Rising Tides

Rising Tides

The waves crashed against the shore, sending misty droplets into the air while the sun began its slow descent toward the horizon. The white sails of the departing ships dotted the azure sea like sheets of parchment fluttering in the wind. James stood at the imperial northern wing balcony, looking out at the last batch of foreign dignitaries sailing away, a bittersweet feeling bubbling within him.

*year had passed,* he thought, the weight of his crown feeling both familiar and foreign at once. *Fourteen months, and all that effort through constant diplomacy and precarious alliances... But was it all worth it?*

He recalled the challenges his empire had faced since he ascended the throne. The war, the betrayals, the constant dance of courtly politics—it had all led him here, to a moment of tenuous tranquility. Yet, something nagged at him, a whisper in the back of his mind warning him that this calm would not last forever.