The wind arrived before she did.
It swept through Havenfall's eastern market, scattering loose parchment across the street.
Merchants groaned.
Children laughed as sheets danced between carts and barrels.
"Not again!" someone shouted.
Kael instinctively lunged after a page skidding across the cobblestones.
Another flew past his shoulder.
Then another.
By the time the wind settled, he was holding six loose pages covered in neat handwriting and detailed sketches.
A seventh page landed squarely on his face.
"...Really?"
A laugh rang out nearby.
Bright.
Unrestrained.
"I'm so sorry!"
Kael peeled the paper away to find a girl sprinting toward him, her long chestnut hair whipping wildly behind her.
She couldn't have been much older than him.
A blue travel cloak fluttered around her boots, and a leather satchel bounced against her side as she ran.
She skidded to a stop, nearly slipping on the stones.
"...I meant to do that."
Kael looked at the scattered papers still drifting through the air.
"I'm not convinced."
"Neither am I."
She grinned.
Within minutes the two of them had recovered every page except one.
The missing sheet had lodged itself in the branches of a tree beside the fountain.
She stared upward.
"...That's unfortunate."
Kael followed her gaze.
"It's only three meters."
"For you."
She folded her arms dramatically.
"I prefer solving problems with intelligence."
"You mean letting someone else climb."
"I was trying to sound clever."
Kael sighed, handed her the stack of papers, and climbed onto the fountain before pulling himself into the lower branches.
The missing page came free easily.
As he dropped back to the ground, she accepted it with a smile.
"My hero."
"I climbed a tree."
"A very intimidating tree."
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She carefully counted every page.
"...Twenty-three."
She frowned.
Kael blinked.
"I thought there were twenty-four."
"There were."
Both froze.
A gust of wind swept through the market again.
One final page tumbled lazily across the street before smacking into the boot of a passing knight.
The man picked it up.
Looked at the complicated diagrams covering it.
Raised an eyebrow.
"...Wind currents?"
The girl laughed nervously.
"Educational reading?"
The knight shrugged and handed it back.
"Study indoors next time."
"Yes, sir."
He walked away.
She exhaled dramatically.
"That was close."
Kael couldn't help smiling.
"I don't think he cared."
"I cared enough for both of us."
"I'm Lyra."
She extended a hand.
"Kael."
They shook.
"Thank you."
"For the papers."
"They looked important."
"They are."
She tapped the satchel proudly.
"My notes."
"What kind of notes?"
"Everything."
She began walking, and Kael found himself matching her pace.
"Plants."
"Old languages."
"Weather."
"Ruins."
"Bird migrations."
"Weird mushrooms."
"Weird people."
She glanced sideways at him.
"I'm still deciding which category you fit into."
"I was hoping 'helpful.'"
"Helpful can also be weird."
"...Fair."
They reached the city's western bridge.
Below, the river shimmered beneath the afternoon sun.
Lyra leaned against the stone railing.
"You live here?"
"At the orphanage."
She nodded quietly.
"And you?"
"My uncle owns a bookstore."
"You like books?"
"I love books."
She smiled.
"They're much easier to understand than people."
Kael laughed.
"I've met a few books that disagree."
For a while they simply watched boats drift downstream.
Lyra broke the silence first.
"You're the boy with twenty-five Threads."
Kael's smile faded slightly.
"...Word travels fast."
"The Academy demonstration yesterday."
"Everyone was talking."
She noticed his expression.
"I didn't mean—"
"It's alright."
He had grown used to it.
Children whispered.
Adults pitied him.
Some assumed he hadn't heard.
Others didn't care if he had.
Lyra rested both elbows on the railing.
"For what it's worth..."
"I think people obsess over numbers too much."
Kael glanced at her.
"You do?"
"My aunt measured flour by counting grains once."
"...She what?"
"It took six hours."
He stared.
She nodded solemnly.
"Terrible bread."
Despite himself...
Kael laughed.
A real laugh this time.
She smiled triumphantly.
"There it is."
"What?"
"The smile."
"You looked like you hadn't used it in years."
The smile faded as quickly as it had come.
Lyra's expression softened.
"...I'm sorry."
"For what?"
"I make jokes."
"A lot."
"Sometimes before I think."
"You don't have to apologize."
"I know."
She looked toward the river.
"I just..."
Her fingers tightened around the railing.
"...don't like silence."
The words came so quietly Kael almost missed them.
She forced another smile almost immediately.
"Silence lets your thoughts catch up."
"I prefer keeping mine out of breath."
Kael didn't press further.
Something in her eyes told him there was a story behind those words.
One she wasn't ready to tell.
As the afternoon wore on, they wandered through Havenfall together.
Lyra seemed fascinated by everything.
She stopped to read faded inscriptions carved into old buildings.
Asked an elderly potter about traditional clay patterns.
Spent ten minutes trying to identify a bird perched on a rooftop.
"You really write everything down."
Kael observed.
"I don't trust memory."
She replied.
"It changes."
She scribbled another note into a weathered journal.
"Ink is stubborn."
Near sunset they reached an old shrine tucked between two narrow streets.
Most people walked past without noticing it.
A single weathered statue stood within.
Time had worn away its face.
Only its outstretched hands remained.
Someone had left fresh flowers at its feet.
Lyra tilted her head.
"Who's this supposed to be?"
Kael shrugged.
"No idea."
"The plaque's gone."
She crouched near the base, brushing away moss.
Faint letters remained carved into the stone.
"...No soul..."
The rest had eroded completely.
She frowned.
"That's frustrating."
Kael looked at the statue.
Something about it felt strangely familiar.
Not the figure itself.
The posture.
Gentle.
Patient.
As though waiting for someone.
A cool breeze drifted through the shrine.
For the briefest instant...
Kael heard that distant whisper again.
"...Soon."
His hand instinctively moved to the silver pendant beneath his shirt.
The metal was warm.
Then, just as quickly...
Cold.
"What is it?"
Lyra asked.
Kael looked around.
The shrine was empty.
"No..."
He said slowly.
"I thought I heard someone."
She listened.
Only birds answered.
"...Just the wind."
Kael nodded.
Maybe it was.
But somehow...
He didn't believe it.
High above the city...
Dark clouds gathered over the distant Black Forest.
The people of Havenfall barely noticed.
They had seen storms before.
None of them realized...
The storm wasn't moving toward the forest.
It was moving away from it.
Toward the city