Even pregnancies were rarely as hidden as Kunku's.
His mother — Wife of the Second Fourth Elder — had not known she carried him until the seventh month. Not even the household healer sensed it. And this was not her second issue, but her third.
His arrival bordered on the sudden.
Almost… deliberate.
Among the People of the First Fire, the birth of a Third was not considered a fruitful venture. Especially within ranking households — and most certainly within that of an Elder — quality was always preferred over quantity.
Some whispered that perhaps this was why the Third Master entered the world in secrecy.
After all, beyond the First and Second, children were often regarded as excess.
Or mistakes.
Like his birth, the Third of the Elder's household grew reserved.
If one did not look properly, one would not notice him at all.
And yet — in a household brimming with authority and fire — his presence could still be felt.
