Title: The Ashes of Velmoria Once, the kingdom of Velmoria shone like a jewel between the Storming Peaks and the Amethyst Sea. Its banners-woven with golden thread and bearing the sun crest-fluttered across five provinces, each ruled by a noble house sworn to Queen Elirya Velmorne, the last of her name. She was said to speak with the wind, tame fire with a glance, and see into men's hearts as if reading a book laid open. But no kingdom burns forever with glory. And some flames, once left to flicker alone, can wither into smoke. --- It began with whispers-small things, barely noticed at first. Farmers near the border of House Irondale reported strange lights in the woods. Livestock vanished, and trees bled sap as black as pitch. The court mage, Lysarion, dismissed it as superstition. He was more concerned with his experiments, stitching bone and shadow beneath the royal crypts. Elirya's council had grown old and tired. They feared the queen's curiosity, her growing closeness to the mage whose eyes glowed faintly with a sickly blue hue. When she extended her reign beyond the normal rites-refusing to name an heir despite being barren-the nobility began to stir. Then came the Ninth Eclipse. A day without sun. Not just hidden by clouds, but gone. The sky turned violet. Birds screamed and dropped dead in mid-flight. In the western province of Yll, children were born with milky white eyes and teeth like needles. And then...the dead began to walk. Queen Elirya, far from panicking, welcomed it. She called it The Renewal. She stood on the balcony of Velmoria's high tower, her voice booming unnaturally, and proclaimed that death was no longer the end. Her people would be eternal. But not all souls rose. Only the loyal, or the damned. Knights who had died in her name returned with their armor fused to rotting flesh. They called her the Mother of Return. Cities fell not to invasion, but to internal collapse. People fled in horror from their once-dead loved ones, twisted now into loyal, wordless husks. House Irondale rebelled first. They marched upon the capital with twelve thousand spears-and were met by five thousand of the queen's fallen. In one night, the grasslands blackened. The Irondale lords were flayed, resurrected, and bound by iron chains to serve in the queen's court. Elirya did not age. Her hair remained dark as raven feathers, her eyes glowing softly with blue fire. Her kingdom was no longer ruled, but haunted. And she, enthroned among corpses and whispering shadows, ruled alone. --- It is said that deep beneath the ruins of Velmoria, in catacombs lit by candles made from human tallow, her voice still echoes. That she speaks to the bones of her court, giving counsel to those who can no longer speak. And that the mage Lysarion lives still, fused now into the throne itself, his body a lattice of bone and vine, his consciousness spread like roots through the kingdom's dead soil. Velmoria did not fall in the way kingdoms usually do. It withered, mutated, transcended. And in its stillness, it waits. For another eclipse. For another chance.
Once, the kingdom of Velmoria shone like a jewel between the Storming Peaks and the Amethyst Sea. Its banners-woven with golden thread and bearing the sun crest-fluttered across five provinces, each ruled by a noble house sworn to Queen Elirya Velmorne, the last of her name. She was said to speak with the wind, tame fire with a glance, and see into men's hearts as if reading a book laid open.
But no kingdom burns forever with glory. And some flames, once left to flicker alone, can wither into smoke.
---
It began with whispers-small things, barely noticed at first. Farmers near the border of House Irondale reported strange lights in the woods. Livestock vanished, and trees bled sap as black as pitch. The court mage, Lysarion, dismissed it as superstition. He was more concerned with his experiments, stitching bone and shadow beneath the royal crypts.
Elirya's council had grown old and tired. They feared the queen's curiosity, her growing closeness to the mage whose eyes glowed faintly with a sickly blue hue. When she extended her reign beyond the normal rites-refusing to name an heir despite being barren-the nobility began to stir.
Then came the Ninth Eclipse.
A day without sun. Not just hidden by clouds, but gone. The sky turned violet. Birds screamed and dropped dead in mid-flight. In the western province of Yll, children were born with milky white eyes and teeth like needles. And then...the dead began to walk.
Queen Elirya, far from panicking, welcomed it. She called it The Renewal. She stood on the balcony of Velmoria's high tower, her voice booming unnaturally, and proclaimed that death was no longer the end. Her people would be eternal.
But not all souls rose. Only the loyal, or the damned. Knights who had died in her name returned with their armor fused to rotting flesh. They called her the Mother of Return. Cities fell not to invasion, but to internal collapse. People fled in horror from their once-dead loved ones, twisted now into loyal, wordless husks.
House Irondale rebelled first. They marched upon the capital with twelve thousand spears-and were met by five thousand of the queen's fallen. In one night, the grasslands blackened. The Irondale lords were flayed, resurrected, and bound by iron chains to serve in the queen's court.
Elirya did not age. Her hair remained dark as raven feathers, her eyes glowing softly with blue fire. Her kingdom was no longer ruled, but haunted. And she, enthroned among corpses and whispering shadows, ruled alone.
