Valen took to the streets like he always did. Hands up, grin easy, voice carrying as he waved and called out to anyone who'd meet his eye. A wink here, a compliment there, a dramatic bow to a pair of women leaning out from a balcony. He moved like Lion's Gate belonged to him, or at least like he expected it to smile back.
Thal did not match his pace.
He walked past Valen within moments, long strides eating the distance with quiet inevitability, gaze fixed forward on the line of shops ahead. He did not look at the stalls, the banners, the people. He did not acknowledge the whispers that followed in his wake. He did not need to.
People moved.
Not hurriedly. Not in panic but instinctively, like birds parting before a storm. Conversations trailed off. Footsteps adjusted. A clear path formed without a word being spoken.
Valen noticed, he jogged a few steps to fall back in beside Thal, craning his neck to look up at him. "You know," he said lightly, "you could at least pretend to enjoy the attention. Half the street's in love with you."
A couple of women stood near a fruit stall, openly staring now. One elbowed the other, murmuring something with a flushed smile. They didn't approach. None of them did. Thal's presence pressed down too hard for that, too final, too absolute. Admiration stayed where it was.
Thal didn't even glance their way. "They're children," he said.
Valen blinked. "I'm fairly sure at least two of them are grown."
Thal's expression didn't change. "Age is not the measure."
Valen opened his mouth, then shut it again, letting out a small huff. "You're impossible."
They walked on. Valen kept up his usual chatter, greeting shopkeepers, exchanging banter, playing the familiar role that made the city feel alive. Thal remained a silent constant at his side, a moving landmark.
Then a sudden burst of laughter cut across the street.
A group of children came tearing around a corner, chasing one another in a blur of limbs and noise. Valen sidestepped easily. Thal slowed.
He didn't bark at them. Didn't raise his voice. He simply adjusted his pace, turning his shoulders slightly to give them room.
The children skidded to a halt when they saw him.
Wide eyes. Grins. Not fear.
"Whoa," one of them said, craning his neck back. "You're huge."
"Are you a giant?" another asked, stepping closer without hesitation.
Valen froze, halfway through a comment, watching with disbelief.
"I'm tall," Thal said.
"That's not tall." The boy spread his arms wide, as if demonstrating the difference. "That's big."
"So I'm told."
A girl with a missing front tooth pushed to the front. "Do you hit your head on doors?"
"Yes."
She burst out laughing. Another boy grabbed her sleeve to reclaim attention. "Can you lift a cart? A whole one? With the horse still in it?"
"I haven't tried with the horse."
"But without?"
"Yes."
A chorus of noise followed that. Someone asked if he lived in the mountains. Someone else asked if he'd ever fought a bear. A very small child near the back, barely visible between the others, pointed at his arms and called out in a serious, carrying voice: "Are you strong?"
Thal looked at them for a moment.
Then he glanced at the nearby fountain. Solid stone. Older than most of the buildings on the street.
He looked back at the child.
"Strong enough," he said, "that I do not need to prove it."
That only seemed to impress them more.
Valen watched from behind, stunned. He had never seen him like this.
When the children finally ran off, laughter trailing behind them, Valen stared at Thal for a long moment.
"Okay," he said quietly. "I did not see that coming."
Thal resumed his pace.
Valen fell into step beside him, glancing up. "How do you do that?"
Thal didn't look at him. "Do what."
"That." Valen gestured vaguely back toward where the children had been. "You scare grown soldiers without trying. Half the street crosses to the other side when they see you coming. And those kids just walked right up and asked if you could lift a horse."
Thal was quiet for a moment.
"They don't know the way the world works yet," he said. "That includes fear. It only grows when taught."
Valen swallowed, the words landing heavier than he expected. He looked ahead at the shop signs, the crowds, the city he loved.
"Yeah," he muttered. "Guess some of us learned early."
Thal said nothing but he glanced at Valen then, just briefly. Not judgment. Not pity. Simply acknowledgment.
Merek's shop came into view first, narrow, respectable, its wooden sign swaying slightly in the breeze. Beside it, Joren's forge lay open to the street, heat and sparks spilling freely into the air, the steady ring of hammer on anvil echoing down the stone and tucked right up against Merek's door, almost hidden by proximity, stood Sera's shop.
Or rather, stood Tar.
