Amberine stepped out of the arcane carriage, her feet touching the platform inside Aetherion. Her breath caught in her throat as she took in the surroundings, her amber eyes wide, her lips parting with an involuntary gasp. The fortress was unlike anything she had ever imagined. The walls stretched upward, shimmering with a strange iridescence that made them look as if they were carved from a single colossal gemstone. It felt ancient and yet impossibly intact, with every surface bathed in an otherworldly glow.
Runes, etched along the edges of the walls, pulsed gently, in time with some unseen rhythm, as if the fortress itself was alive, breathing. The pulses created waves of colored light that moved up and down, giving the impression that the structure was swaying, just slightly. It was disorienting, but fascinating—a reminder that this place operated on principles far beyond her comprehension.
