Chapter 1: Ashes of the Past

Hyjal gasped awake, her lungs burning as she choked on the thick smoke filling the air. Her head throbbed, and as she pushed herself up on trembling arms, she felt the rough bite of stone and splintered wood beneath her palms. Dust and ash clung to her violet skin, mixing with streaks of blood from unseen wounds.

She barely remembered the moment before—only the deafening roar of the earth breaking apart, the sudden collapse of her cell as the world itself seemed to shatter. And now… silence. An awful, endless silence.

Blinking through the haze, she forced herself to stand. The prison was gone. The market streets, the homes, the temples—gone. A twisted wreckage of wood, stone, and bodies stretched as far as she could see. The sky, once a serene, eternal blue, was now choked in a thick, undulating blanket of black smoke. Crimson light flickered through the clouds, casting the land in eerie, hellish hues.

Then it hit her. Her sister.

Her heart pounded, drowning out the crackle of distant flames. Without a second thought, she broke into a sprint, ignoring the sharp protests of her battered body. Her sister had been waiting for her, curled up in their hidden alcove, the tiny space they called home. She was small. Helpless. Alone.

Hyjal pushed forward, leaping over charred beams, skidding across loose gravel. The once-familiar streets were no longer streets. Buildings had crumbled into unrecognizable piles, alleyways had collapsed in on themselves. Every step sent jagged pain lancing up her legs, but she didn’t stop. She couldn’t stop. Not now.

The sound of her own breath was deafening in her ears. No voices. No cries. No whispers of life. It was as if the entire world had been wiped away, leaving only Hyjal and the fire that consumed everything in its path.

She refused to believe it. Her sister was waiting. She had to be waiting.

Tears blurred her vision as she ran, stumbling over debris, pushing through the suffocating smoke. She tried to picture her—tried to summon the warmth of her small hands, the innocent glimmer of her eyes. But the more she ran, the more that image was swallowed by the all-consuming void around her.

She tripped. Her legs gave out, and she collapsed into the ashen ruins of what had once been their home. The breath was ripped from her lungs as she landed hard, pain flaring in her ribs. She didn’t get up.

The silence crushed her. She buried her face in her hands, curling into herself, the weight of the loss pressing down until she could no longer contain it. A raw, anguished scream tore from her throat, splitting the dead air, echoing into the nothingness that surrounded her.

"Syndia!"

The name shattered against the ruins, unanswered.

She sobbed until her voice broke, her body convulsing with grief. The night had stolen everything from her. Her home. Her sister. Her purpose.

And yet, she was still here.

Alone.