Ash on the Bridge
The morning after the storm was silent, but for the river.
Its grey water curled slow beneath the bridge, licking at the stones as if to wash them clean of the night before.
It could not.
Boldolph lay there still, fur wet, eyes closed in the peace of warriors who never feared death. Morrigan was beside him, her flank pressed against his as though she had refused to fall alone.
Taranis did not kneel. He stood apart, a horn of bitter mead in one hand, the other wrapped around the haft of his spear. His brothers spoke words over the dead the kind of words that should have meant something but the high warlord’s gaze was elsewhere. Past the pyres, past the valley, toward the ridges where the enemy had come.
The smell of charred wood and dragon’s breath lingered. Somewhere above the clouds, the great wings of Pendragon and Tairneanach were gone to ash or exile. He could feel the absence as a wound.
When the flames took the wolves, he drank deep. When the ashes scattered on the wind, he did not look back.
That night, in the hall of Ignis, Lore spoke of rebuilding. Draven spoke of the Ring’s oaths. Drax spoke of vengeance.
Taranis said nothing until the room had emptied.
Then, to the empty benches, he muttered, “The Ring is cracked. And cracks spread.”
Outside, the moon rode high. In its light, a man in a blackened cloak rode from Emberhelm with no banner and no blessing only a storm sigil scratched into his shield with the point of a knife.
The Black Shields had begun.
2025 Emma Hewitt. All rights reserved.
This story and all characters within the StormborneLore world are the original creation of Emma Hewitt. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the author, except in the case of brief quotations used in reviews or scholarly works.
The Chronicles of the Gold Ring… Chapter One
The Chronicles of the Gold Ring Chapter Two
The Chronicles of the Gold Ring Chapter Three.
The Chronicles of the Gold Ring Chapter Four.
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