The Fireborn Chronicles: The Lost Maiden

Epilogue: The Blazing King

Two months after Undyne left Czésta, she finally arrived at the forgotten land of fire. 

Undyne had crossed the Aonhun Mountains, which led south to the Ashen Mountains. The Ashen mountains were shaded in black, and they ranged from Morkazaan's land to Az Vavuk, the land of the Orcs. She could already tell that the air was clouded with ash and smoke, and these dry residues made Undyne cough a couple of times. 

She already did not fancy the region, as it felt like a desert of fire. Undyne could also observe landforms that looked like mountains in the distance, but she couldn't tell what they were. They didn't look like normal mountains since they had a circular peak instead of a triangular one.

"They are called volcanoes," a voice said to Undyne as if he was reading her mind. 

Undyne turned around, noticing Veran standing behind her with a couple of men behind him. Undyne noticed that these men were wearing heavy black armor that looked to be made of wood. 

"These volcanoes are where we create our Fireborn," Veran explained. "They are the symbol of the pride of our kingdom. Without them, we are nothing."

"I see," Undyne remarked, as she had to admit that these volcanoes looked very fascinating. "And what is that black wood armor that your men are wearing? I've never seen that type of wood before."

Veran laughed at her question, and he walked over to one of his men, knocking on the armor with his knuckles. As he did so, the sound of the armor rang through Undyne's ears. It sounded like metal.

"This is called ebony armor," Veran said. "It comes from the black trees of Mrkayu, or the Deadwoods, which is also home to the Warg tribe. They offered this ebony wood for our blacksmiths to forge into armor, and it is almost as tough as steel."

Undyne discerned from his statement that many things here were unique from everywhere else in Czahunlia. If she could take over this land, she could become one of the most powerful rulers in all of Czahunlia.

"I see that you have not failed your task," Veran stated as he was looking at the chest of gold. "That must be where the five-hundred golden coins are, I presume?" 

Undyne gestured to the chest with a smirk, as she knew that she had succeeded with her plan. "Have a look yourself," she responded. 

Veran told his men to open the chest, and their sets of armor rattled as they walked. Once they opened it, there lay the gold as Undyne promised. She had used five of the gold to pay for the trip to Magistrodt, but she figured that they wouldn't notice. Besides, four hundred and ninety-five gold wasn't bad either.

"It seems the gold is here, commander," one of the soldiers told Veran. 

"Good, very good," Veran said with a smile.

Veran ordered his men to carry the chest with them on their way, as they were about to move out. As the soldiers moved along with the hefty chest, Undyne and Veran walked along an eroding path that would lead to the kingdom of ashes.

"What does this gold do for my rank in the army?" Undyne asked Veran.

She was curious as to how far up in the ranks she would be. Perhaps Undyne could be a commander just like him, but she especially wanted to be one working for Krvohen. He was going to be the lord she would take out first. Vulcan and Blazen could come after that.

"Well, I suppose you'll be a very valuable asset to the Blazing King considering that you're a blood mage," Veran answered. "We don't have many mages in our army anyway." 

Veran trailed off in thought for a little bit, and then it looked like he had found an answer for Undyne. While continuing to press several fingers to his brain, Veran stared at Undyne differently than before.