianrong.

  Gaila finally noticed the young woman's eyes had changed to a deep amber, almost the color of warm honey.

  Rong smiled. “People will be crawling out of the ground for my sister, of course, we needed to give her a head start.”

  Gaila was both stunned by tri-affinities and surprised by what Jianrong’s words meant.

  She was of Ironwood now — in heart if not in blood her own grandchildren would likely be the same. The idea of Alia giving her a daughter made her smile in hope.

  But she still whispered — low, for family ears only:

  "The capital will drown in their own pride and scheming when this report reaches them."

  She glanced at tiny Auriel — nestled in Serel’s arms, quiet and wide-eyed.

  “I see a mother and father's love, a brother and sister's devotion, and people, her people, surrounding her.

  Chang was the only person who was not loyal to Ironwood, and it showed immediately.

  “We will need to bring the child to the capital; you must understand this could change how we breed bloodlines, prepare family elites for the future.” He said his words tumbling out of his mouth in excitement.

  “Sounds like someone else's problem. We did it, we aren’t sharing it except with the Empress and the Cyreth bloodline.” Rong said, but winked at Gaila; she understood immediately that the family had no such restriction.

  Chang turned to Jianrong, who was bouncing the baby, so they fell back to sleep.

  He considered arguing, but thought it better to move through the Empress; surely she would see how important this was.

  “Child, let me test you next.”

  What came next was a unified resonance of all seven colors:

  Violet Mind clarity.

  Silver Space sound & dimension.

  Green Air healing & agility.

  Red Fire will & combat.

  Golden Earth Endurance.

  Deep Cyan flow & adaptability.

  White Light perception.

  "Remarkable...” Chang looked at Jianrong, then did a double-take when he saw her eyes.

  His head swiveled to Nadia. “You say, Jianrong has a different father than the boys?”

  Nadia sighed, already reciting the lie Jianrong had come up with. “I was young, lonely when I met a man of unbelievable beauty. Before I knew it, he was gone, and I was with child.”

  Nadia’s hand touched Rong’s face. “A year after the boys were born, I was gifted with my daughter.”

  Chang thought he might jump out of his skin with excitement. Two generations of seven affinities by different fathers, Nadia was a divine womb. The fact that the latest daughter was only three infinities made him forget as Jianrong became infinitely more desirable to test.

  “If you would consent to examination, we could understand the mechanism. For the good of the kingdom." Chang said to Jianrong.

  “Sure, as long as you do it here, as I am currently acting as a nursemaid,” Rong said with a smile, pointing at the sleeping baby.

  “Is this child yours?” he asked excitedly, wanting to test it,” Chang asked.

  Rong shook her head. “I am currently holding off on a child till I can grow strong enough to keep it.” She admitted.

  Jianrong kissed her mother goodbye. “Professor Chang probably has questions. I can take him with me… You two rest, I love you.” Rong smiled broadly as she was about to undermine everything Chang thought she would be learning.

  Gaila watched them go, then turned to Nadia with a look on her face.

  Nadia smiled. “I cannot put into words how proud I am of her. She has helped so many children in the village. I know she is upset with the situation, but God‘s she is an amazing aunt and will make an amazing mother to my grandchildren.” She confessed.

  Gaila looked around, then whispered. “Can Solomon have children?”

  Nadia bit her lip. “There are many of us praying she can.”

  Gaila took a breath. “Praying to the ones who did this?” she said so softly it was barely audible.

  Nadia only nodded.

  Since Solomon had changed, she did not seem depressed or self-destructive. Rong healed, loved, and nurtured.

  Three weeks after Dar Luso turned twenty-one

  Gaila Hyun-Soo and Nadia Bloodforge had spoken at length — quiet, deliberate, Ironwood voices shaping the future like hands tending soil.

  The marriage would take place in Ironwood.

  Not in the refined halls of Seldara.

  Not beneath silken banners or gold-threaded walls.

  But surrounded by her home, by her people, by her birthright.

  A double wedding.

