The final, rattling gurgle escaped the Orc's throat, a ghastly symphony of dying breath, before dissolving into the oppressive silence of the damp forest. The air, thick with the scent of decaying leaves and the metallic tang of spilled blood, seemed to hold its breath. Vin, his hands still thrumming with the faint, tingling aftershock of the earth magic he had wielded, straightened slowly. He could feel the lingering grit under his fingernails, a tangible reminder of the raw power he'd unleashed. The ground where the Orc had fallen was now a churned mess of displaced soil and broken roots, a stark testament to the brutal struggle. He didn't linger, his gaze flicking to Dael. The lizardfolk, his obsidian scales glistening even in the dim light, was already shifting impatiently, the rhythmi
