The morning sun streamed through the high stained-glass windows of the Great Crown Council Hall, casting geometric beams of red and gold light across the polished marble floor. Chieftain Dargun sat in the front row with his broad hands resting on his knees, his broad chest swelling beneath his ringed armor coat. The elders of the five southern clans whispered approvingly around him as Azhred stepped onto the stone dais.
Azhred raised his hands high, his voice ringing with magnetic warmth. "Today we stand here not as vassals of an empire of taxes and blood, but as free Veyrans of Elyaran! Chieftain Dargun has pledged two thousand horsemen to defend our borders. In return, I proclaim him Lord of the Southern Borders."
The hall roared with cheers, iron scabbards striking against wooden benches. Dargun bowed his head with feigned humility and smiled.
Then, from the dark corridor behind the eastern columns, the dry, rhythmic sound of iron dragging echoed across the floorboards.
Clang. Drag. Clang. Drag.
The cheers died as Tair stepped into the daylight, replaced by a tense silence. His paralyzed right leg was locked inside its heavy metal brace, while his right arm hung lifeless in his black silk sling. Beside him walked two silent city guards carrying a heavy, iron-clad chest. They placed the chest directly in front of Dargun’s table with a dull thud.
Tair did not look at the crowd. His single left eye remained fixed on Dargun. He raised his left hand and tapped his fingers against the chest’s iron lid.
System Diagnostics: ASTRA
SYSTEM NOTIFICATION: Target 'Dargun-Clan Leader' Active Bloodline Essence (Tier 4).
AUTHORITY OVERRIDE: Requires high neural output.