The Ember Ashes
Orc warrior of the Ashborn clan. Forge-master’s son. The one thing the infection never predicted — a grief so total it became fire.
“The fire does not forgive. It does not forget. It burns until there is nothing left to burn — including itself.”
Portrait TBA
The Ember Ashes • Ashborn Orc
Forge-master’s son of the Ashborn clan, the proudest Orc settlement on the volcanic rim. When the signal consumed his entire clan in a single night — silencing the Shardhowl mid-note — the communal resonance chamber in his chest did not collapse. It ignited. Ember walks the ash plains wrapped in living fire fuelled by absence, forging constructs from wreckage and scorching every trace of the signal’s infection.
“My clan walked into the dark in silence. I walked into the dark burning.”
Origin & Lore
The Ashborn were the proudest clan of the volcanic rim. Their clan-hold sat in the caldera of a dead volcano, its walls carved with the names of every Ashborn who had ever lived. The Shardhowl echoed off canyon walls every evening. When the infection reached the volcanic rim, the Shardhowl stopped mid-note. Ember climbed from the lower forges and saw his entire clan walking in perfect lockstep toward the crater’s horizon. His father’s hands, scarred from sixty years of metalwork, hung relaxed at his sides. A child of six waved — not goodbye, but an invitation. He held on until dawn. Then his hands gave out.
An Orc without a clan does not fully exist. The communal resonance chamber where the Shardhowl had lived — suddenly emptied of every voice — did not collapse. It ignited. Living flame erupted from his hands, his arms, his tusks. It burned the colour of grief: deep, aching amber. The fire replaced what the signal had taken. Survivors found him and became the Ember Ashes. Not a faction. A furnace.
Inside the Maw, the signal showed him his clan as they were now: components. His father’s forge-rhythm beating in time with ten million absorbed minds. The signal had studied how clan-bonds worked, using that knowledge to make the next clan fall faster. Join us, whispered his father’s stolen voice. Ember’s reply was a roar — not a Shardhowl, something rawer. His forging hand drove into the Maw’s core. The land became glassed obsidian. The infection hesitated for the first time in its ancient history.
Deck Identity
Four trap slots make Ember the second-best trap user after Boon. Flash Fire, Cinder Trap, and Maw Trigger create a minefield.
Low-cost allies flood the board, dealing damage on arrival. His constructs hit hard and burn out — expendable fury built from wreckage.
Hero ability deals 5 direct damage and gives all allies +2 ATK. A devastating swing. Cooldown 2 turns.
Actions scale from 5 damage at cost 1 to 30 damage at cost 7. The question is never whether Ember can kill you — it’s whether he can do it before running out of cards.
Interactive
Spread fire from the centre to reach the void targets in the corners. Click cells adjacent to burning cells. Earn Ash Essence to unlock lore.
Unlockables
Deck Preview
Ally
Cost 1 · ATK 2 · HP 1
On play: deal 2 damage to enemy Shield. Fast, expendable, Orc fury in miniature.
Action
Cost 6
Deal 25 damage. If Shield below 15, deal 35 instead. Desperation is fuel.
Trap
Cost 3 · Reaction
When opponent plays an Action: deal 10 damage. The Maw remembers.
Ally
Cost 5 · ATK 6 · HP 5
On play: deal damage equal to allies x3. The more he commits, the harder he hits.
Ember burns fast; Virelia heals slow. Can his scorch damage outpace her root regeneration? Virelia’s anti-heal mechanics don’t affect Ember — he doesn’t heal, he burns. But Thornwall and Heartwood Titan absorb his early aggro. Past turn 8, Virelia wins. Before that, the ash plains claim another.