The heavy doors to the great hall groaned as they swung open, the sound rolling through the cavernous chamber like a low drumbeat. Beyond the threshold, torchlight spilled across the polished stone floor, reaching toward the dais where a solitary figure stood. The man lingered beside the throne, not upon it, his posture rigid yet weighted by thoughts that wandered far beyond the plain wall his eyes rested upon.
The echo of footsteps broke his much desired silence, each strike of boot against stone magnified beneath the vaulted ceiling. The man shifted, tilting his head slightly, as though the sound had tugged him back from some distant shore of thought.
Slowly, he turned to face the intruder. Recognition struck immediately, an unmistakable presence, one even Kaelor would know even without a clear look.
