I. The Pressure of Two Hearts
The peace of the Obsidian Ordo had created a new, dangerous problem: Success.
In Obsidios Iubeo, the streets were choked. Eight thousand citizens jostled in the markets. The granaries were full, but the housing districts were overflowing.
Forty miles to the west, in Obsidios Lithos, the situation was identical. As the gateway to the northern mines and the western trade routes, Lithos had swelled with smiths, refugees, and laborers. The original "First City" was groaning under the weight of five thousand new souls.
Corvin Nyx stood in the Sanctum of Iubeo, looking at the map. He wasn't just managing a city anymore; he was managing a metropolitan network.
"We are clogging the arteries," Corvin observed. "A merchant caravan takes three hours just to get through the gates of Lithos because of the traffic. The road between the two cities is a solid line of wagons."
Garrus Vane pointed to the empty space between the two capitals. specifically the Great Fork—the Y-junction where the main continental highway split to feed both cities.
"The bottleneck is here," Garrus said. "The Great Fork. Sixty miles south. All traffic from the Union funnels through this one dusty plain before splitting to Iubeo or Lithos. It is unguarded. If an army takes the Fork, they cut the connection between your two cities."
"Then we take the Fork," Corvin decided. "And we use it to bleed the pressure off the capitals."
He turned to Veridian Vex.
"Take the Fourth Cohort. Take the heavy construction crews. Take a thousand volunteers from the overcrowded districts of Lithos and Iubeo—families who want land and quiet."
Corvin placed a black stone on the intersection.
"We build the third anchor. Observa Divisio. It will be the Shield that guards the two Hearts."
II. The March of the Builders
The mobilization was a testament to the new infrastructure.
From the west gate of Lithos, a column of wagons carrying refined obsidian blocks and iron rolled out. From the south gate of Iubeo, a column of settlers and Earth Sorcerers departed.
They met at the Great Fork. It was a vast, desolate plain where the wind howled, kicking up blinding dust storms.
Obel Harth stood at the center of the crossroads. He looked at the chaos of the wind.
"A Hexagon," Obel commanded his team. "Six walls. Six angles to deflect the gale. Two main gates—one facing the Union South, one facing our North."
The work began. It was the grind of empire-building. The sorcerers channeled the Void, fusing the bedrock with obsidian dust. The black walls rose sixty feet into the air.
In the center, they raised the Third Observa Tower.
III. The Synergy of the Triad (The View from Lithos)
Weeks later, the moment of activation arrived.
Senior Captain Sol stood on the high ramparts of Obsidios Lithos. The "First City" was a hive of industrial activity. The smoke from the expanded District of the Forge rose into the sky, but it was clean smoke, scrubbed by the Ordo.
Below him, the new Outer Ring of Lithos was teeming with life. Stone masons were finishing a new block of Insulae. A new Schola Minor had just opened near the West Gate.
Sol looked to the southeast.
Sixty miles away, a beam of violet light pierced the clouds. Observa Divisio was online.
Instantly, the tower behind Sol in Lithos roared to life in response. To the east, the tower in Iubeo answered.
The three beams connected in the upper atmosphere. A massive, glowing triangle of Obsidian Ordo formed over the territory.
Sol felt the impact in his bones. The Spread-Wing Brand at his throat pulsed with heat. The air in Lithos suddenly grew heavier, richer. The Fatigue-Reducing Field intensified.
"The Link is sealed," Sol whispered. He looked down at his hand. The skin seemed tougher, denser.
In the forge district below, the fires burned hotter. In the Schola, the minds of the children sharpened. The Triad didn't just protect the land; it amplified everything within it.
IV. The City of Night (Observa Divisio)
With the shield active, the new city of Observa Divisio opened its gates.
It was a masterpiece of logistics. The five thousand settlers who had moved from the overcrowded capitals found a city designed for flow.
The main road was a river of stone. It ran from the South Gate (facing the Union) to the North Gate (facing the Domain). It was paved wide enough for two heavy carriages to pass side-by-side, with raised stone walkways for pedestrians.
Obel Harth unveiled the Imperial standard for illumination.
Along the wide avenue, tall iron posts stood at regular intervals. Atop each was a Void Crystal—quartz infused with the raw power of the Triad. They hummed with a smokeless, permanent violet light.
From the horizontal bar of each post hung the Raven Banner, snapping in the wind that was now controlled by the hexagonal walls.
It was a city of perpetual, beautiful twilight. It became the primary filter for the continent.
V. The Roots of Power (The Biological Shift)
With the Triad active, the Terraforming accelerated across the entire triangle of the domain.
Corvin traveled between the cities, inspecting the changes.
In the valleys near Lithos, where the mines lay, the trees had changed. Their bark was dark grey, almost metallic.
"They have a circulation system," Vesper Thorne noted, cutting a branch. The sap was thick and purple. "Just as trees in the Arcaneum drink Aether, these trees are drinking the Void. Their wood is denser than oak and fire-resistant."
In the pastures near Iubeo, the livestock had evolved. A herd of horses grazed on the Dark Harvest grass. These were the mounts for the Legion. Their coats were slate-grey, their muscle density mirroring the Circle One soldiers.
"They do not tire," the stable master reported. "They are becoming iron."
Even the wolves in the wild spaces between the cities had changed—larger, darker, and strangely docile toward those who bore the Raven Brand, while vicious to intruders.
The Domain was no longer just land; it was a living organism, and Corvin was its heart.
VI. The Siphon
The strategic brilliance of the Triad became clear within days.
A massive Union caravan, carrying iron ore from the north destined for the southern markets, reached the Fork.
In the past, they would have just driven past. Now, they faced the massive Hexagon of Observa Divisio.
They entered the North Gate. They were processed. They paid the toll in Silver Raven Marks. They bought supplies at the Imperial Market—savory, rich food that made their own rations taste like ash.
Then they exited the South Gate.
In the Sanctum of Iubeo, Corvin watched the flow of wealth.
"Lithos provides the steel," Corvin mused. "Iubeo provides the law. Divisio provides the gold."
"We have created a closed loop," Warren Fulkom agreed. "The Union is bleeding wealth into us with every wagon that passes."
Corvin leaned back on the throne. He felt the pulse of three cities—Lithos, Iubeo, Divisio. Ten thousand soldiers. Twenty thousand citizens.
"The body is complete," Corvin said. "Now... we wait for the parasite to react."