Days turned to weeks, and Gorath found himself wrestling with his own impatience as he watched the uneasy alliance he had forged between the people of the Heavenly Peaks and Hell Plains teeter on the edge of collapse. The people of the Heavenly Peaks clung to their traditions of ceremony and order, while the Hell Plains nomads, accustomed to a life of fierce independence and constant survival, viewed the rigid customs of the mountain dwellers as unnecessary displays of vanity. Gorath's initial attempts to force them to cooperate by decree had only deepened the chasm between them.
But he was committed to proving his strength lay not just in brute force but in the wisdom to wield that strength for the greater good. Each misstep taught him more about the complexity of leadership, and every failure became a stepping stone toward something greater.
…
The Incident at the River Valley
