RISE OF THE PHOENIX (The Vanishing Flame)

The Vanishing Flame

With Renji and Arya peacefully asleep, Kaen stepped back as Solaryna flapped her wings, the air around them trembling with magical force. The Phoenix's eyes burned with golden fire.

“Hold on tight,” Solaryna said, gathering the children gently in her talons and wrapping her radiant wings around Kaen.

Kaen gave one final glance at the place that had been her home for so long. “Goodbye... South Kingdom.”

With a mighty cry, Solaryna took flight into the glowing circle of the secret portal. As they passed through, the chamber burst into flame-light and vanished into silence, leaving no trace behind.

The Next Morning…

A loud knock echoed through the queen’s chamber door.

“My Queen? Are you awake?” the young maid called out anxiously. “My Queen?!”

No answer.

She frowned. That was strange.

“...My Queen, forgive me I'm coming in.”

She slowly opened the door only to find the room completely empty.

Her eyes widened in panic.

She ran to the prince and princess's chamber but they too were missing.

She screamed.

Moments later…

The maid burst into the training yard where the Chief General was instructing young guards.

“General! GENERAL! The queen Renji Arya they’re gone!”

The general’s face hardened instantly. “What?”

“They’re missing, sir!”

Within minutes, palace bells began to ring. The general stormed into the queen’s chambers, searching for any sign clothing, notes, footprints. But there was nothing.

He turned to the castle guards. “Seal the exits. No one leaves the palace! Search every room, every hallway!”

The news spread like wildfire across the capital.

“The Queen is missing!”
“Prince Renji and Princess Arya are gone!”
“No word... no signs... no farewell...”

Panic gripped the people. The streets filled with anxious whispers and terrified looks. Without their queen, their future felt uncertain.

Council members gathered that same day, hastily calling a National Meeting of the South Region.

Inside the grand council hall, the elder slammed his staff on the stone floor. “Order! Order! This is a national emergency!”

The royal advisor stood. “The queen’s disappearance could mean sabotage... or betrayal... or a message.”

The general shook his head, clenching his fists. “I refuse to believe she fled. Not without reason. She must have known something we didn’t...”

But doubt stirred in the hall.

And while the South scrambled for answers...

Far beyond the kingdom’s borders, in a glowing dimension of magic firelight and hidden sanctuary, Kaen, Renji, Arya, and Lady Solaryna the First of the Flame Sky Kingdom stepped into a new world.

Unseen. Unknown. And hunted

A Queen’s Silent Sacrifice…….

Inside the towering marble Council Dome, voices clashed like swords.

“We cannot have a ruler vanish without warning!”

“Where is the queen?! This is a betrayal!”

“The people are panicking we need answers!”

The room echoed with the fury of concerned leaders and elders. The Chief General, pacing, slammed his fist against the table. “Silence won’t protect us. We are vulnerable now!”

But then, with quiet authority, one of the oldest National Chief Elders, robed in deep violet and silver, slowly rose from his seat.

He tapped his staff once against the floor.

"Order in the palace."

The entire hall fell silent, all eyes turning to him. His eyes, tired yet sharp, scanned every face in the room. Then he took a long breath and spoke.

"The queen's disappearance... is not desertion."

Whispers rippled.

He raised a hand to quiet them again.

"Her actions were... a sacrifice."

A louder gasp spread across the room.

“What do you mean?” someone demanded.

He looked at the assembly gravely. “You all know the truth. The war with the North isn’t over. Their king’s plot has always been clear to erase the bloodline of King Raiku. To crush the hope of our land by destroying its heart.”

He held up a scroll.

"We have proof of this. Plans. Motives. Movement. The Queen knew this too."

Eyes widened. A few elders stood in disbelief.

"Queen Kaen did not flee. She protected us."

The elder placed a hand over his chest.

"As long as she and her children remain here, this land is in danger. So she made the choice no one else could make—she left."

"She risked her own life, and that of her children... to save all of ours."

The chamber fell deathly silent. Then one by one members of the council lowered their heads, tears in their eyes.

A councilwoman whispered, “Why… why would she bear that pain alone?”

Another replied, “Because she is our Queen.”

Moments later, the Chief General stood, fist over his chest.

"Let this truth not spread beyond our walls. It must remain confidential—for her safety. But let us never forget this act."

Then, across the South Region, in secret yet united spirit, prayers rose like wind to the heavens. Farmers, soldiers, mothers, children each one bowed their heads.

“May Queen Kaen and the royal children be safe... until the fire of the South burns bright once more.”

And so, while the South mourned quietly and prepared in silence, a legend began to form…

Of a queen who vanished into shadows…

To guard the light of her people.

That night, the South lit lanterns across every village, each one glowing softly under the stars. They floated into the sky like tiny suns, carrying the hopes and tears of a kingdom.

In the wind, some swore they could hear her name carried faintly.

“Kaen…”

Far beyond the kingdom’s borders, deep in a forest of glowing trees and silence, Solaryna’s wings shimmered like stardust as she flew high, carrying her queen and her children through a blazing portal of golden fire.

Kaen looked back one last time.

Tears welled in her eyes.

“Forgive me, Raiku. I’ll protect them. I’ll protect your dream…”

In a flash of feathers and flame, they vanished into the unknown.

The legend had begun.

End of Chapter Two
Season 3: Whispers of the New Dawn Coming Soon