Then his gaze settled on Timmy—sharper. Knowing.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiUSxjx2mDS
“This war ends when the two-headed falcon is made whole by the world-walker.”
The fire seemed to dim; the air thickened.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRRpTRtXYJ3
“Do you remember our first meeting?” Emrys asked.
Timmy nodded slowly.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrRtFdgIWZE
“Hard to forget. You saved us. Me and Spud.”
“That day,” Emrys said, “you began your walk through fire. You’ve only seen its edge. What’s inside you is more than steel. Enough to crack magic and stone.”
Timmy’s breath caught. He didn’t move.
Emrys’s voice softened, like wind through dead leaves.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGUH3TTAiN6
“Your path is yours. Tread steady. Trust your gut. Every step spins the wheel.”
Then—he vanished.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbkdoz8onLy
No shimmer. No sound.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl2jfjJVxAY
Just absence.
The fire whispered.
Timmy stood still.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhG6Jwz9qO1
Fatigue. Fear.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoS8uECDEAV
Hope’s bitter echo.
Elron murmured beside him, voice low and gravel-deep,17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYpTp4LJn8c
“That hammer’s head… might be the Forge of Kulmorn. Four days east o’ here.”
He stayed close, solid as mountain stone.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGkfNZY289T
“You holdin’ up, lad?”
Timmy didn’t answer. His eyes stayed on the flames.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfshEYkwCly
“He’s alive.”17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ68SGXvxqPm
No doubt. No hope.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjvFFcA2uv8
A vow.
Darwin stepped into the glow, his voice hushed.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6OxLezjUZB
“That was him?”
Like a boy speaking to thunder—awed, not afraid.
Doonrul scratched his beard, eyes wide, grin creeping across his face.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOA4U6DQMCZ
“Was that a dream? Smoke an’ stories?”17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7S4dIK3OFD
He laughed, low and rough.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXN2YjTf67a
“Or maybe I’m just gettin’ soft in me old age.”17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWD9QAqobmh
He gave the fire a nod.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAVT215DBf8
“If that was a dream, it was one hell of a tale.”
Timmy didn’t stir.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmohmSpE9Ed
His face was stone, the firelight dancing in his eyes.
“Riddles,” he muttered. “Always riddles.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiadzinMC1h
I just wish he’d be clear. Especially about Spud.”
*
Micah stepped beside the cracked fountain.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU6lTSzLjml
His voice gentled.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOEYqGmQfjl
“They deserve better.”
Spud nodded.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVuoqWU2xNO
The words lit something small and breakable inside him.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqtBNfQV86F
A fragile light.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNYHGpTy7Q4
But it trembled.
His thoughts stuttered—17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBxXnJrOdNK
Alexi.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvGqXhMZIUE
Still bleeding.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtXq3CLbcaL
Still gasping.
Shadows cooled the stones beneath his feet.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNPnauNSwVZ
Pain coiled in his core, tugging him toward collapse.
And then—darkness.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp81h1jo5sm
His vision frayed.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbdbqgHXpkA
His mind slipped—
—back, three months ago—17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc72RNol5OV
to his first day in the compound.
No iron. No armed guards.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVz4P4keyS5
Just a carved archway rising like myth, flanked by stone sentinels locked in silence.
It hadn’t felt like entering.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZyXgeykDAV
More like crossing into story.
Dragons coiled beside centaurs, warriors frozen mid-charge.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHMcnp8xnRr
Each carving whispered a tale.
Spud had stared too long.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVfIq7vN7tg
Awe gave way to unease.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLwxEcuuFXc
The carvings looked too real.
Beyond that arch lay rope and timber.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3MtJD41fMS
A camp built not to cage, but to endure.
Fences meandered modestly, more ritual than restraint.
Why didn’t anyone run?17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡihP5Z14Zat
It wasn’t just fear.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0WgMGxGhwD
Something deeper held them.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPK05FAK6GX
Harder to name.
