Chapter I: The Sigil Burns He awoke choking on ash. His eyes snapped open to a sky veiled in soot, the trees above him gnarled like skeletal hands reaching to strangle the stars. The world smelled of fire long dead, of secrets scorched into the earth. He coughed hard, spat black, and sat up with a start. His hands trembled. His right palm burned. It wasn’t fire. Not anymore. It was etched—a circular