~IRENE~
The kingdom of Caliborn had never known silence like this before, not the brittle hush of fear nor the suffocating stillness of mourning, but something deeper and infinitely more profound.
It was reverence that held the air steady beneath the open night sky.
Torches lined the great courtyard in perfect symmetry, their flames unwavering despite the cool wind that swept gently through the gathered crowd. Nobles draped in black and silver stood beside armored soldiers, priests in ceremonial robes, and common citizens whose faces bore the marks of hardship survived and hope restored. Every banner that hung from the palace walls bore the sigil of the Black Dragon Kingdom, its silver emblem gleaming beneath starlight that no longer twisted into omens of destruction.
Above us, the sta
