Erend stood before King Gulben, who could now sit upright. But that was all he could manage. He was no longer confined to his bed, weak and in pain from his injuries—now, he sat in a specially crafted chair embedded with runes at the back that constantly supplied him with healing magic. His arms rested motionlessly on the armrests, likely still unusable.
Looking at the king's face, Erend could tell the battle had left more than just physical wounds. His face was pale, the wrinkles more pronounced, and his eyes sunken. Perhaps it was due to the injuries, but it seemed more likely that the pain in his heart was the real cause.
Aerchon had not regained consciousness yet. From the injuries Erend had seen, he figured it made sense that Aerchon hadn't woken up—but that didn't stop the king from worrying. It was clearly weighing heavily on him.