---
It is said that deep beneath the ruins of Velmoria, in catacombs lit by candles made from human tallow, her voice still echoes. That she speaks to the bones of her court, giving counsel to those who can no longer speak. And that the mage Lysarion lives still, fused now into the throne itself, his body a lattice of bone and vine, his consciousness spread like roots through the kingdom's dead soil.
Velmoria did not fall in the way kingdoms usually do.
It withered, mutated, transcended.
And in its stillness, it waits.
For another eclipse.
For another chance.
6 years ago, Lydia suffered a brutal betrayal orchestrated by her own husband and step-sister, who drugged her and framed her. In a twist of fate, she ended up having a one-night stand with a stranger. Don't even remember what he looked like. Later, in the throes of death, she discovered the truth about her mother's death all those years ago. In the blink of an eye, she lost everything. 6 years later, Lydia returned with her genius son, vowing to exact revenge on all her enemies! Little did she know, she encountered an incredibly familiar man at the airport! *** The man was briskly pushing open the door to the restroom, heading to the urinal. Even with such a mundane action, he did it with unparalleled elegance and grace. Lydia, following him in a daze, saw his fierce lower body and suddenly snapped back to reality. She let out a high-pitched scream, instinctively covering her eyes with her hands, her cheeks flushed, and stood there stiffly, unsure of what to do. Lambert furrowed his brows slightly but remained calm as he continued to relieve himself. The sound of water hitting the urinal made Lydia's face even redder. She angrily shouted, "You pervert!" Little did Lydia know that Lambert, seeing her in this state, had a flicker of recognition in his eyes. Memories from many years ago flashed through his mind, and his heart couldn't help but stir. It was her!
"There will be no falling in love, we will only act as a loving couple when we are in public, we will share a room to make it believable, but no intimacy, touching is off-limits. We'll only have sex once a month, and that's solely to produce an heir. You won't interfere in my business, and I won't interfere in yours. You will be my wife in every sense and you will not be involved with any other man," he said, arrogance seeping from every word. I watch his mouth move, I'm not ready to fall in love with any man, especially not one as arrogant and egoistic as him. I can handle acting as a loving couple, and as for intimacy once a month. I can agree to that just to satisfy my sexual cravings with no strings attached. "Where can I sign?" I asked since I had nothing to lose. *** Nadine's wedding dreams turned to nightmares when she caught her sister and fiancé cheating! With a secret recording, she's ready for revenge. But then mysterious billionaire Logan West offers a deal: A Contract Marriage to take down her ex's empire. But what Nadine doesn't know is her life is getting complicated as she takes her chance to get revenge or risks everything for a chance at love?"
"Never let anyone treat you like shit!" I learned that the hard way. For three years, I lived with my in-laws. They didn't treat me as their son-in-law but as a slave. I put up with everything because of my wife, Yolanda Lambert. She was the light of my life. Unfortunately, my whole world came crashing down the day I caught my wife cheating on me. I have never been so heartbroken. To have my revenge, I revealed my true identity. I was none other than Liam Hoffman—the heir of a family with trillions of dollars in assets! The Lamberts were utterly shocked after the big reveal. They realized what fools they had been for treating me like trash. My wife even knelt down and begged for my forgiveness. What do you think I did? Did I take her back or made her suffer? Find out!
Belinda thought after divorce, they would part ways for good - he could live his life on his own terms, while she could indulge in the rest of hers. However, fate had other plans in store. "My darling, I was wrong. Would you please come back to me?" The man, whom she once loved deeply, lowered his once proud head humbly. "I beg you to return to me." Belinda coldly pushed away the bouquet of flowers he had offered her and coolly replied, "It's too late. The bridge has been burned, and the ashes have long since scattered to the wind!"
There was only one man in Raegan's heart, and it was Mitchel. In the second year of her marriage to him, she got pregnant. Raegan's joy knew no bounds. But before she could break the news to her husband, he served her divorce papers because he wanted to marry his first love. After an accident, Raegan lay in the pool of her own blood and called out to Mitchel for help. Unfortunately, he left with his first love in his arms. Raegan escaped death by the whiskers. Afterward, she decided to get her life back on track. Her name was everywhere years later. Mitchel became very uncomfortable. For some reason, he began to miss her. His heart ached when he saw her all smiles with another man. He crashed her wedding and fell to his knees while she was at the altar. With bloodshot eyes, he queried, "I thought you said your love for me is unbreakable? How come you are getting married to someone else? Come back to me!"
Linsey was stood up by her groom to run off with another woman. Furious, she grabbed a random stranger and declared, "Let's get married!" She had acted on impulse, realizing too late that her new husband was the notorious rascal, Collin. The public laughed at her, and even her runaway ex offered to reconcile. But Linsey scoffed at him. "My husband and I are very much in love!" Everyone thought she was delusional. Then Collin was revealed to be the richest man in the world. In front of everyone, he got down on one knee and held up a stunning diamond ring. "I look forward to our forever, honey."