That was why the Dawn of the Dragon loved this place.
The tree didn’t feel like a normal tree.
It felt like a promise.
So late at night, they ca quietly.
And they prayed.
Because they truly believed each prayer would later beco food that would help their people survive.
Of course, not everyone in the city followed it—not even close. There were only... a few. But that was enough. These people believed they were here for a cause, and that more people would join their cause eventually.
And with their Faith holding them together, they created a routine.
They ca after work, after the day’s exhaustion had settled into their bones, and stood in a half circle, facing the tree.
And at the center, near the roots, Vandra waited.
She wasn’t dressed like a priest.
She didn’t wear bright robes or golden symbols.
In the Heights, no one had the luxury for that.
But she wore the one thing that mattered.
Certainty.
Her eyes were bright, and her voice never shook when she spoke her God’s na. The woman truly believed Kael was a God, and no one could make her think otherwise.
Tonight, the group was larger than usual.
The last two days—the Stonefangs coming in, settling with them, now working with them, the Water Incident, the fear of what tribes outside would do—all of this broke people.
Many Velmourns didn’t know where to put their fear anymore.
So they brought it here.
And together with fear, they brought sothing else.
Hope.
Vandra raised her hands slightly, and the crowd quieted.
"The day was hard,"
She said softly.
A few people nodded.
"Unity is hard,"
She continued.
"But our God did not choose easy paths.
He chose a path that keeps us alive."
The people nodded again; this ti, the devotion in their eyes looked even stronger.
Vandra smiled, then turned her gaze to the Faith Tree.
"All we need to do is to thank him.
For food.
For warmth.
For survival.
For... the courage he forces into our hands."
Then the ’sharing’ began, like it always did.
A woman spoke about her child now smiling more brightly, now that his stomach had been full for an entire week. How her child actually had bright eyes when he woke up and looked forward to the day.
An old man was the sa; he spoke about not having to worry about waking up hungry.
A young soldier spoke about seeing Kael stand between two sides and not flinch. How his Lord’s presence alone cald not just him, but the entire army—even those who did not believe in him.
Every story was different.
But every story ended in the sa place.
"He changed our lives."
That was the daily eting.
That was what the Dawn of the Dragon was.
They didn’t just gather to pray or worship Kael—they gathered to share their experiences, to... talk.
And just as these conversations were continuing like they usually did—
Sothing happened.
A sound of boots was heard.
Heavy boots.
Different from... how most Velmourns walked.
In an instant, heads turned.
Were they expecting visitors?
No.
All the mbers knew what ti they were supposed to gather, and almost no one was ever late.
But of course, it was a common sight to see new people wanting to join them, so most of the ti, people coming late was welcod.
But not today.
Because the mont the mbers of the Dawn of the Dragon saw who the new people were, their hands stiffened; so even stepped back without thinking.
Stonefangs.
Five of them.
Then more behind them.
n and won, and one older Stonefang with a face full of deep lines. Their shoulders were still broad, their presence still felt dangerous, but their eyes were not sharp like they normally were.
Their eyes were... curious.
They looked at the tree.
And then they looked at the gathered Velmourns like they were watching sothing strange.
The Stonefangs did not have weapons in their hands either, neither did they seem to have any intention of attacking.
But their presence alone was... intimidating.
And the Velmourns were intimidated.
"What are they doing here?"
Soone whispered.
"Are they... going to attack us?"
Another gulped.
A young man’s hand went toward his belt on instinct.
Vandra saw it.
Then, she stepped forward before fear could turn into noise.
"Stop,"
She spoke in her usual, calm voice, as if the sight did not surprise her.
The Velmourns stilled and surprisingly, the Stonefangs stopped as well. They seed... unsure; they did not know what to do, so they just... looked at her.
And just like that, tension rose.
It felt like one wrong step here would do sothing irreversible, sothing... that might destroy everything Kael had built so far. A thought that terrified the mbers of the Dawn of the Dragon.
But then—
"Vak... tor,"
Vandra stepped forward and spoke.
