---
Kai stretched slowly, letting the cold air bite his skin, the healing lines of battle scars tingling faintly along his chest and back. Though he had slept barely two hours, his body had begun to adapt. The Monarch's star Core pulsed quietly in his chest, feeding him strength like a low burning furnace.
From behind a nearby ridge, gentle hammering echoed again.
Kai turned.
Lirien stood at the mouth of her makeshift forge, her armored arms bare, soot smeared across one cheek. Sparks danced around her like fireflies. She was hammering something slowly, carefully, methodically, not forging, but shaping. A ritual of quiet focus.
Kai approached without a word.
She noticed him before he spoke. "You are awake early."
"I sleep lightly."
She struck the glowing piece again with a sharp rhythm. "So do blacksmiths. Though for different reasons. The forge does not forgive daydreamers."
He stepped beside her. "What are you making?"
