The council chamber was filled with an anxious hum as Kade's commanders gathered around the war table. Reports from the northern borders lay scattered across the surface, detailing sightings of unfamiliar forces. While Verath's schemes always loomed in the background, this new development introduced an unsettling layer of uncertainty.
Kade leaned over the table, studying the map with furrowed brows. He traced the route of the movement with a gloved finger, pausing at the clustered symbols marking the northern forests.
'Unfamiliar forces,'
he muttered aloud, his voice laced with suspicion.
'If it's not Verath, then who else has the audacity to encroach on our lands?'
Selyna stepped forward, her sharp eyes scanning the reports.
'Whoever they are, they're not hiding their presence,'
she said, her voice even.
'That either means they're overconfident, or they want to be seen.'