Now—bloodied, seen—Spud stood closer to the answer.
The compound’s boundary wasn’t a prison.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpioh2NM5Bi
It was sacred.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3mAkdJ973n
Symbolic.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCelRHzUACR
A line carved into memory.
No chains held the people.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ77XAmaYUtM
But still—they stayed.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYCu6H87r16
Starved. Beaten. Rooted.
He remembered whispers from the barracks:17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKx99Rpoo57
Stories of vanished homes.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrv89DlaUVE
Fathers who went silent.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf2tJig6PrK
Histories too fragile to speak aloud.
Maybe the land held them.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ12LWnTIcMT
Maybe the forgetting did.
And yet—17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSYs5FSKlgf
Despite everything—17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsW2Ate9r7P
the swamp shimmered.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfv1tuzJFfS
The trees breathed.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6dGJpbbAe6
The colors sang.
Even suffering had a strange elegance here.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTnFYN2S2xV
A hush braided to longing.
The beauty didn’t hide the pain.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFKz622UaKk
It dignified it.
Not every prison needs a lock, Spud thought.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4Aq7xt56ns
Some hide their bars in beauty.
Micah’s gaze darkened.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlv4x28G3T1
He glanced toward Abaddon and Haniel—then back at Spud.
“We cannot allow such a tragedy to repeat.”
The words landed like a tide over bruised sand.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5m2wbLwVzb
He understands, Spud thought.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOdR83w8cxe
A flicker of something bloomed beneath the ache.
As he neared the central structure, something inside him stilled.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHwWuMQ2e8v
Reverence.
His mind wandered again.
The central building rose—not hostile, but monumental.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJdwrqV5yBb
Every beam hummed with memory.
Sunlight grazed layered carvings—17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9TBWgvEHKz
myths upon myths,17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTJgFYN7Bwr
battles, dragons, prayers—17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRsxlFcfbVd
stories nested inside stories.
Even the bamboo seemed deliberate.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmtzCK6EKzQ
Red and green stalks—some blurred between—pierced the architecture like veins,17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3HrRzkuhSq
carrying the lifeblood of a memory too deep to die.
Soldiers revealed hidden passageways—17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsYt8DTDN7t
timber peeling back with elegant precision.
Tiered roofs gleamed like frozen waves.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkCMAO4XrfM
Mastery lived in every edge.
Beyond, gardens unfurled.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2MIT2Iy2lz
Sculpted trees, mist spilling from fountains onto water lilies.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSFMGfCAKF2
Streams wove through riotous bursts of fern and bloom.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0QP8AAeIBv
Even the water felt sentient.
Statues of serpents and leaping fish stood caught mid-motion—17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1ENDeOZiQY
so finely carved Spud nearly believed they breathed.
Raised on wells and barrels, Spud had never known water as poetry.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOO7ZwCcg19
But here, fountains didn’t just flow—17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaS6Eby3kRV
they sang.
The gardens stretched wide—untamed, yet intentional in every twist and path.
Merchant homes emerged modestly, gracefully.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7vEl4zJzBP
Goods were displayed without greed.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9dm6b6md1i
No shouting.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyZr9nEElgz
No haggling.
Guards walked like shadows—there for protection, not control.
Then—17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbvjMQZ2ghL
Lacard and Miluna arrived.
No trumpet. No call.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWmG5iy4aWe
Only a shift in gravity.
Lacard, hunched and silver-haired, wore his age like armor.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjdZ0DSHORp
Each crease on his face marked a battle survived.
Miluna, golden-haired and serene, moved with quiet conviction—17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPSr3LrT59n
a calm counterpoint to the swamp’s brutal truths.
“My lord,” Lacard rasped, voice weathered but sure,17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6tBmOD0EtM
“Miluna and I are ready to serve.”
Miluna bowed. Her voice was soft, but unwavering:17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYn8UbB5MND
“However small the need, I’ll meet it fully.”
