The morning broke with steel on stone. Kael had ordered drills again, but the rhythm faltered. Blades clashed half‑heartedly, shields sagged, and voices carried more argument than discipline.
One soldier threw down his spear. "We bleed for ruins, for nobles who sneer at us, for a commander who listens to a beast!" His words rang across the courtyard, sharp as any blade.
Others murmured agreement. A few stepped back, unwilling to meet Kael's gaze. Garrick's cane struck the ground, but even his bark could not silence the unrest.
Kael walked forward, each step deliberate. He picked up the discarded spear and pressed it back into the soldier's hands.
"You think fire is only destruction," Kael said, voice steady. "But fire is also endurance. Hold this until your arms break. Then hold it longer. That is how you survive."
The soldier's jaw tightened, but his eyes flickered with doubt. He gripped the spear again, though his knuckles whitened.
By evening, the courtyard was quiet, but the silence carried weight. Garrick joined Kael at the battlements, his face grim.
"They're splintering," he said. "Some follow you because they fear Tharos. Others because they believe. Fear and belief don't march in step for long."
Kael stared at the horizon, where rebel fires glowed faintly. "Then I will forge them into one. Fear can be shaped. Belief can be fed."
Below, Tharos stirred, wings shifting against stone. The rumble pressed into Kael's chest, heavier than before. Division is weakness. Shape it, or it will consume you.
Kael clenched his fists. He knew the envoy's words had planted seeds, but now those seeds were sprouting. Tomorrow, he would need more than drills. Tomorrow, he would need to prove that fire could unite as well as destroy.
The soldiers slept uneasily, some clutching weapons, others whispering in corners. Kael remained awake, watching the stars fade into smoke. He could feel the fracture widening, the spark of defiance threatening to ignite.
And he knew: if belief was fire, then tomorrow he must wield it before it burned him alive.