Time/Date: TC1853.01.23 — Afternoon (continuous)
Location: Underground cell, Long Estate
The collar around Caelia's neck gleamed silver in the torchlight—First Era craftsmanship, older than the empire itself, designed to hold creatures far more dangerous than one corrupted healer. She'd woken from the tranquilizer screaming profanity, thrashing against chains with strength that suggested Order conditioning went deeper than spiritual abilities alone.
Now she sat with her back against cold stone, violet eyes tracking everyone in the cell with predatory calculation. Assessing. Measuring. Looking for weakness even in defeat.
Darian stood with his back to the wall, bronze skin clammy with cold sweat, golden-amber eyes burning from unshed tears and rage. His father—Kaelith Long, the legendary Dragon Emperor of War—sat rigid in a chair someone had brought down, pale golden eyes fixed on Caelia with the kind of focus that had once terrified battlefield enemies across three continents.
