The Royal Palace of the Azure Dragon Kingdom stood at the heart of the capital like an unshakable pillar of authority.
Layer upon layer of jade-white stone rose toward the sky, each tier lined with carved balustrades and towering pillars that bore the weight of centuries.
Dragons coiled along the columns, their forms etched with such precision that even the faintest shift of light brought them to life. Golden inlays traced the edges of the architecture, catching the afternoon sun and scattering it across the vast courtyard below.
The palace gates remained open.
Not out of vulnerability—
But confidence.
Inside, the royal court stretched wide beneath a high-domed ceiling, its surface painted with an ancient mural of the Azure Dragon soaring through clouds, watching over the kingdom it had once blessed.
The air carried a faint hum of formations woven into the very structure—silent, constant, stabilizing.
Ministers stood in ordered rows along either side of the hall.
