6:02 AM — Sector A, Timberfall ConcourseThe concourse had not always been hospitable to foot traffic. Once, it had been too splintered—too sharp with failure, too weak from overload. But now, under Elira's feet, the timber panels gave a subtle yield, as if breathing in and out.Dew beaded on the grainlight seams in gentle drops. She knelt to stroke one, sensing not only water, but the mark of tending.Caelan came to join her, his shadow pouring over the platform's edge. "They varnished it with bark resins," he said. "To make it breathe again.""Not sealed?""No. They told a sealed floor how to forget to adapt."She nodded, tracing her fingers along the ridges. "Then this is living architecture. Not merely built. Grown."They walked its entire length at leisure, boots striking a rhythm into the morning.---8:45 AM — Sector V, Risewell Triage HallThe triage room no longer reeked of desperation. Rather, there was herbal steam in the corners and the cots were made of tough netgrass ins
Last Updated : 2025-08-02 Read more