Zethar;

By the second day of my arrival, this stops feeling like a visit.

Not because anything has changed...But because nothing has.

The capital looks as though not even the smallest detail was touched.

And that feels like a problem. An abnormality. When you’ve been away from a place for so long, aren’t things meant to seem different on your arrival??

I stand at the balcony outside the council wing, looking down over the palace grounds, and everything below moves exactly the way it should.

Courtiers cross the courtyard in neat lines, guards rotate their shifts with practised precision, and servants carry trays, messages, and duties from one end of the palace to the other— like the entire place runs on invisible threads that never tangle.

So much order... structure... and routine. From a distance, it looks perfect. But up close— It feels off.

Not in a chaotic way... but in that subtle way that crawls under one’s skin. That feeling you get when something is just... wrong.

Like something important is missing, and everyone has agreed not to talk about it.

I rest my hands on the railing, my fingers tightening slightly against the stone as I watch the palace ground breathe.

Two days. Two full days since I arrived, and I still haven’t had a proper conversation with my father.

I’ve seen him, yes.

Across halls... At a distance, sitting in chambers where he used to command attention without trying.

Now, he just sits. Like he’s present, but not really there.

It worries me more... than I expected his condition to.

"Still brooding?"

Lioran’s voice cuts in from behind me— Light, familiar, and carrying that same careless ease he always has, even when things aren’t easy at all.

"I don’t brood," I reply without turning around, and I hear him move closer.

"You’ve been staring at the courtyard for ten minutes." He notes, and I shrug. 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

"I’m observing," I reply, and he scoffs.

"That’s just brooding with better branding." He retorts, and that earns a quiet breath from me that almost turns into a laugh... but doesn’t quite make it.

I finally glance over my shoulder as he steps up beside me, leaning against the railing as if he belongs there.

He does. We both do.

But today... It feels like we’re holding a place that isn’t fully ours to hold.

My eyes dance over my younger brother as I silently take in all the details.

Despite his usual grace... he looks spent. Dark circles are starting to form under his eyes, and he looks like he’s lost a bit of weight.

Despite his still elegant posture, I see the exhaustion radiating off him. How bad have things been here?

"How are you managing?" I ask him, and Lioran exhales slowly, tilting his head back slightly as he looks up at the sky.

"I’m not," he says simply, and I pause.

His honesty has always been something I can’t help but admire.

I turn to face him properly now, but he keeps his gaze on the sky— His orange hair carrying softly in the wind.

"Elaborate," I demand, and he huffs quietly, lifting one hand to rub the back of his neck.

"I’m doing everything he’s supposed to be doing," he says, and I tilt my head as I listen.

"Meetings. Reports. Decisions. Signing off on things I shouldn’t be signing off on yet..." He begins as he lowers his gaze.

"All while pretending that it’s temporary." He adds, and the way he says that causes my heart to skip a beat.

What does he mean by that??

"You called me back for this," I note, and Lioran glances at me, then looks away again.

"Yes." He replies with no hesitation or excuse.

"Why didn’t you just say that in the letter? That this is the state of things, and Father is defaulting in his duties?" I ask, and he gives me a look.

"Because I didn’t want to write it down," he replies immediately.

"And I didn’t want anyone else reading it." He adds, and I just stare at him.

"I also didn’t want to make it sound worse than it looks," he adds after a moment, and I raise a brow slightly.

"But is it worse than it looks?" I ask, but he doesn’t answer. He just looks away, and that’s an answer.

I exhale slowly, turning back toward the courtyard as I digest everything.

"He’s not physically sick," I note.

"I know."

"I had to check to confirm that." I nearly scold, because he had me worried that Father may be down with something bad, when he actually is physically fine.

"I know," Lioran repeats, quieter this time, but that doesn’t answer the questions I have.

Father is physically fine, but clearly something is wrong with him.

"Then what is this?" I press, turning back to Lioran.

"Because this—" I gesture vaguely toward the palace behind us, where our Father is holed up like some stranger I’ve never met. "—this is not normal," I note, and Lio sighs.

"No. It’s not." He agrees, and silence stretches between us for a moment.

Then he speaks again.

"He’s been like this since he came back from Gravemaw."

That pulls my attention back to him immediately.

"What?" I ask in disbelief, and he shrugs.

"After he came back from Gravemaw, he has been... like this." He says as he gestures vaguely, mirroring what I did earlier.

"Withdrawn... Slow. Like he’s thinking about something he can’t quite figure out—or doesn’t want to." He adds, and my jaw tightens slightly.

"And you’ve been facing this on your own?? You didn’t think to write to me, or mention it in your letter?" I ask, and he gives me a look.

"I mentioned that something was off."

"You downplayed it." I accuse, and he doesn’t deny it.

"I didn’t want to cause panic." He defends, and I let out a quiet breath.

"Well... You brought me here. It’s never too late to panic." I say, and he eyes me sharply.

"Oh, you’d better get your act together. I called you here because I’m getting tired and I can no longer do this alone." He says, and that... that’s the most honest and vulnerable thing he’s said since I got here.

And I can’t even argue with it— so, I decide to properly understand what I’m stepping into.

"Did he tell you what happened at Gravemaw?" I ask, and Lioran hesitates.