The Age of Ash

Once, the world burned with the First Flame—a source of life, light, and order. But the Flame is dying. With it, everything perishes: the sun has dimmed to a dull ember, the seas have dried into salt flats, forests have turned to coal, and the lands have become gray wastelands. The Lords who once fed on the Flame have long since fallen, their citadels lie in ruins, and people live among the debris of former greatness, remembering not how to build—only how to survive. No one knows why the Flame fades. Some say the gods have departed. Others claim the world has exhausted itself, like a spent mine. Still others whisper: the First Flame was never a gift, but a stolen fire, and now the world is repaying its debt.