(The next day, Ixtal, on the front steps of Soron's Castle)
When the First and Second Elder arrived at the doorstep of Soron's secluded castle on Ixtal, they did not dare lift a hand to knock, nor raise their voices to call for him, as both men were certain without needing confirmation that the great God had already sensed their presence the moment they approached, and that he would come to greet them only when he deemed the time appropriate, never a moment earlier.
And so they waited.
Not for minutes, but for hours, standing in complete silence before the grand doors of the old stone castle, each man lost in the weight of what he had come to say, though for very different reasons.
The First Elder stood with furrowed brow and clenched jaw, carrying the simmering fury of betrayal beneath his skin, while the Second Elder shifted uncomfortably every few seconds, wiping at his palms and adjusting the edges of his robe, the nervousness clearly visible in his every action.