The minotaur was planted directly in front of the alchemist's door, broad shoulders squared, horns angled forward just enough to make the point clear. He didn't pace. He didn't shift.
Valen slowed first. "Ah," he muttered. "There he is."
Thal didn't slow at all.
He walked straight past Joren's forge, ignoring the burst of sparks and the curious glance Joren cast their way, his focus locked entirely on Tar. The minotaur noticed him immediately. His posture changed, not dramatic, not aggressive but there was recognition there. Respect. He inclined his head once.
Thal stopped in front of him. He didn't ask.
"Neo is inside," he said.
Tar hesitated for the briefest moment, then gave a single, slow nod.
Something in Thal's eased, and at the same time, something darker settled in behind his eyes. Valen caught it instantly. The shift wasn't loud but it was unmistakable, like a door closing somewhere deep and heavy.
Valen opened his mouth, then glanced at Thal's expression and thought better of it.
He looked back toward Merek's shop, then to Joren's forge. "You know," he said, attempting lightness, "Merek's probably done adjusting the stitching by now. Whole point of dragging you out here was to finish your new look."
Thal didn't answer.
His gaze stayed fixed on the door to Sera's shop, not the handle, not the lock but the space itself, as though he could feel Neo on the other side of the wall. As though distance meant nothing at all.
Tar shifted his weight slightly, hooves scraping stone. He lifted one hand and tapped his own chest once, then pointed subtly toward the door.
Thal nodded. "I know."
Valen watched the exchange, irritation bubbling up and then dying just as quickly. He wanted to push. Wanted to joke. Wanted to drag Thal bodily into Merek's shop and force normalcy back into the day, fabric, fittings, complaints about seams instead of Archons and blood and children being hunted.
But the look on Thal's face stopped him.
It wasn't rage.
It was restraint.
Valen exhaled and leaned back against the stone wall near Joren's forge, folding his arms. "Fine," he muttered. "We wait."
Thal didn't acknowledge him.
He stepped aside just enough to stand near the front of Sera's shop without blocking it, though the effect was the same. Between Tar's immovable bulk and Thal's looming presence, the small door might as well have been sealed by fate itself.
Joren paused mid-swing, glancing over from his forge. His brow furrowed as he took in the tableau, Tar standing guard, Thal watching the door like a sentry carved from inevitability.
He wiped his hands on his apron and opened his mouth.
Valen caught his eye and shook his head once. Subtle. Firm.
Joren hesitated, then nodded, turning back to his work as the hammer rang out once more.
Around them, the street carried on. Voices, footsteps, the ordinary life of Lion's Gate flowing past two beings who made the air feel heavier simply by existing within it.
Thal did not move.
He stood watch, golden eyes steady, jaw set.
Valen glanced at him, annoyance fading into something quieter, more respectful.
The door finally creaked open.
Alinda stepped out first, half-turned back toward the interior, one hand braced against the frame as she said something under her breath. Her posture was loose, casual, almost playful, as though she were coaxing someone reluctant to follow. A heartbeat later, Neo emerged, shoulders tense, eyes flicking instinctively to the street. Sera came last, hovering near the threshold like she wasn't quite sure she was meant to cross it yet.
Thal saw them immediately.
Sera's gaze lifted and froze.
Her breath hitched audibly as she took in Thal's full height, the bare chest, the massive frame standing motionless in the street like a judgment made flesh. She stiffened, fingers curling into her sleeves.
"By the gods," she whispered, startled, half a step back.
Alinda followed her line of sight and winced, lips pulling into a thin, crooked smile. "Ah," she said lightly, too lightly. "Shit. He's right there."
It had the unmistakable tone of a child caught mid-mischief.
Thal didn't smile.
He took one step forward, feet grinding against stone. His gaze cut first to Neo, quick, sharp, searching, then to Alinda.
"You both," he said, voice low and flat, "were meant to keep him at the inn."
His eyes flicked to Tar next. Just for a second.
The minotaur straightened instinctively, head dipping a fraction, shoulders squaring as though bracing for a blow that never came.
Thal's attention snapped back to Alinda.
"And who is this?"
Sera flinched at the weight of his voice and hurried to speak. "I'm Sera, sir. I own the shop. Alinda explained some of..."
"Enough," Thal cut in, not even raising his voice. The word landed like iron. "Later."
Alinda opened her mouth, clearly ready with a dozen excuses but Thal wasn't looking at her anymore.
