Elder Verin
The letter arrived in the dead of night.
Not carried by wolf or bonded courier, but dropped, silently and unannounced onto the stone floor of the Council Hall. The black paper glistened like oil, sealed with wax bearing the insignia of the Blackridge Syndicate: a crescent coiled around a burning flame.
Verin stared at it for a long moment before breaking the seal.
The message was short.
> The Heir has awakened.
She stands beneath the Luna Flame.
Choose your side wisely.
—K
His hand trembled just slightly as he let the paper fall from his fingers.
Then, without a word, he crushed the parchment into a tight ball and turned to the fire blazing in the hearth. Shadows danced across the walls, flickering like whispers of old prophecies.
“This changes everything,” he mut
