Miles exhaled slowly, shifting his weight. Sarissa remained perfectly still beside him, her eyes scanning the guards, the walls, the sky.
Dee gave a low rumble, halfway between a growl and a purr, as if the little drake couldn't decide whether to fight or nap.
The sentinel with the glass-covered eyes stepped forward, her half-mask catching the light. Her movements were smooth, precise, more ritual than reflex.
"You come bearing silence, yet the forest behind you speaks your names. You are unanchored, unknown, yet you are acknowledged. Because of that, you must pass the Ceremony of First Recognition."
"We just want to enter the city. We're not looking for—" Sarissa blinked.
"Entry without acknowledgment from the regent is blasphemy," The male sentinel interrupted. His voice was deeper, slower, as if he were reciting from memory. "To pass the gate of Vel'Serath, you must offer a truth."
"What kind of truth?" Miles stepped forward.