Micah nodded once.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrpxLLb8skl
No flourish. No performance.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOUgyZgLZyn
Just acceptance.
His mind drifted—17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg1HFxzd55e
back to his first day on this planet.
Then—17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmN6F18rdlS
laughter.
Children’s shrieks spilled through bamboo and sun-dappled stone.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4rzupT9S7E
Spud stopped, chest tight.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvNnEAuatDm
The sound wasn’t just noise.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTJrprzcnoZ
It was hope.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9WXq7hkzqp
A thread woven with memory.
Would Timmy ever laugh like that again?
He stood between wonder and sorrow,17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz0rKSYGJN5
the wind shifting like breath between broken sentences.
“You will lead the medical team for the slave sector,” Micah said—calm, anchoring.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5CJKh2cp1s
“This is a promotion. A sacrifice—I know. But a necessary one.”
Lacard straightened.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6jCrX2hv29
The weight of command settled across his shoulders like an old cloak rediscovered.
“Miluna is my most skilled and loyal student,” he said. “We’re honored.”17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCPp5jCJ6Rc
His gaze sharpened.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu1muj4dqSt
“Concerns can wait. Loyalty cannot.”
Miluna stepped toward Spud.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIdJjgOOu4l
She slipped his arm across her shoulders and lifted him—17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwrpslbubB7
not as though he was filthy,17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtkYNPBkIo4
not as though he was broken,17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKt6eSlAbeq
but as though he mattered.
Her tenderness landed where kindness rarely dared.
A wave of gratitude welled beneath his exhaustion.
“Show me your room,” she said.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ72sNPqoLhe
It wasn’t loud.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡta8BqNVE5O
But it was law.
Lacard watched—torn between concern and pride.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5pDGguGt5u
Her quiet command might have unsettled other overseers,17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2TNyRRxV2r
but Micah only nodded—accepting her like stone accepts rain.
Lacard stepped forward.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhDeSMK6WRX
“My lord,” he asked quietly, “how far does my authority reach?”
Micah didn’t hesitate.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9eS3PEsu84
“You have my trust. Wield it wisely.”17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNUA9Nk2s9U
Then, with finality:17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS1UOmK0wji
“You command these quarters. You answer only to me.”
Lacard bowed.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaiLFW1LAbU
Not from fear—but resolve.
Miluna whispered soft comforts as she guided Spud to his bed.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8DHCJXRJ75
Her hands moved like memory.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiiIMVNZeku
Pain ebbed beneath their touch.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9nPNwIgpTK
He sank back—eyes half-lidded, breath shallow.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdP8t5KYSK9
Still, something stirred—17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡglMZ1C4PmY
frail, but reaching.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQJraaprd5G
Toward Alexi.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSGRHET7Mcw
Toward freedom.
Micah watched them vanish into the half-light.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQr6i4tqTEW
Shadows swallowed their shapes like ink.
Then he turned.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZxvwnuEFMF
His voice found Abaddon.
“You may resume your duties,” Micah said.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOY6Y34lZer
“But you will not retain command.”
He flicked his fingers.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj0mI7x3TKK
A rhythm tapped against his thigh—measured, but unmistakably dangerous.
“One mistake,” Micah said.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvMcv3Xv1ZI
“And I’ll chain you to this courtyard. Let the slaves spit on you as tribute.”
“Now go.”
Micah exhaled.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQGQLaAJ83n
The words were harsh—but necessary.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlTJlP7VR77
No regret followed.
Abaddon bowed low.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXyCcIFEhYI
But it wasn’t reverence.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcDhhombshz
It was retreat.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLJZSY1lH89
The kind of bend that hides a wound too proud to show.
“Yes, my lord,” he murmured,17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1A3YbbXCcO
dragging his shame behind him like fog.
The courtyard held its breath.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8IuNdRn1Z4
Still. Heavy.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnxgcUS6Sqa
Micah remained, unmoved.
