The afternoon sun hung low over the western ridge of the Shadowfall Domain, casting long, amber shadows across the manicured lawns and high limestone battlements of the citadel. The frantic energy of the continental summit had entirely dissipated, replaced by the quiet, steady rhythm of an administration settling into its new, permanent baseline.
There were one hundred and forty-eight chapters remaining in the grand arc of our chronicle—one hundred and forty-eight milestones of peace, institution-building, and structural governance stretching out toward the horizon. But today, the heavy ledgers and treaty parchments remained untouched on my desk.
I stood by the open window of my private study, the crisp autumn breeze carrying the faint scent of woodsmoke and damp earth from the valley be
