Hope and burden had no similarities in their literal meaning. However, when they were mixed together, they produced a single, powerful result: Obligation.
For the people of Silverwood, who had lost all hope, the burden of a bleak future was a weight that ate at them day in and day out.
By giving these people a new hope, that burden was transformed. It became an obligation, a deep and powerful sense of loyalty to the one who had given them a reason to believe again.
What else did a ruler need?
Rhys was inwardly praising his own cleverness, but on the outside, he remained a silent, imposing figure, waiting for the people before him to return to their senses.
"You are that abandoned hero's son…" Derin was the first to speak, his voice a choked whisper. He was utterly awestruck.
"I- I-…" Derin stammered, his mind struggling to process the revelation. Silverwood had once been the primary seat of the Ashton family.