Haniel stood hunched, eyes nailed to the dust.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzXWXQlt8Gi
Micah’s silence crushed more than any shout could.
“My father promoted you three months ago,” he said—calm, but cold.
Haniel tensed.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCG2BzePyur
“Yes, my lord,” he whispered.
*
The fire hissed.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtu5cBysx5c
Smoke curled skyward, swallowed by stars.
Elron and Darwin exchanged a glance—quiet, knowing.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYFrWyEhbd6
Old weight in their eyes. Old wounds, maybe.
Then Darwin asked, voice careful,17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjBDl45WPMp
“So… are you goin’ back to Morjanon?”
Timmy looked at him, puzzled. So did Elron.
Darwin squinted eastward, eyes narrowing.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡusq1YM2vph
“He said the answers’d come in three days,” he muttered. “Did none of ye think…”17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1AXPT0RGuc
He scratched his chin, then pointed with a grunt.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJCJcaQ15Vr
“The head of the hammer… where the mountain first gave in.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaVhaKD3zrI
Where stone said, ‘Aye then, shape me.’”
Elron stiffened.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9gx13NTwek
His gaze turned slow, like granite shifting after a thousand winters.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0ge1YG7pi9
Memory settled in behind his eyes—old, deep, and heavy.
“No,” he rumbled. “Not the Forge. That was my folly.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyXRNQPddJ5
Emrys wasn’t speakin’ of Kulmorn.”
His voice lowered, quieter now, like stone settling into truth.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqDjsAjUaGn
“He meant Morjanon.”
Darwin’s brow lifted.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCcLMrSauh0
“Aye… the true hammer’s head.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYlsxWqP5l8
Where the first throne was cast.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2FM1FtjzXk
Where Drolin stood, and the mountain bent its back in respect.”
Elron let out a long breath.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSMCFDnf902
“Home,” he said—17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq4pXdPxphe
and the firelight caught the edges of memory in his face.
*
Micah didn’t shout. But disappointment unfurled around him like stormclouds.
“You were one of them. A slave.” His gaze burned.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpeHTxAJpPX
“And this is your gratitude?”
There was no room for defense. Micah stepped closer, each word a deliberate cut.
“You are a despicable excuse for a man, Haniel.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyupyNxVOjw
A stain on what leadership could be.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA3WEFiCRFY
Your cruelty is betrayal—not just of them, but of the mercy that raised you.”
Haniel had nothing. The words stripped him bare—left him hollow.
Micah’s composure cracked. His jaw clenched. Fists balled. Then—he breathed. Slow. Deliberate.
“Return to your room,” he commanded.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmAoImHJfDq
“You will not leave. You will not eat. Not until I say.”17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAFMqvy9UBS
His voice hardened, a promise of swift retribution.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEnu486H41H
“Disobey—and I’ll drag you to the dungeon myself.”
Trembling, Haniel bowed deeper, shame cracking through him like ice.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNNv0vuld6A
“Yes, my lord,” he whispered.
“When I’ve decided your fate, I’ll inform you. Now—be gone.”
Haniel stumbled away, stripped of arrogance, dragging guilt like a cloak behind him.
The silence that fell over the compound wasn’t peace.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjxdcepUtrZ
It was pressure—heavy, expectant—like the air before thunder breaks.
Micah stood at its heart.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh7orY6Pdc9
Twilight wrapped around him, a figure sculpted from stillness and storm.
The burdens pressed in: unrest blooming beneath the surface,17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnauc3vcWzk
a father’s waning legacy,17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLB1c1q0zZU
war inching closer,17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpsnuxgrawz
and a bloodline fractured at the core.
Justice and command had fused in him.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhkGQbPyg2A
Mercy no longer stood apart from necessity—he couldn’t tell where one ended and the other began. Only that the weight of both now rested on his shoulders.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9U8GOMts83
Not for glory.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVH4B3f9bQH
Not without fear.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡntZGgfOH6z
But because no one else would bear it.
