“ The Great Cataclysm isn't a result of being godless, or lack of faith in the Holy One, like what the goddamn mouthpiece of the Holy Church, the Crown Prince, is claiming. The Great Cataclysm happened as a result of experimental error, miscommunication of commands, and the use of incompatible magic spells that caused the Draconyx Empire and the Magus Obscura to vanish from existence overnight. It wasn't divine punishment, like the Holy Church claims, but procedural error that caused a natural disaster." Raphael Laurent, also known as Third Prince Cain in this life, speaks from behind the podium inside the Bartold Knoll theater. Raphael’s voice cuts through the cavernous space like a razor through silk. The crystalline chandeliers overhead catch the firelight & cast fractured rainbows across the assembled dignitaries and commoners alike. Their faces are frozen in expressions ranging from shock to barely contained fury. His words ignite a wildfire of hushed discussion among ever

Sir Benedik Lukas Weimmler moves before thought, instinct, & the air itself can register the shift in pressure. "What's the meaning of this, Your Imperial Majesty? At the end of the day, Second Princess Ivonette is still your daughter." The words hang in the air like a challenge, and Sir Benedik's hand moves with practiced economy. The bastard sword leaves its sheath in a single fluid motion, as the distinctive Draconyx steel catches the weak northern sunlight and transforms it into a blade of liquid fire. The weapon is a relic of the ancient days when the Draconyx Imperium dominated over half the world. He points the tip directly at Emperor Nicklaus. For a heartbeat, no one breathes. "Do you dare to hit your emperor, and commit treason against the imperial House, my lord? One single order from me, and the Vinterkaiser Imperial Guard will raze House Weimmler to the ground." Crown Prince Guntram Erwinn Vinterkaiser claps his fingers once. It is a sharp & deliberate sound t

" Those documents contain state secrets. More specifically, details on how Crown Prince Guntram Erwinn Vinterkaiser ordered certain mages to poison the wells that are the direct result of the flux you're currently dealing with. Even their exact identities are placed within these documents." Sir Anton's voice cuts through the study's hushed atmosphere like a blade through silk, precise, deliberate, and utterly devoid of hesitation. A glacial chill races down Lord Mayor Augustine Nickolas Bradenburg's spine, and settles deep in his bones like frost claiming winter soil. His blood now surges with molten fury as the horrific realization crystallizes in his mind with brutal clarity. Raphael Laurent's suspicions, dismissed as the fevered imagination of an ambitious prince, have been right all along. But Augustine is a master of his own face. He forces the storm behind his eyes into stillness, locks the rage into a cage of iron will, and smooths his features into careful neutrality.

The assassin lunges for Haelassa's throat with the speed of a striking viper. His enchanted dagger carves a blazing arc through the air. The blade's edge whistles with the promise of severance, hot blood and cold finality. But Haelassa moves first. She ducks aside with surprising grace. The assassin's blade passes through empty air. Its momentum carries him forward, and causes him to go off balance. A fire already condenses in Haelassa’s palm. It’s a sphere of molten fury that crackles with contained violence. She throws the fireball straight at the assassin's stomach. But the assassin redirects his momentum toward her legs instead. The fireball screams past him. He rolls, with his body a compact ball of deadly motion, and comes up with his daggers angled for her hamstrings. Haelassa steps aside nimbly. The assassin overextends, as his weight carries him forward into empty space, and he crashes to the ground in a tangle of limbs and frustration. "You are a very

"Your question essentially answers itself, my lord." Second Princess Ivonette Gertraud Vinterkaiser's voice carries the honeyed warmth of a diplomat and the steel edge of a warrior. She reclines comfortably on the chair before Imperial Lord Governor Adelbert Kasimir Weimmler's desk. "By agreeing to become allies with me, the Second Princess of the Vinterkaiser Empire, House Weimmler will become the second most prominent House in the entire Vinterkaiser Empire, second only to House Vinterkaiser itself." The words hang in the air like smoke. Princess Ivonette watches with dry amusement as Governor Adelbert leans forward, and his eyes gleam with barely concealed greed. I can read you as easily as I read the reports of my spies, my lord. Princess Ivonette's thoughts drift like silk through her consciousness. Your greed is a gaping wound. And I made sure in advance that what I can bring in exchange for an alliance with me will be too tempting to refuse. All that remains is to w