Evadine had not meant to cry over the lunch table. It had been a long morning. Two planning calls. One dream‑check with Enki that turned into a lecture on Ley Line maintenance. Three emails from Beth, each more alarming than the last. By noon, her brain felt threadbare. She carried her tray through the sanctuary mess hall and aimed for an empty corner. Instead, she found Eddard already there.

It lights the scars on Nurdu's knuckles and nothing more. The rest of the chamber looms in shadow.

Nurdu is an Igigi elder and former tunnelling foreman who becomes teacher, protest leader, field strategist, and moral voice for Igigi and Ascended humans. He speaks for Igigi in the Assembly, validates Enlil’s final act, and formally recognises humanity’s right to join the Assembly.