His gaze flicked to Caltaus and Jof’tin—twin shadows, his will made flesh. A bitter smile tugged at his lips.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRcBfvKTmPB
“Let’s hope Father finds this... tolerable when he returns.”
The smaller sun bled its last light across the cracked fountain rim. Crimson and gold danced on the lilies, floating like fragile survivors.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiC1lrZfHlm
Micah let his fingers trail the worn stone, tracing spiderweb fissures that mirrored the fractures in his world.
Above the water, the statue held its pose: serpent coiled against sword, locked in an eternal stalemate.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡprbUEWYnMJ
Not striking.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjWMF1ooEug
Not yielding.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRcBbzihLtx
A monument to balance—not conquest.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7gyMLXtjr6
A quiet truth carved in silence: some victories come not from force, but from the wisdom to wait.
Micah stared at the stone figures, and something clicked inside him—quiet as a gear settling into place.
Abaddon’s disgrace.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa9eyhzwTRY
Haniel’s imprisonment.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQRIl0RKnaC
Miluna’s defiance.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡucRFFinFIX
Spud’s truth.
They weren’t sparks of rebellion.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMC18sQM12a
They were roots.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK49WBh76PK
Restoration—not revolt—was taking hold.
His breath left him slow and steady. He turned his gaze toward the slave quarters, toward the room where Miluna tended Spud—wounds carved by his father’s justice.
Behind him, Caltaus and Jof’tin stirred, sensing the shift in him.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ99KTQiDCx9
But Micah didn’t move.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwkAMrhXyFl
He held the stillness like a blade between thought and action.
Dusk wrapped around him, unfinished and waiting.
The battles ahead wouldn’t be won with chains or lashes.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1sPXpJFtim
Not here.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO5Wvn4ROBa
Not anymore.
They would unfold in quiet acts—17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlPhp4Duxv9
Kindness bold enough to challenge legacy.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh06IIJDwpI
Trust fragile enough to rebuild a future.
His eyes swept the compound—not for what was, but for what could be shaped.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrFACghNbHZ
A place where survival wasn’t rationed.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBjuJN7IEzr
Where leadership was earned—not inherited.
He spoke to the dark, just above a whisper:17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY3MorMmvJ3
“Can only wait to see if Father approves.”
The words faded into night.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYPeBEXBl7X
Behind him, the sword and serpent stood locked in their silent war.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwBfbb96OYM
And the lilies—blood-touched, half-drowned—held on.
Micah stared out into nothing in particular.
Elsewhere, near the campfire.
*
The flames crackled.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9bkpkEb9qs
Somewhere in the sound, laughter echoed—ghosts in the sparks.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTLils9L0y1
Elron saw her: Despara.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAE5ZKMDbTn
Felt her warmth like a smith’s forge still glowing.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1PifM0ueUT
And his sons, distant but near in blood and bone.
He said nothing.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3F7KQdjpbM
Didn’t need to.
Timmy stilled.
Darwin looked sideways at him, a half-grin tugging his beard.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡks21zmdyNY
“You didn’t catch on?”
Elron gave a grunt and clapped him hard on the shoulder.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR975E9q65S
“Still got a mind sharp enough to carve runes when it matters.”
Darwin grinned wider, cheeks smudged with soot and pride.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUT3HPAjmJK
“Well, someone’s got to keep the old ones on track.”
Elron turned to Timmy.
“Morjanon, eh?” He spat the word like gravel.
“Can’t say I like the sound of it. What d’ye reckon waits atop the King’s Peak?”
Timmy’s eyes stayed on the fire.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMa4WYnJLfC
“I’ll go to Morjanon,” he said.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPJExE4O8rV
“Every step spins the wheel.”
