For a long moment after Elder Ghurn stepped down from the massive palm, the air itself seemed to change, as if the weight that had been pressing down on the Moonshade Family had loosened just enough for them to breathe again, and this change did not go unnoticed by the two Ascendants who stood at the center of it all.
Lord Vord's expression, which had turned cold and distant not long ago, gradually softened, not into warmth, but into something far more measured, as if he had recalculated the worth of what stood before him and found that perhaps he had judged too quickly.
Elder Achilor stood beside him, his posture still straight and composed, though the sharp edge in his gaze had eased, replaced by a more thoughtful look as he observed the old ancestor who had just revealed a talent that could not be ignored.
Then, almost at the same time, both of them spoke.
