A while later.
The ground trembled.
It began as a soft vibration, a quiver in the floorboards of every woven-root house, then deepened into a resonant shudder that made bowls clatter and babies wail.
Demihumans spilled from their homes in alarm, ears twitching, tails bristling, and wings flaring.
"What's happening?" Someone cried.
"An earthquake?" Another gasped, clutching her child.
But the moment their eyes turned upward, the panic stalled.
For there, hovering above the center of the village, robes shifting lazily in the morning wind, was Kael.
His black hair rippled like ink in water, and his golden eyes gleamed with the kind of casual amusement that belonged not to a man, but to something far more untouchable.
"Good morning," Kael's voice rolled across the village, smooth and resonant, carrying without effort.
He raised a hand lazily in greeting. "I bet none of you expected this kind of wake-up call. Don't worry. No monsters. No disaster. And definitely not enemies."
