Hearthrest grew around the exposed bulk of Orun, whose motionless body was first taken for an oddly shaped ridge. As settlements spread across the stone, residents noticed that tremors came in pulses and that some sounds seemed to carry through the ground. The first custodians were practical neighbors, not a formal priesthood. They used felt, sand, and carefully placed stone to soften noise near the giant, then taught simple silence signs to children and laborers. The turning point came during the Year of the Split Well, when a drilling crew broke through a layer of pale, metallic mineral in Orun's skin. A deep vibration followed. Several buildings cracked, the well water turned cloudy, and a number of residents reported hearing a voice in their dreams. The first Wardens ordered all excavation stopped and coordinated a townwide silence vigil. The tremors subsided before dawn. No one could prove the vigil had helped, but afterward the town accepted a permanent ward watch and gave its leaders authority to close streets near the giant. Over the next decades, the Stillwardens developed repeatable acoustic wards and became responsible for more than ritual. They organized repairs, trained a night watch, kept maps of safe ground, and mediated disputes over construction near Orun. Their methods helped Hearthrest survive two later tremor seasons, earning the order high public standing. In the same period, traders discovered that fragments from Orun's skin could be worked into unusually durable tools. The order officially banned extraction. Secretly, certain Wardens permitted limited mining and argued that the money paid for ward maintenance. The rise of the Dawncallers reopened the founding question. Sera Flint's followers argue that Orun is a person and that no community has the right to keep him asleep forever. The Stillwardens see an awakening as an unknowable risk to thousands of lives. The Covenant of Silence, enforced by Mara Bellweather, was meant to prevent either side from forcing the issue. Now new tremors, missing mineral, and disputed records threaten the compact that has kept Hearthrest intact.

A low, thick-walled hall built against a ridge of Orun's stone shoulder. The headquarters has felted doors, sand-filled wall cavities, and narrow interior passages designed to dampen sound. Its public rooms are open to residents seeking ward inspections or mediation. Deeper chambers hold ward instruments, restricted records, and the sealed entrance to a tunnel where unauthorized mining has occurred.