Arnold had always found his relationship with Thalien to be… strange. Not strained, not hostile—but distant in a way that defied clear explanation. Unlike with the middle brother, whose ambition burned so nakedly that it chafed at every gathering, always eager to contest Arnold's place and undercut his authority with passive jabs or political maneuvering, Thalien had never once stepped out of line.
In fact, Thalien had rarely stepped out of his own line at all.
He kept his distance. Not out of fear or reverence, but as if the whole notion of familial power dynamics simply bored him.
