Dozens of goblets crashed together as the hall resounded with cheers.Standing motionless in the shadow of a structural pillar, Tair pressed his left thumb firmly against the striking plate of the iron igniter hidden inside his tunic.On the elevated platform, Veyran Kharvayn raised his heavy golden goblet with an expression of immense, fatherly pride. Beside him, the Great Heir and Commander Kael exchanged thin, triumphant glances before lifting their ornate silver goblets to their lips.10 Minutes.Tair’s cold eyes tracked the flow of the liquid. The labels on the barrels had been switched six hours earlier. Veyran Kharvayn took three deep, lingering sips from the spiced vintage—the exact barrel spiked with Sarkis's drug-root extract. Beside him, Varis and Kael finished their goblets and wiped their mouths with their sleeve cuffs.Down in the hall, the unranked recruits were drinking cheap, unadulterated barley wine.Five minutes passed amidst the noisy celebrations. Then, the poison took effect.Veyran Kharvayn suddenly frowned, slamming his golden cup down onto the blackwood table with a heavy thud. He tried to raise his right arm to summon a servant, but his fingers twitched helplessly. The golden aura around his shoulders violently flickered, then collapsed into fading, dim sparks.Beside him, the Great Heir collapsed backward out of his chair, clutching his throat and suddenly gasping for air as his face turned a mottled, unhealthy purple."What... what is this?!" Varis choked out. "The wine... My Essence channels... they're blocked!"Commander Kael tried to draw his broadsword, but lacked the strength to clear the scabbard. The blade fell to the platform with a metallic clatter.Chaos erupted at the head table. The inner guard officers collapsed into their seats, paralyzed from the neck down, their eyes widening with sudden, horrific dread.Down below in the main hall, the unranked recruits froze, their cheers dying in their throats. In absolute bewilderment, they stared at the leaders they had respected.In the rear corner, Beyran’s jaw dropped. He looked at his paralyzed uncle, then down at the cheap barley wine in his own hand, understanding with horrifying shock that the poison had been reversed.Tair did not waste a single heartbeat.He struck the igniter.SPARK-HIIIIIZZZZT!A sharp, whistling hiss echoed from beneath the stone floor tiles. The alchemical fuse, soaked in Sarkis’s military-grade fast-firing powder, ignited instantly. A brilliant orange spark raced down the drainage grate, following the path leading straight to the underground wine cellar where two barrels of refined naphtha oil waited.BOOOOOOM!A deafening explosion tore through the eastern floor of the Great Hall.Stone tiles erupted upward in a fountain of shrapnel and roaring orange flames. The force of the blast tore through the wooden platform, hurling the paralyzed leaders to the ground; thick, black smoke swallowed the upper gallery.If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.Screams echoed through the hall. Recruits panicked, scrambling toward the main doors."The doors!" shouted a recruit. "They're locked from the outside!"Tair dragged his ruined right leg through the billowing smoke, stepping over falling debris as he moved toward the side auxiliary corridor. He pulled the stolen master key from his belt, shoved it into the heavy iron lock of the side exit, and threw the door wide open."OUT!" Tair rasped, his voice a dry, grating bark that cut through the chaos.The recruits did not hesitate. Seeing the open corridor and the night air beyond, they poured like a flood through the side door, escaping the burning hall.Tair turned back toward the burning platform.Veyran Kharvayn lay flat on his side amidst the soot, his legs paralyzed, his golden Essence completely sealed by the poison. He looked up through the flames, his vision blurred; through the ashes, he saw a solitary, crippled figure dragging a dead leg toward him."You..." Veyran Kharvayn gasped, coughing up black soot; his eyes widened in disbelief as he recognized the unranked novice. "Lame one... How...?"Tair stopped three steps away from the dying clan leader. He did not draw a sword. He did not boast. He simply reached into his tunic and hurled the dried dragon-lizard skin roll—the surrender contract with the Iron Pioneers—onto Veyran Kharvayn’s chest.The flames instantly caught the parchment, illuminating the jagged runes of betrayal as it turned to ash.Outside the fortress, a massive war horn bellowed from the valley floor.HHOOOOOOOOORN!The Iron Pioneers had reached the outer gates. But instead of finding a silent, disarmed outpost ready for a quiet surrender, they were met with a fortress in flames, hundreds of fleeing recruits, and a dark pillar of fire illuminating the night sky for thirty miles in every direction.On the northern ridge, a sudden flash of brilliant white light blazed into the darkness.Orren had reached the signal beacon. The Karyen fire tower sprang to life, sending a pillar of flame high into the clouds—warning every neighboring clan across the Elyaran borderlands that a major war had begun.Veyran Kharvayn watched the beacon burn, his face turning pale as he realized his grand betrayal had turned into a catastrophic, irreversible battlefield. His political leverage was gone. His reputation was ashes."Why...?" Veyran Kharvayn choked out, staring up at Tair.Tair looked down at the paralyzed leader with two hollow, unyielding eyes.He opened his mouth, his ruined throat uttering a low, breathless whisper swallowed by the roaring flames:"Dregs... don't die alone."Tair turned his back and limped out through the side auxiliary door, vanishing into the dark, chaotic night as Kashrûn burned behind him.
[CHRONO-ANCHOR // CRIPPLED LOOP — COMPLETED]Cleared Objective: Prevent Silent Surrender and Survive the Massacre.Unlocked Reward: Restriction-Bypass Combat Seal Patterns.Temporal Anchor Stability: ຸ (Stabilized).