The old provincial hall smelled of dust and forgotten ambitions. Twenty-three family representatives sat in chairs that hadn't been used in decades, beneath a cracked seal that once symbolized the Ninygnith Province's unified strength. Now it was just another relic of what they'd lost.
Geld Torren didn't bother with pleasantries. "We've sworn loyalty to the Ackermans. Now we need to figure out what that actually means beyond pretty words and formal documents."
"Structure," Helena Mallick said, unrolling a territorial map across the ancient table. "We're scattered across the entire province like broken glass. That needs to change."
