7/ The Third Whisper: 
   “Preserve the Keep, but Empty Its Foundation”

The Keep still stood, but its foundation was no longer defended. The Great Charter was still honored, but no one was certain why. The First Principles were still quoted, but only as noble ideals, not as binding truths.

The Weavers smiled. They had not needed to tear down the Keep; the guardians had done it for them, simply by ceasing to believe in its necessity.

The kingdom still called itself “Aeternum,” but it no longer stood for anything eternal. Those who called themselves “conservators” of the Keep now spoke of keeping the structure intact, but they had abandoned the very foundation that made it meaningful.