In Stonefang tongue.
Her words were definitely not fluent; most of her pronunciation was wrong, but the aning was delivered.
No fight.
The Stonefangs blinked.
One of them exchanged a quick look with another.
They had not expected the girl to speak their tongue.
"Lady Vandra...?"
The Velmourns also stared in shock, surprised as to how Vandra knew Stonefang Tongue. Vandra slowly turned to her people and—
"Lord Kael wants us to live with them. The least I can do is to learn their tongue and contribute."
She reasoned, and the mbers of the Dawn of the Dragon blinked, as if an entirely different possibility was now shining right in front of them.
Vandra nodded at her people, then turned toward the Stonefangs again and in her rough, unclear, clumsy Stonefang tongue, she asked:
"Why... you co?"
The oldest Stonefang stepped forward half a step. His hands stayed visible, as if he was showing he held no weapons and had no intentions of attacking.
"Flying Man God. Velmourn say people pray to God here.
We ca to see and... pray together."
He spoke in a low, careful tone, as if he knew the woman in front of him wouldn’t be able to understand if he spoke too fast.
Vandra’s brows knitted as she tried to catch the words.
She understood only pieces, but those pieces were more than enough.
She looked back at her people and translated.
"They heard about this place,
So they gathered to speak of Lord Kael together with us."
The mbers of the Dawn of the Dragon blinked in surprise, unable to believe what they were hearing.
Was this a trap?
Were they here to get sothing?
A lot of questions popped up in the Velmourns’ heads, and under their suspicious gazes, the Stonefangs shifted slightly, uneasy under too many stares.
Vandra sensed that and—
"Silence."
She silenced her people.
Then, she turned back to the Stonefangs and spoke again.
"Kael... our God."
That word—God—made the Stonefangs’ eyes sharpen.
One of them nodded quickly.
"Flying Man."
Vandra nodded too, her smile widening as she seed to have clicked with them.
"Our God wanted us... to live... with you."
She spoke in Stonefang tongue, retelling the sa story to the Stonefangs.
"So I... learn your words."
She then placed her hand at her chest, as if apologizing.
"I am... not... good."
That made one Stonefang snort in... amusent.
It was clear they appreciated everything Vandra was doing, and that... loosened the air.
A few Velmourns blinked, surprised by that.
Vandra nodded, accepting it.
Then she spoke in Velmourn tongue again, loud enough for everyone.
"They are not here to attack.
They are here to listen."
Her eyes swept over her group.
"And we will not chase them away."
"But... they killed—"
A young Velmourn woman tried to say sothing, but Vandra cut her off.
"I know.
But this is what our Lord wishes for us to do, and we are going to follow his words."
The group went quiet.
The Stonefangs stayed where they were, watching, waiting to see if they would be allowed closer.
Vandra stepped aside and gestured toward the Faith Tree, calling the Stonefangs closer. The other mbers of the Dawn of the Dragon seed unconvinced, and the Stonefangs...
The Stonefangs hesitated too.
But the oldest Stonefang stepped forward, and behind him, the rest followed—one by one—still wary, still... curious.
They stood at the edge of the half-circle, close enough to see the carved marks on the tree.
And for the first ti, the Dawn of the Dragon held Velmourn and Stonefang together under the sa branches.
Without any raised weapons, without any spilled blood.
Just... eyes watching the sa tree.
And Vandra, standing in the middle, spoke one more ti, in her usual low, steady voice.
"Welco,"
She said.
Then, she repeated the sa word in Stonefang tongue, and that was how it continued—
Vandra acted as a translator. Even when her command over the language was... weak, she translated Velmourn stories for Stonefangs and Stonefang stories for Velmourns.
And as more and more stories were exchanged, the two sides began to relate to each other and the faith they had in their God.
The tension in the air eased.
And when Vandra saw it all—
The look in her eyes changed.
As if she had thought of sothing.
Sothing that... in the future, was going to change the course of the entirety of the Heights’ developnt.
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