The War Within The Walls
Veylan could see it in the silent glances exchanged between officers who had once trusted each other with their lives. He could hear it in the hushed whispers that stopped the moment he entered a room. Paranoia had spread like a disease, faster than any enemy could march upon their gates. The true war wasn't fought with swords or spells anymore—it was a war of trust, a battle against the unseen enemy that had embedded itself deep into their ranks. And it was winning.
The grand halls of the Order, once filled with the crisp footsteps of disciplined soldiers, were now quieter than they had ever been. Conversations were kept short, clipped, wary. Men and women who had fought side by side, who had bled and killed for each other, now hesitated before meeting their comrades' eyes. A single wrong word, a single misplaced movement, and suspicions would coil around them like a noose.