Emotional synesthesia. Though they cannot cry, they taste others’ emotions as metallic or fruity notes. Grief tastes like rusted iron. Joy like unripe persimmon.

HARI (V.O.) "You learn to listen for thirst. Not the sound of dryness—that’s just silence. Thirst is a frequency. The earth hums when it remembers water."

BONE-SELLER "Still chasing flowers, Dry Saint? The Season Lords pay better for tears. You could borrow some from a crying child."

They stand. Behind them, a caravan of bone-sellers rattles past. One calls out: