The Ashen Expanse was vast—far greater than anyone in Emberhold had realized. Endless and barren, it stretched beyond sight, its cracked soil whispering secrets of an age long past.
But Tyrell and his men knew one thing for certain: this land had not always been dead.
The deeper their second expedition traveled, the clearer it became that this wasteland had once been something else entirely.
Ruins of a Forgotten War
The ruins stretched for miles. Some were no more than broken stone foundations, others still had towering structures, worn by time, half-buried in the ashen soil. But one thing was clear—whoever had built them was long gone.
Tyrell's scouts moved carefully, avoiding open ground as they followed the strange tracks deeper into the wasteland. The prints led them toward a massive stone structure, unlike anything they had seen before.
It had once been a fortress—its walls carved with markings they did not understand, symbols of a language lost to time. The architecture was unfamiliar, different from anything in the Kingdom.
But what truly unsettled them lay beneath the ruins.
The wind had shifted the dust, revealing a pit filled with bones.
Large. Humanoid. But not human.
Curved tusks protruded from some of the skulls, their size and shape unnatural.
Tyrell exhaled sharply. "This wasn't just a city," he muttered. "It was a battlefield."
One of his scouts swallowed hard. "If they all died here, what were they fighting?"
The group fell silent, staring at the remains of what must have been thousands of warriors. The bones had been left untouched by scavengers. No animals had come to claim them. The land itself had rejected them.
A low rumble carried through the wind—distant, but distinct. Something far to the west, beyond their reach.
Tyrell knew one thing for certain. They weren't alone out here.
Emberhold's Expansion & The Challenge of Growth
Back in Emberhold, the town had transformed. What had once been a collection of crude shelters was now a structured, growing settlement.
The streets had widened, built to accommodate carts and growing trade.Wooden homes had given way to sturdier timber and stone structures.Watchtowers stood tall, their beacons glowing at night, watching over the wilderness beyond.
But with growth came new problems.
"We're running out of space," Owen reported. "More settlers keep arriving, and housing is already stretched thin. We can keep expanding, but it's slowing down everything else—fortifications, workshops, all of it."
Alexander sat in the war tent, listening. Gareth, who had taken charge of much of the construction efforts, nodded in agreement.
"It's manageable for now," Gareth added. "But if we keep expanding without planning, it'll turn into a mess."
Silas leaned back in his chair, watching the exchange with mild amusement. "That's what towns do, though. They grow. Eventually, we'll need to organize it properly—districts, road networks, supply chains."
Alexander considered this carefully.
The Maxwell Dominion was no longer just a settlement struggling to survive—it was a territory, and territories required planning.
"For now, prioritize efficiency," Alexander ordered. "If we're running out of space, we adjust—denser housing where needed, and we start scouting for future expansion sites."
Silas smirked. "Sounds like you're thinking about building a city."
Alexander gave a slight nod. "Not just a city. A stronghold."
Emberhold was growing, and that meant they had to think beyond simple survival.
Political Maneuvering & The Kingdom's Unrest
Silas brought troubling news from beyond the frontier that evening.
"The situation in the Kingdom is getting worse," he reported. "Skirmishes along the border have escalated into open conflict. The King hasn't declared full-scale war yet, but it's only a matter of time."
Alexander frowned. The timing was too perfect.
"Vale will be watching this closely," Silas continued. "If the war becomes official, the King will start pulling nobles into the fight. Vale might be forced to send troops, which would weaken his position against us."
Alexander nodded slowly. "And if that happens, we strike."
Vale was still hesitant to attack because he wasn't sure of victory. But if his forces were diverted elsewhere, he wouldn't have a choice—he would either negotiate or lose.
Silas smirked. "One problem at a time, then."
Alexander studied the map before him.
A war was coming, not just in the frontier, but across the entire region.
The key was making sure The Maxwell Dominion came out stronger, not weaker.
Tyrell's Return & The Mystery of the Expanse
Two nights later, Tyrell and his scouts returned under the cover of darkness. Their expressions were grim.
Alexander met them in the war tent, where Tyrell spread out a rough map of the ruins they had found. He placed a large, cracked skull on the table.
"Orcs," Silas muttered, examining the tusks.
Alexander ran a hand over the ancient bone. "You're certain this wasn't just a grave site?"
Tyrell shook his head. "No. It was a battlefield. A massive one. Whoever they were, they fought something—and lost."
Silas frowned. "And the ruins?"
"Too old to be from recent history," Tyrell said. "There was a city once. An entire civilization. But it's gone now. The land is dead, and we don't know why."
Alexander's thoughts drifted to Tenebrium, the black metal that drained life from the land.
"If that metal was mined here in the past," he murmured, "it could explain everything."
Silas raised an eyebrow. "You think the metal killed the land?"
"It drains energy. It warps the land around it," Alexander said. "If a civilization mined too much of it, they might have destroyed their own homeland without realizing it."
The implications were unsettling.
If Tenebrium had killed the Ashen Expanse, what would it do if they mined too much of it now?
Silence filled the war tent.
Tyrell's voice was quiet. "That's not the worst part."
Alexander looked up. "What do you mean?"
Tyrell hesitated, then spoke. "The tracks we followed… they weren't old. Something is out there. And it's moving."
The wind outside howled, as if to emphasize the words.
Alexander exhaled slowly.
The Ashen Expanse was no longer just a dead land.
It held secrets—secrets that could change the future of The Maxwell Dominion.
Because beyond the ruins, something was stirring.
And it was watching.