Category: Part Two
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Chapter Twenty-Five: Oaths and Empire
The Justicars—and by extension the City of the Veil—hold aloft a singular creed: justice as fairness. Through their sacred veil of ignorance, they claim to rise above mortal bias and behold the world as it ought to be. In that vision, power is not hoarded by lineage but surrendered to uplift the weak; when governance…
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Interlude: Owls, Implements, and Roiling Clouds
Leading the caravan means turning your eyes away from the market crowds.– Proverb common in the Province of Trade Charisa looked upward, her gaze flitting among the massive stalks of grass towering over her. Only days earlier, she, Kirian, and Shansa had stepped from the Room of Threefold Oath in Dornogor’s trial into what Shansa…
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Chapter Twenty-Four: Frogs, Flowers, and Mud
Few, save the eldest of the Eidolons or the most puissant among the [Venerate], recall the Carrion Wars, those long, smoldering conflicts that raged for centuries in the shadow of the Breaking of Chains. And why should they? What need is there to remember the dying embers of the Blood Wars? What purpose is served…
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Chapter Twenty-Three: Veils and Oaths
There are those, in idle moments, who ponder the nature of the Nygmar. Dwellers of the deep, neither beast nor kin, they stand apart from the true races of the empire. They lack the grace of the Silkborn, the resilience of humankind, the divinity of the Numen. Not even the greenskins, wicked and wily, would…
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Chapter Twenty-Two: Preparations
In ages long past, dragons soared with fiery breath and titans roamed alongside tribes of men. In those enchanted days, weavers spun strands of silk into formidable armies and founded colonies that tamed the wild lands. This lore is widely known—but it only scratches the surface of the first empire’s true legacy. Over thousands of…
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Chapter Twenty-One: Escalation
Among the many cults, churches, and sects scattered across the Sul Empire, none are as feared or as misunderstood as the Penitent of the Gondaran Marsh. Scholars whisper that their burn-scarred flesh—etched with patterns meant to mimic sacred art—forms a grotesque parody of beauty, admired only by the Penitent themselves and the Sunborn who share…
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Chapter Twenty: Unraveled Expectation
In youth, we hunger: for opportunity, for sustenance, for purpose. In life’s prime, we feed ourselves, crafting meaning where once it was given. True wisdom is marked by feeding others: mentoring, inspiring, cultivating greatness in those who come after.
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Chapter Nineteen: Noodles and String
In the arena, victory belongs to those who master the game. In life, survival favors those who forsake its rules. – Dion Proverb
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Chapter Eighteen: Approach
A child’s fear of darkness is a fleeting spark, easily quelled. But when men grow to fear the world’s blaze, a deeper tragedy unfolds. Fear spreads like wildfire, devouring truths and leaving scorched ruins behind. It dims even the brightest lights until they smolder beneath a choking haze, casting twisted shadows that linger even in…
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Interlude: Monarchs
Power commands and compels; authority speaks and is followed by right. Where power imposes, authority persuades, yet neither is complete without the other. Power without rightful claim becomes the weight of tyranny, while authority without strength is but a hollow voice. The Scaled Dominion’s Dual Crown resolves this paradox: a queen to wield power, a…
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Part Two: The City of Beasts
The scholars tell of a journey, the path every soul must walk. First come the beasts, scraping for food, thirsting for water, clawing for shelter against the night. Then come the clever ones, who build walls and guard their hoards, seeking safety in a land of threats. Next gather the tribes, forging bonds, sharing fires,…
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