The rhythm of the sanctuary was a quiet, weary hum. Kael spent his first full day observing, a silent shadow in the edges of the main chamber. He watched the survivors move through their routines, their faces etched with the perpetual tiredness of those living on borrowed time.
He tried to help. He saw others sweeping the dusty floor with makeshift brushes and tried to copy them. But when he held the brush, the simple motions felt alien. His mind felt… blank. He knew what sweeping was, but the memory of how to do it, the muscle memory, was gone.
Frustration flared, hot and sharp. The Bedel wasn't just taking big memories; it was stealing even the simplest skills. He felt a wave of shame wash over him, his small body hunching in on itself.
Elara found him struggling, the broom lying useless beside him. She didn't ask questions, just knelt beside him. "Here," she said gently, taking the broom. "Like this."
She showed him, slowly, patiently. How to hold it, the motion of his arms. Kael watched, focused. He tried again, mimicking her movements. It was slow, clumsy, but he managed a few strokes. A small victory.
Elara stayed with him for a while, working alongside him on the simple task. They didn't talk much, but a quiet understanding passed between them. He felt a sliver of the loneliness he'd carried for so long begin to ease in her presence. She didn't judge him for his clumsiness, for the gaps in his knowing.
Later, while helping to carry small containers of water, Elara spoke to one of the older women near the fire, keeping her voice low. Kael overheard snippets. "...seen strange things... lights... when it first came..." "...not normal magic... older tales..." Elara was asking about anomalies, about lights related to The Void's arrival. Her curiosity about him was turning into a quiet investigation.
As the day wore on, a new tension began to snake through the sanctuary. Whispers grew louder, faces became more strained. The ration of dried meat and hardtack at midday felt even smaller than usual.
Captain addressed the group in the late afternoon. His voice was grim. "The southern patrol isn't back."
A collective intake of breath. The patrol was due back hours ago. Lost patrols meant lost people, lost supplies, and a chilling reminder of how easily The Void could swallow even the prepared.
"They had half the week's hunt," someone muttered, the desperation clear. Resources were already stretched thin.
The tension in the chamber thickened. People exchanged worried glances. Gus's face was set in a hard, grim line, his eyes scanning the worried faces around him.
Kael watched them, feeling the weight of their fear. His own chest ached with the familiar throb of the Bedel, amplified by the shared anxiety. He wanted to help, to somehow ease their burden, but he was small, unskilled, and carried his own devastating secret.
Sitting alone again as dusk settled, the group's fear felt almost palpable. Thinking of the lost patrol, swallowed by the endless grey, Kael felt a surge of that raw, helpless terror he'd felt in his village. The memory of running, of fleeing the Echo Stalker, resurfaced, sharp and clear, a rare moment not yet fully claimed by the Bedel.
The intensity of the emotion triggered a familiar chain reaction. The Bedel pulsed violently, a burning void in his chest. For a fleeting instant, the air around him grew unnaturally still, the sounds of the sanctuary momentarily muffled. Beneath his tattered clothes, a faint, internal light surged and then vanished.
He shivered, a wave of exhaustion washing over him. The Bedel was working. Another piece... what was it this time? A memory of a specific game Elara used to play?
Elara, who had been sitting a short distance away, mending a tear in her trousers, looked up sharply. Her eyes went to Kael, then around the space, as if sensing the momentary shift in the atmosphere. Her gaze lingered on him, her brow furrowed in thought.
She hadn't seen the internal light this time, perhaps, but she had felt the anomaly in the silence, sensed the change around him. Her eyes met his across the dimming chamber, a look of deep curiosity and growing understanding in their depths. She knew this wasn't normal. She knew it was connected to him.
The chapter ends with the shadow of the missing patrol hanging over the sanctuary, resource worries increasing, and Elara's eyes fixed on Kael, her quiet investigation gaining urgency as she witnesses another unexplained event connected to his secret.