Ash of the Founders

Seven will enter the Tournament. Not all are meant to survive. One was never meant to wake.

In the land of Xaveria, the Tournament of the Eightfold is a sacred ceremony where the Champions of each kingdom compete under the eyes of Gods long silent-dead to some.

But underneath the pageantry lies a crumbling pact, a truth buried in ash and ritual.

A forgotten aristocrat son, hidden behind wealth and wit, thrust into the arena as a pawn in a game he never asked to play. A fugitive, running from a bloodline she can longer bear, seeking to disappear but discovering that fate has other plans. An exile, bound to a power older than almost the Gods themselves, forced into the tournament before she can learn why. A nameless orphan, chosen by lottery, a token in a game where no one can afford to be forgotten.

As ancient forces stir and elemental magic falters, alliances shift, secrets bleed, and death stalks the sand. The Tournament will crown a victor. But it may awaken something far worse.

The Gods sleep. Something else does not.