Messengers ride through the night, hawks carrying sealed scrolls, runners darting along hidden roads. The news spreads faster than wildfire.
The Watervale Clan has fallen. Kore is dead. Watervale has surrendered to the monsters.
By dawn, every subordinate kingdom and clan under the Empire knows.
----
In the Ironspire Hall, where the Blackfang Clan gathers, the clan leader slams his fist into the stone table.
"Cowards! They bent the knee before beasts!" His voice echoes through the chamber, rattling weapons on the walls.
One of his lieutenants sneers. "Watervale always boasted of their discipline, of their honor. And yet they kneel like dogs at the first taste of true war."
Another warrior spits on the floor. "Better to die with a weapon in hand than bow your head to monsters."
---
In the Crystal Kingdom, nobles sit within a shining palace of glass and light. The news reaches them at a banquet.
