CHAPTER 44: THE CHARTER OF THE FIRST MARA
The shouting swelled louder, echoing down the stone corridors, mixing with the clang of dropped weapons and the murmur of men who had finally heard a different story. Corin’s face twisted with rage, and he drew a long, thin blade from beneath his robes, its hilt carved in the shape of a coiled viper.
“You think words can undo a hundred years of order?” he snarled. “You think a few tales and a broken key can erase what has held this land safe through fire and famine? I have spent forty years guarding this legacy. I will not watch it burn at the hands of children who know nothing of duty.”
“Duty is not obedience,” Kael said, his voice calm but unyielding as he stepped forward, empty‑handed.
