Halfway through the feast, Kaelor rose from where he sat among his men and stepped into the open space before the towering bonfire. The flames snapped and roared behind him, casting his tall frame in shifting gold and shadow.
Every flicker seemed to catch the sharp planes of his face, and in that moment, he looked carved from both fire and steel. Conversations faded. Heads turned. Soon, the square fell into an expectant silence, hundreds of eyes fixed on him.
"Many of you saw when I and the soldiers returned," Kaelor began, his voice carrying easily over the crackle of the fire and the faint clink of bowls. "What we came back from… was a fight against hundreds of Devil Beasts. The same beasts that have made this region a forbidden zone for generations. The same beasts that have driven nobles of every title from these lands."