  Alia Hyun-Soo — bright, unyielding, untouched by court's desires and orthodoxy — would marry for the first time.

  And Virea An’Selin of House Selin-Ka... would bury the past and walk forward unchained.

  The offer had come from Ironwood.

  Direct. Without pretense. Without groveling.

  House Selin-Ka had blanched.

  Openly.

  To wed into that family?

  To bind their blood... To that barbaric legacy?

  It was unthinkable.

  Unacceptable.

  But worse still — it was inescapable.

  Because how do you turn them down?

  Without losing the roads they built.

  Without losing the medicine that saves your heirs.

  Without losing the quiet, terrifying power that Ironwood provides — with no strings attached save honor.

  It was an insult, yes.

  But it was also a noose.

  Silken.

  Inevitable.

  The Bloodforge name?

  It was not whispered in court for its virtue. Nor restraint.

  It was spoken in wine-stained corners.

  In teahouses thick with perfume and fear.

  In the private salons of aging nobles, desperate to preserve their bloodlines.

  Carnality.

  Brutal fertility.

  A legacy of growth that mocked everything Seldara’s nobility held sacred — sterile control, cold lineage pride, hollow titles passed down like jewelry too fragile to touch.

  And worst of all?

  The dual cultivation rites.

  Whispered of in scandalous horror.

  Mocked in public.

  Obsessed over in private.

  Every man who had joined?

  Laughed at.

  Mocked.

  Court hounds snickered over wine.

  Sect brats sneered behind folding fans.

  "Ah, yes — another fool caught rutting like a wild beast in the forests with those barbarians."

  "Mark him — ruined."

  Until the stories leaked out.

  Until the servants began to talk.

  Until those same men — once peaked, weakened, shaped by shameful habits that left them pliable — came back.

  Stronger.

  Faster.

  Devoted.

  Whole.

  And worse still?

  They secured their legacy.

  The thing nobles feared losing more than life itself.

  It was said — whispered beneath silk curtains and behind polished screens — that something in the Joining granted immeasurable power.

  Not loud.

  Not burning.

  But the quiet, terrible power of fertility.

  Of finality.

  Men who had tried and failed for years—producing no heir—returned from Ironwood with their wives, bearing children on the first attempt.

  No pills.

  No rituals.

  Just power they could neither replicate nor control.

  He had heard.

  They had all heard.

  That the first ones — the earliest Crown men chosen — were already powerful.

  That their children glowed in the womb.

  Like the Auriel girl.

  A beacon no sect formation could conceal.

  Women once discarded as barren used to slake the men’s thirst during the process had conceived.

  Now they were bowed to.

  And so beneath the laughter…

  Beneath the wine…

  Beneath the silk and poison words…

  A fear crept. Heavy. Cold. Final.

  Because they all knew.

  Deep down.

  Ironwood did not need their world.

  But their world might soon need Ironwood.

  Old men in brocade robes, wondering...

  What happens if my daughter looks at them the way they look at each other?

  What happens if my sons start asking for Ironwood methods?

  Virea — quiet, patient Virea — had stood before them.

  Before him, her father.

  And when he opened his mouth to speak of duty, of purity, of shame—

  She had stomped her foot once.

  Stone shattered beneath her heel.

  The Patriarch of House Selin-Ka said nothing then.

  Because he felt it.

  What the court did not see.

  What only old men who feared death understood.

  She was already beyond him and their power.

  Still.

  He loathed it.

  Loathed him — that boy Dar, who followed Virea like some devoted wolfhound.

  Who smiled like a fool in her presence as if she were Heaven's gift.

  Who ran when called — not out of weakness — but because he wanted to.

  Worse still, his brothers.

  Each more disgraceful than the last.

  Helping. Serving. As if nobility meant little more than the strength of one's hands.

  It turned his stomach.

  At least — he thought bitterly — he would not have to house a useless daughter any longer.

  She had outlived her usefulness years ago.

  Failing to bear a child before her husband's "untimely" death.

  She belonged to the earth now.

  To savages.

  To Ironwood.

  Good riddance!