Consent did not announce itself.

It settled.

In Varenth, it arrived the way dust does after a collapse—fine, persistent, unnoticed until it coated everything. No single moment could be blamed. No decree marked its arrival. It gathered in pauses, in shortened debates, in the subtle relief of not having to argue anymore.

The city moved differently now.

Foot traffic flowed with fewer collisions. Market disputes were resolved before tempers flared. Even voices sounded lower, calmer, as if ...