He was looking at Neo.
Really looking.
Neo's eyes weren't steady. They kept drifting, tracking empty space, darting toward corners and shadows that held nothing. His shoulders were tight, breathing shallow, hand hovering near the hilt of his sword like he expected it to move on its own.
Thal's jaw clenched.
"Something happened," he said.
Neo shook his head too quickly. "It's fine. Nothing..."
Thal took another step closer. The street seemed to quiet around them, sound dimming as though the world itself leaned away. "What happened," he repeated.
Neo swallowed. He glanced at Alinda, then at the ground, then back at Thal. He tried again. "I just talked to someone inside. A worker. That's all."
Thal waited.
Silence stretched. The pressure in it grew unbearable.
"He wasn't a worker," Neo said at last, voice barely above a whisper.
Thal's eyes sharpened. "Who."
Neo hesitated, then forced the word out. "Velmyn."
The effect was immediate.
The air shifted.
Thal's posture changed, like a blade being drawn from its sheath. His voice dropped, deepened, carrying an echo that hadn't been there before. "Say that again."
Neo's heart hammered but he didn't look away. "Velmyn," he said. "He was a Kruu'Voth. He talked to me and then there was another one of him. A different body. Same voice."
Alinda's expression darkened. "Fuck."
Thal's eyes narrowed further, pupils thinning until gold bled into black slits. He turned on Alinda so fast she barely had time to react.
"Where," he said, each word heavy with contained violence, "did you leave him."
Alinda held her ground but the disappointment in her eyes cut deeper than anger. "Inside. I didn't see him when we left."
Thal inhaled sharply, then forced the breath back out through clenched teeth. He turned back to Neo, reins tightening just enough to keep himself in check.
"What else," he demanded. "Did he say."
Neo hesitated. "He said the Kruul King doesn't want me dead."
That did it.
Thal moved.
He didn't run. He didn't lunge. He simply crossed the distance between them faster than Valen's eye could track, air screaming in his wake, and in one swift motion he grabbed Neo and lifted him, hauling him up and over his shoulder like a sack of grain. Neo gasped in shock, hands scrambling instinctively to hold on.
"Thal!" Alinda barked.
Thal didn't slow. His eyes were fully slit now, something feral and ancient breaking through the careful restraint he'd held all day. When he spoke again, his voice boomed, layered with something older than the city itself.
"Follow. Now."
The ground cracked.
Stone shattered beneath his feet as he launched upward, the force of it sending a shockwave rippling through the street. Dust and debris exploded outward, knocking Sera off balance and sending Valen staggering back with a startled curse.
"What the!" Valen shouted, staring at the crater left behind.
Tar lowered his head instinctively, hooves scraping stone, eyes wide.
Thal didn't look back.
He cleared the rooftops in a single bound, Neo clutched securely against him, toward the towering walls that encircled Lion's Gate.
Alinda was already moving.
She swore under his breath and leapt after him, boots striking stone and then air, vanishing into the skyline with practiced ease.
The street was left in stunned silence.
Sera stared at the shattered ground, heart racing, hands trembling. "What... what was that?"
Valen swallowed, eyes fixed on the empty sky where Thal had vanished. He turned to look at Tar, then back at the crater, then at Sera. "That," he said slowly, "is what happens when someone touches the wrong kid."
The street held its breath.
Sera stared at the crater, at the spiderweb cracks radiating outward from where Thal had stood. She pushed a hand through her short red hair, leaving it standing in wild directions, and adjusted her round glasses with a trembling finger. Her green eyes, magnified behind the lenses, kept darting from the shattered stone to the empty sky.
Valen moved first.
He stepped into her line of sight, snapping his fingers once, sharp and deliberate. "Hey," he said, voice dropping the performative cheer for something harder. "Look at me. Not the hole. Me."
Sera blinked, focusing on him with slow, glassy confusion. "He... he flew," she whispered. "That man, he just... the ground exploded and he..."
"Launched," a new voice cut in, gravel scraping over iron. "Thal doesn't fly. He falls upward with intent."
The crowd parted. Commander Elira stepped through, her tarnished silver armor clinking, the long scar bisecting her face catching the light. Her glaive rested across her shoulders but her single good eye was anything but relaxed as it tracked from the crater to Valen.
"Valen," she said, not quite a greeting. "I should've known. Every time something impossible happens in my city, you're standing in the middle of it looking innocent."
