Between the two steep mountains, a massive palace with dark, brooding architecture clung to the rock, as if it were a span of masonry bridging two natural fortresses.
Lights burned bright in rows of windows and along the balconies, steady and clean against the night. From afar, they seemed like watchful eyes, making it plain—even at the deepest hour—that the residents within had not yet surrendered to sleep.
Inside the vast throne room, Practitioners filled the space in disciplined lines. Most were Rank 3, their presence steady but contained; yet the eye was drawn to the three figures at the front, whose auras breathed around them like heat over black metal, the signature of Rank 4 strength too clear to miss.
