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Home / System / The Grand Strategist's Gamble / The Eye of the Storm
The Eye of the Storm
Author: NB LMO
last update2026-01-13 21:49:57

The silence that followed Arcturus's withdrawal was unnerving. The Observatory didn't close, but its lights dimmed. Silas and his staff became ghosts, appearing only for essential supplies, their interactions clipped and devoid of their previous probing curiosity. The foundation stones no longer hummed with intercepted data; the Aegis Cell's scramblers reported only ambient noise. The spider had retracted its legs, but the web remained.

The greater shockwave came from the east. General Viridian did not respond to Kaelan's apocalyptic bluff with anger or disbelief. He responded with pure, chilling Tieron bureaucracy. The Castrum Ignis garrison did not withdraw, but its activity changed. The aggressive patrols stopped. The geomancers packed up their erratic orbs and rods and were replaced by a different kind of specialist: diplomats and civil engineers.

A formal embassy was established at the edge of the Stoneflower Basin. A senior Legate, an older man named Cassius with a face like a w
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