C199 THE LINE NO ONE WAS MEANT TO CROSS

No one moved.

Not the guards.

Not the villagers.

Not even the breeze.

The man from the forest stood calmly under torchlight, hands empty, posture open — and yet the ground beneath him felt claimed in a manner no banner could manage.

Damon stepped forward once.

The earth responded.

nor with noise, nor with spectacle — but with recognition