"The truth is, the moment you first stepped foot in Stoneheart to train under Lilith was the moment your mother could have claimed her place."
Orion's voice was steady, devoid of malice but heavy with the weight of history.
"When the Stoneheart Horde accepted you, they accepted her by extension. It was Ava who hesitated. She was terrified of me, and she let that fear build walls where there were none. She made excuses. She hid."
He leaned back, the massive stone throne groaning slightly under his shifting weight.
"Even when I ascended to Arch Lord and the factions came to pay tribute… she was here in the city, yet she refused to enter the castle. She refused to face Lilith. Time and again, the door was open, and she chose not to walk through it."
Orion waved a massive hand as if physically brushing away the cobwebs of the past.