Silence fell. Heavy, but not hollow.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOb6qGOHh7i
The kind that settled in your bones when the truth walked in.
Darwin shifted, fidgeting with the leather strap across his chest.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCOzOhAkbEt
Then—17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ3yMRTJde2
“Da… that thing Emrys said—about some ancient gift. What was he on about?”
Elron’s thick fingers drifted to the haft of his hammer.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm5WxXYcTMA
He rubbed at it like it held memories older than he was.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAg0iuAMLec
Maybe it did.
“Jomolin,” he rumbled.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEzSU3bFzll
“King Drolin’s hammer. You remember the tales? Said it was forged wi’ fire stolen from the world’s belly. Said it remembers every hand that’s held it.”
Darwin’s eyes lit up.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAcCsnYXAez
“Aye! But… I thought that were just old miners’ songs! For scarin’ kids and drunk bards to slur over.”
Elron gave a low grunt, somewhere between a chuckle and a sigh.
“Maybe it is,” Elron said.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5uWU7IUB1N
“But maybe not. I’m not ready to test it.”
*
Back on Witlon.
Rot lingered—but so did bloom.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo9afTkGdV1
The burden of change pressed against his ribs—not the orders already given, but those still unspoken.
Spud’s voice had cracked something open. Not a wound. A doorway.
The threshold beckoned, but Micah remained still. He let the shift settle, soft as ash.
He didn’t need more power. He needed precision.
He turned again toward the quarters—toward the shape of trust, still breathing.
Turning back, his voice barely touched the air:17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDuO7fJwQdK
“Caltaus. Jof’tin.”
Both guards responded instantly—no confusion, no delay.
“Stand watch outside the room where the slaves are being treated. I want silence. Absolute silence.”
Caltaus nodded and moved without question.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNenFCb43xR
Jof’tin hesitated—uncertain.
Micah met his eyes. One glance.
Jof’tin followed, boots whispering against damp stone.
Micah remained.
The statue lingered over him, its meaning heavy on his mind. Balance, not victory. A vow, not a hope.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1TzVFqJ7Zi
He would not strike. He would hold. The world didn’t need more triumph.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrfDgXihmqX
It needed restraint.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQlAv0PoUE1
Even the lilies knew—change didn’t shout. It endured.
Spud stepped into the small shared room with Miluna. It should have felt like sanctuary. Today, it did not.
Lacard slid the wooden door open. The space greeted them with familiar sparseness—ancient beds creaking beneath invisible burdens, worn nightstands standing as silent markers of all that had endured: fear, hope, and stubborn survival.
Spud’s eyes locked onto Alexi.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG8NqKE52nS
Too still.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdJGnoDbKmZ
Limbs limp.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcht1aUXhTR
Breath faint.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmMofZKB1xv
Skin damp with sweat.
That fragile body held every bruise they’d shared, every whispered promise to survive. Now it lay hollow—eyes dim, life flickering.
A tight knot clenched Spud’s chest. He sank onto the bed, the threadbare sheets whispering beneath his weight. Miluna settled beside him, a quiet anchor. His breath came short. The room seemed to shrink.
Still no rise from Alexi’s chest.
Not a refuge. Just a waiting room between hope and loss.
The scuffed floorboards. The cracked walls. No chains, but a cell all the same. Still, they breathed.
Lacard scanned the room slowly, deliberately. Not pity—respect. For what hadn’t broken.
Light from a high window spilled across stone and skin. Miluna opened the door wider, letting in a sliver of gold. A breath of mercy.
Lacard stepped forward, voice low but steady.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpCE3s03eRd
“This is our other patient?”
Spud nodded, ribs tight.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHoT0BJfIPL
“Yeah. That’s Alexi. He’s bad. Can you... help him?”
Lacard knelt by the bed, brow furrowing as he studied the boy’s form. Already reaching for his bag.
Blue fingernails. Clammy brow. Shallow breath. Each sign painted a picture behind the doctor’s eyes. He didn’t touch yet—his fingers hovered, reading the body’s silent language.
