Death Tax Payment Order

A stiff parchment notice bearing the cold imprint of Gatherer Hade’s bureaucratic seal, its rectangular form rigid under Cordo’s fingers as he accepts it at the corridor bureau. The text, printed in narrow columns, outlines the exact sum required to settle his father’s estate tax—neither negotiable nor forgiving—delivered in the woman’s flat tone that drains the moment of any human warmth. Cordo’s attempt to gesture preparedness falters; the order’s finality is absolute, its edges sharp against his palm like a ledger’s knife.