![[Zar.png]] ^[Illustrated by [[Aerbeald Rewis]]] In [[Cinder Veins]] one encounters the lingering truth of **Zar**, _the Emberwomb_. I use “truth” pointedly, for Zar is less a matter of belief than of encounter. Those who descend into the molten channels feel him, if they survive. Zar is flame incarnate, not in the way of wildfire, but of purpose — fire as judge, fire as midwife. His form, when rendered, is that of a towering humanoid bathed in endless combustion, skin like smoldering bronze, eyes twin crucibles. His crown is fire, and his breath is ash. To the Forged and Flamebound cults, he is the forge made flesh — the god who melts away the weak to reveal the worthy. Even the engineers whisper prayers before deep-drilling near the lava shelves; none wish to provoke the Emberwomb.