Iris spent the next hour walking through Velaris.
She did not have a specific destination in mind.
She simply wanted to look.
Not at the walls.
Not at the buildings.
At the people.
The settlement was still small.
There were no crowds filling the roads and no endless stream of merchants moving between buildings.
Velaris was nowhere near that stage.
But it was alive.
That alone was enough to make Iris stop several times.
Near one of the Garden Villas, a woman was hanging clothes outside. She paused when she noticed Iris, offered a small smile, then returned to what she was doing.
Farther down the road, two residents were discussing where they could gather wood.
Someone was carrying a basket of plants.
A few others were talking about the blacksmith who had recently settled in Velaris, apparently curious about what kind of work he could do.
Everyone seemed to have something to talk about.
Everyone seemed to be trying to figure out their place.
Iris watched them quietly.
