The late autumn frost began to carve delicate white crystals across the high windowpanes of the Envoy Citadel, signaling the rapid approach of another winter in the Shadowfall Valley.
Standing before the sprawling oak table in my private study, I reviewed the final financial ledgers for the upcoming fiscal quarter. The economy of the Neutral Alliance had never been stronger; trade routes were secure, medical resource distribution was operating at a hundred percent efficiency, and regional stability had turned our once-feared mountain domain into the most prosperous territory on the continent.
A soft knock sounded at the heavy oak doors, and Lord Malakor stepped into the room, holding a slender silver cylinder stamped with the official seal of the High Council Regent.
"A formal communica
