CHAPTER 65:
The thaw came slow, softening the earth into dark, rich mud. Winter had been long and hard — supplies ran thin, the cold bit deep, and Morgrath’s voice never truly fell silent. But we had not broken. We had taught. We had built. And as the first green shoots pushed through the soil, something else began to grow: certainty. Not blind faith, but the quiet, unshakable knowledge that we were stronger together than we could ever be apart.
The Council met at dawn in the great hall, sunlight streaming through the tall windows, gilding the rough-hewn table. Maps were spread across its surface — the Grey Mountains, the lands beyond, the settlements that had stood fast and those that had fallen silent.
“Three moons until the veil is thinnest,” Kael said, his finger resting on the hear
