Ilyan arrived with three accounts of what the gates should become.
One representative wanted the crossings closed until human authorities could guarantee safe passage. Her settlement had lost people during the transition, and a temporary watch did not answer what would happen when another frightened defender saw an unfamiliar body at a threshold. Another representative needed a route open now. Families remained separated on opposite sides; a guarantee no authority could honestly give would make closure indefinite. The third wanted trade under predictable conditions before stores ran low enough that the next negotiation began with hunger.
They had spoken together before coming.
They had not agreed to pretend they wanted the same thing.
Ilyan set the translated inspection proposal beside their statements. The hunters’ permanent security command remained on the council table, its exclusive authority clauses marked by objections from the previous hearing. Eli sat among the witnesses again. Juno had brought the fault report, including the findings supporters of shared governance wished she would stop mentioning when cameras were present.
The chair asked whether Ilyan spoke for the dungeon communities.
“For the inspection proposal they’ve authorized me to present,” he said. “They’ll speak to their own positions on the gates.”
