If love is the oldest war, diplomacy is surely its most polite disguise.
For what unfolded next in the Grand Ballroom of Cinders was not merely ceremony... it was theatre, divine and dangerous in equal measure. The nations of Solmire and Nevareth stood poised on the edge of ritual peace, though one could not help but notice how warmly their monarchs stared at one another across the flames.
The marble floor, polished to a mirror, reflected two worlds meeting .. ice and fire, restraint and ruin... beneath chandeliers that wept light like liquid stars.
