The town square pulsed with excitement. Tents of crimson and gold billowed in the wind. Music danced through the air, and illusionary animals leapt through fiery hoops without ever touching the ground.
A traveling circus had arrived.
Ayra leaned on the fence, eyes sparkling as she watched a girl balance on a floating cube while juggling flaming daggers.
> "Finally," she sighed. "Something fun that doesn't try to stab me—"
A knife suddenly did fly toward her. She caught it midair without blinking.
> "...Okay. I jinxed that."
---
A Familiar Song
As the performance ended, a flute began to play.
Soft. Ancient.
Ayra's eyes widened. The melody reached somewhere deep inside her… like a forgotten dream. A memory that didn't belong to her.
She stood frozen. Images flashed behind her eyes:
A woman in royal robes. A forest of glass. Blood on silk. A glowing necklace.
Her hand instinctively moved to the chain beneath her collar.
> "Where did that come from?" Lira asked, noticing the necklace pulsing softly.
Ayra didn't answer.
Because in that moment, she knew—
The song was something her mother used to play.
---
Whispers in the Tent
Ayra slipped backstage. Performers looked human—but many weren't. Some shimmered slightly, eyes wrong. The tent seemed larger than the town itself.
She entered the star performer's tent.
> "You're not from around here," Ayra said.
The flutist, a pale woman with eyes of shifting colors, smiled knowingly.
> "Neither are you, Child of the Forgotten Flame."
> "What did you call me?"
The flutist stepped forward and gently touched the necklace.
> "A seal placed by a dying queen… meant to awaken when her child touches the soil of her homeland."
Ayra stepped back. "You knew my mother?"
> "I served her… before she vanished. She carried power so great it couldn't exist unguarded."
The necklace flared—once—then dimmed again.
> "You're not ready," the flutist whispered. "But it's coming. The Kingdom will stir. And when it does… the blood of the Phoenix will burn bright again."
She vanished before Ayra could speak.
---
Meanwhile… A Royal Hall
In the most powerful kingdom of the known world, the old King stood before a massive stained-glass window of a young girl.
His only daughter—lost decades ago.
A soldier rushed in.
> "Your Majesty… a flare has been detected. The Phoenix Seal pulsed."
The King's hands trembled.
> "That seal was bound to my daughter's heir."
"She's alive?"
> "She was born," the King said, voice shaking. "And she's out there."
His eyes burned.
> "Find her."
---
Back at the Circus
Ayra rejoined Lira, quiet.
> "Everything okay?" Lira asked.
Ayra nodded slowly.
> "I think… I just met someone from my mother's past."
> "Your mother?"
> "I barely remember her," Ayra whispered. "But now… things are starting to feel less like fate and more like someone else's plan."
In the shadows, a cloaked figure watched them. Not circus. Not town. Other.
They clicked a dial on their wrist. The signal went… up.
---