Inside Redhaven, Adrian saw things that made his pulse quicken.
Generators half-buried in the earth. Metal plating welded into shelters. A pulley system that ran water from the cliff's top. It was primitive, but unmistakably engineered.
He walked slowly through it all, his mind racing. They're adapting. Innovating. Relearning technology from fragments.
Kaela watched his awe with a faint smile. "We've been surviving. You could help us start living."
Rurik crossed his arms. "Kaela says you're from the same place she is. That true?"
Adrian met his gaze. "Same world. Different mistakes."
Rurik nodded. "Then maybe you'll understand this—Dominion's been moving west. They've got old-world weapons now. Ones that hum with lightning. If they reach Redhaven before we strengthen it, they'll burn us out."
Adrian stepped closer, eyes burning with resolve. "Then we'll build defenses that make them regret coming again."
Kaela smirked. "You sound just like you did back in your village."
Adrian looked at the glowing veins of ore running through the cliffside and said quietly,
"No. This time, we're not building to survive. We're building to evolve."
That night, as campfires flickered across Redhaven, Kaela found him sketching something in the dirt—an arching wall reinforced with metal, gears embedded at the base.
"What's that?" she asked.
Adrian didn't look up. "A new design. Not just a wall—a kinetic barrier. One that uses magnetic tension from the iron in these hills. It'll take months, maybe years—but it'll change everything."