Elias had gotten only a few hours of sleep when the morning suddenly shattered.
It began with the thunderous tolling of the bells from the High Cathedral, a sound that usually signaled fire or invasion. But as the notes echoed off the palace walls, they carried a different cadence—jubilant, frantic, and overwhelming.
A victory dispatch had arrived at dawn.
By the time Elias reached the Council Chamber, the atmosphere had transformed.
The suffocating tension of the previous weeks had been bleached out by a sudden, blinding light.
The Northern state, Veyrath, was secured.
The report, signed by General Xavier and sealed with the King's own crest, was handed over to Elias the moment he walked in.
The Veyrathi lines at the Valmere Pass hadn't just been broken; they had been dismantled and taken over.
The mobile dampening pylons that had been choking the bond were gone, turned into twisted scrap by a series of surgical strikes. Losses were categorized as "minimal."
