A hush fell over the manor as Ethan finished the final reports from Ironwood. The relief after the week of open forums and compromise was accompanied by a subtle exhaustion, as if the work of peace had wrung not just his mind but something deeper in his soul. Yet before a full breath of respite could settle, new shadows gathered in the hallways.
It started with a coded letter, slipped into Kaelan's stack of old maps. Never addressed, always unsigned, but edged with words only a historian would parse: "When wind shakes the raven's branch, dawn finds the heart buried." The artifact's legend—once only a whisper—was beginning to burn through rumor into proof.
