Chapter 49 — The Weight of Choosing
The Still Order did not arrive like a storm.
They came like fog soft, persistent, and impossible to ignore once it settled into the low places of the city.
At first, Elowen thought she was imagining it. The pauses between words stretching just a heartbeat longer than before. The way laughter faded more quickly in public squares. How people still bowed, still spoke with courtesy, still went about the rhythms of daily life yet something essential had thinned.At first, Elowen thought she was imagining it. The pauses between words stretching just a heartbeat longer than before. The way laughter faded more quickly in public squares. How people still bowed, still spoke with courtesy, still went about the rhythms of daily life yet something essential had thinned.
Curiosity had retreated.
In its place lived hesitation.
