EPISODE 17 — THE BIRTH OF THE SIGILLUM MAXIMUM

(POV: Dorcha) A shiver runs through Aileen. I gather a few logs, stack them carefully, and coax a bright, crackling fire to life. Aeltiàfisar stretches his hands toward the flames, smiling like a boy stealing warmth on a winter morning. There's light in his eyes—real, unguarded joy. And then he continues his story. "When Aer came back to me… stars above, I still don't know how to explain the happiness we felt. To touch her again. Hold her. Smell her hair when I took her hand. To feel her gaze on me—after so many years of silence. I thought my heart would burst." His voice softens, full of tenderness. "And there was something else… the certainty that now she'd become one of us, my parents would finally have nothing left to object to. I would bring her home. I would marry her. We would live…