Alden leaned forward, his arms still folded but his posture tense.
He was waiting. Ethan could feel the weight of his silence.
Then Hera spoke. She was quiet at first, but her voice carried a sharpness that cut through the dim room.
"Duran is not just a blacksmith," she said. "He was once among the Imperial Circle of Architects. A title few ever earn. His hands carved the bones of the empire—vaults, sanctuaries, towers that still stand after hundred of years."
Alden blinked. "I've… never heard that before."
"You wouldn't," Hera replied calmly. "The Circle does not leave behind records. Only stone."
She stepped closer to the old scroll and pointed to a spot near the center of Cahaya.
"Duran was assigned here a decade ago, back when Cahaya was being restructured into a frontier seat. He was responsible for the design of the council chamber… and the vault hidden beneath it."