Spud clenched the blanket, watching Lacard’s every move. Hoping. Dreading.
Miluna placed a hand on his shoulder.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqqUKNLZo7v
“Let the doctor work.”
Lacard leaned in, voice coaxing.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4Ujq1XGMM7
“Wakey, wakey.”
Alexi stirred.
Spud froze.
“Can you show me where it hurts?” Lacard asked softly. “Do you remember what happened?”
His eyes stayed steady and kind—anchoring.
Alexi’s voice came in fragments, dry and raw. Lacard’s hands moved with practiced care—checking wrist, brow, breath. His questions were sharp, yet gentle. Clinical, yet human.
Miluna’s gaze shifted to Spud.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE8VjdoFvhD
“You’re brave,” she said—quiet, firm.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTt3xauSile
The words unlocked something tight inside him. He exhaled.
Lacard nodded to Alexi.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNacfK9L24y
“You’ve been through a lot. But you’re safe now. We’ll help you heal.”17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzBMtHoTJfb
Then, to Miluna:17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDMMIbeFu8Y
“Two buckets of warm water. Quickly.”
She turned to Spud.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEin3ZMRYS0
“Where’s the water kept?”
“The kitchen,” he muttered. “But it’s locked till tomorrow. Day shift rules.”17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDthm9Ktk1j
She didn’t hesitate. She left.
Lacard placed a steady hand on Alexi’s shoulder.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhIYTzYxMp5
“I need to check your wounds. I’ll be careful. Can you take your shirt off?”
In the low-lit room, healing was more than gauze and cloth—it was Miluna’s quiet resolve, Lacard’s calm, practiced hands. Their presence steadied more than flesh.
Alexi grimaced but obeyed, peeling off the tattered shirt with a shudder.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqNGdrhBnFl
“Well done,” Lacard murmured, easing the fabric away to reveal raw wounds beneath. He gently adjusted the blanket up to Alexi’s ribs.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4CMgtdBMlS
“Lie back. It’ll help you relax.”
Miluna returned, steam curling from the buckets like breath. She knelt beside Spud and got to work.
Warm water touched torn skin. Spud flinched, then stilled. Her hands were steady. Human. Real.
*
Doonrul chuckled, beard twitching.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡssV4rC4naF
“Emrys and his riddles. Talks like the trees whisper secrets to 'im and he’s too polite to say 'em plain.”
Darwin scratched his chin, brow furrowing.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHryslY6FHp
“Feels like he knows more than he’s lettin’ on… like he’s waitin’ for someone to figure the rest.”
The fire popped.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcUamFPIGEY
Wind stirred the ashes.
And for a breathless moment—17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZVsp7NAUgz
Darwin looked up, as if something distant and ancient had just whispered his name.
Timmy looked up and caught Darwin’s gaze. No words passed—just something resolved. A quiet truth shared between those who had lost and would lose more.
“He’s always been that way,” Timmy said. Voice rough. Distant.
Darwin leaned in. “Always?”
Timmy’s smile twitched—faint, but real. He watched the fire twist upward, memory rising with the smoke.
“Spud and I met him when we were fifteen. Alderon Forest. Near Convota.”
The name fell like ash—soft, weighty, alive.
His gaze hardened. Beneath it, the vow still burned:17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeMgW6wNQeu
Spud is out there. I will find him.
And somewhere—far beyond the reach of stars he no longer named—17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzB1FghGHmw
a promise endured.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9DVSjUZvzh
Older than vengeance.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVXVQQgiEJy
Deeper than pain.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsPBUFaDOWP
A bond unbroken.
He stared into the flames.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNcfs1Ik0OZ
Something flickered behind his ribs.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN1YQsqEF2z
Not fear.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWbqMvdBLIW
Something stranger.17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX2cUPlTueQ
and then Add to home screen.