Saga of Eternity

Chapter 5: The Recruiter’s Shadow

Branthollow was uneasy. The Dominion riders had left two days ago, but their presence lingered like smoke after a fire.Farmers worked the fields in silence, bent over their plows without a word. Merchants haggled in hushed voices, as if loud speech alone might invite soldiers back. Even the children were quieter, their laughter faint and cautious.

Draven noticed it all as he walked the dirt road, his hood low, his hands tucked into his cloak. The silence wasn't peace. It was fear.

"The fool again," a villager muttered as he passed."Still dragging that girl's goat.""He'll see sense when the Dominion calls him."

Draven ignored them. He always did. Their words slid off, but the weight stayed somewhere deep.

By dusk, the inn glowed with lantern light. Horses stood tethered outside, their tack polished, their flanks restless. The black-and-red banners of the Dominion fluttered faintly in the evening breeze.

Draven's jaw tightened. Kaelith had returned.

Inside, the tavern was crowded with soldiers. Their armor gleamed faintly, boots coated in dust. Mugs clattered, laughter rang, but it was too sharp, too forced. These men were uneasy.

Draven slipped into the shadow of a corner table. He nursed a mug but didn't drink. Soldiers rarely kept their voices low.

"…another call-up in the south. Dominion wants more men.""They say a Noble Roc flattened a garrison.""Bah, just a story.""Then explain the bodies. My brother saw them."hat respect isn't weakness."

He rose, cloak heavy on his shoulders, and stepped past the torches into the dark road.

Above, the stars burned cold. His voice was a whisper, but steady.

"I'll get stronger. Strong enough to break their chains."

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