The Empress called it tradition. Every Chosen had to be tested, to prove the stone hadn't made a mistake.
But as Elara stepped into the Arena of Ancients, she felt every gaze like flame on her skin. The circle was vast, carved from ancient stone, glowing runes pulsing faintly beneath her bare feet. The midday sun blazed overhead, but it was nothing compared to the fire rising inside her.
Thousands watched from the terraces nobles in embroidered silks, merchants clutching coins, guards standing rigid, spears in hand. Even the air felt tense, as if the palace itself was holding its breath.
The task: tame the fire beast.
Born of ember and ash, it was old magic, untouchable by sword or spell. It bowed to no one not unless they spoke its true language.
Elara remembered the stories.
Fire could burn or warm, destroy or protect. It had moods. Memory. Will.
Others had tried before her bold, brilliant, brutal.
They'd shouted commands, swung blades, cast storms of flame. All had failed.
Elara didn't shout.
She stepped forward and sat, cross-legged, on the hot stone floor. Still. Quiet.
The fire beast emerged in a shimmer of smoke and heat. Its body flickered with golden flame, its eyes molten and watching.
It circled her once. Twice. Close enough to blister skin.
The crowd murmured.
Some laughed.
Others whispered that she'd die within seconds.
Elara lifted a hand. Slowly. Not in command but in curiosity.
The beast paused.
And then, astonishingly, pressed its burning muzzle into her palm.
Its body, once wild, softened.
Its flames settled not extinguished, but calm.
It lowered its head into her lap, flickering like the last glow of a hearth before sleep.
A stunned silence swept the arena.
Someone gasped.
Someone fainted.
The Empress leaned forward, her expression unreadable.
Elara sat motionless, hand resting gently on fire.
Because some flames aren't meant to be conquered.
Some are meant to be understood.
The sun dipped low, casting long shadows across stone and skin. The crowd was silent, the air thick with awe.
And the empire though it didn't know it yet had begun to change.