Valen pushed his blond hair back from his face, revealing blue eyes that had gone hard as steel. His hand drifted to rest on the pommel of one of the short swords at his hip. "Elira," he said. "You're looking... alive. That's new."
"I was alive yesterday when you were supposed to be at the northern gate doing inspections." She stopped at the crater's edge. "Instead, I find out the Triad is remodelling my merchant district. Where's the big one? And why did he just grab a kid?"
"He had to move fast," Valen said quietly. "The boy was in danger. Thal was... being protective."
Elira's eye narrowed. "Protective," she repeated flatly. "He protected the boy by destroying public infrastructure and violating about twelve city ordinances?"
"There was a threat," Valen said carefully. "Near the shop. Someone after the kid. Thal... overreacted."
"Overreacted," Elira said dryly. She turned to Sera, who was still trembling against the doorframe of her shop, craning her neck to look up at the Commander. "You. Shop keep. You're Sera? I've bought wound paste from you. Good stuff doesn't sting."
Sera nodded, mute, her glasses sliding slightly down her nose.
"You saw this threat? This 'someone'?"
Sera pushed her glasses back up, her green eyes flicking to Valen. "I... there was a man. He spoke to Neo, and then..."
"And then Thal decided the rooftops were faster than the stairs," Valen interrupted, stepping slightly between them. "Look, Elira, the details are... sensitive. Triad business."
Elira's gaze sharpened. She looked from Valen to Sera, noting the way the smaller woman's hands shook. "Triad business," she repeated.
"Yes," Valen said, holding her gaze.
Elira studied him the worry under the charm, the way his fingers had tightened on his sword hilt. She glanced at Tar, who stood silent and massive in front of Sera's door, then back at the crater. "Fine," she said finally. "Keep your secrets. For now."
She turned to her men, shouting orders about cordons and "structural collapse." When she looked back at Valen, her voice was lower. "I'll hold the city guard off for six hours. Maybe eight if I'm lucky. After that, the Merchant Council starts asking questions I can't answer with threats."
"Elira..."
"Don't thank me." She paused. "Just tell Thal he owes me a new street. Or the next time the northern hordes come knocking, I'm sending the bill to him personally."
Valen managed a real smile. "I'll let him know you're keeping tabs."
"You do that." She started to turn, then stopped. "And Valen? Whatever spooked him enough to do this?" She nodded at the shattered stone. "Make sure it stays handled. Because if whatever scared your monster follows him back down here, I don't have enough men to clean up that mess."
She walked away, shouting orders at her guards.
Valen exhaled, the tension bleeding from his shoulders. He turned to Sera, his blue eyes softening as he took in her dishevelled appearance the smudged glass of her spectacles, the way her short hair stood on end.
"I don't believe we've been properly introduced," he said, his voice returning to that easy, melodic tone. He bowed with a flourish, one hand over his heart, the twin blades at his hips catching the light. "Valen of the Triad. Though most days I prefer just Valen."
Sera stared at him, blinking behind her round glasses. "Sera," she managed. "Sera of... just the shop."
"A pleasure, Sera of Just the Shop." Valen straightened, pushing his hair back again. He glanced at Merek's shop next door, where the tailor was peering out from behind a half-closed shutter, then back at the crater. "I should probably go help Elira before she decides to bill us for the cobblestones and someone needs to explain to Merek why his best customer just launched into the stratosphere before getting fitted."
He looked at Tar, who hadn't moved from his post in front of Sera's door. "Stay here. Keep an eye on things."
The minotaur rumbled in acknowledgment, his massive frame blocking the entrance like a living barricade.
Valen turned back to Sera, his expression serious. "Lock your door. Don't let anyone in who isn't wearing a Triad sigil or my face and if you see anyone who looks like they might be... splitting into two people?" He waited for her nod. "Scream. Loudly."
He stepped toward the crater, toward Elira and her guards, his hand resting casually on his sword hilt but he paused, looking back over his shoulder at the small alchemist with the red hair and round glasses.
"And Sera? If Thal comes back down through that roof instead of the door?" He grinned, the old Valen shining through for just a moment. "Tell him he still owes me a fitting session. I didn't drag him halfway across the city for nothing."
Then he was gone, moving toward the chaos with the easy stride of a man who knew exactly how to lie to a city.