Chapter 62 — When the World Remembers
The eastern coalition did not declare war.
They declared clarity.
That was the word etched into the formal missive delivered under pale gray skies an elegantly written decree sealed with mirrored wax and signed by six regional arbiters. The courier who bore it did not wear armor or carry a weapon. He wore a neutral expression and gloves of immaculate white, as though even fingerprints were considered a form of contamination.
The message stated that, for the sake of social integrity and structural coherence, all settlements aligned with the coalition would suspend emotional reintegration policies, restrict interregional travel, and formally denounce what they called "destabilizing relational doctrine."
In simpler terms:
They were cutting themselves off.
And they were blaming Kael and Elowen for the fracture.
Not as enemies.
As proof.
