The cold air of the Council's chamber clung to my skin like frost, the enchantments woven into the very stone humming at the edge of my senses. These halls had been built to withstand the weight of time itself, ancient runes etched into marble surfaces that pulsed with barely restrained magic. I walked with measured steps, each footfall echoing against the vast, vaulted ceiling, as if the building itself was watching, listening.
A place of power. A place of control. A place designed to make men feel small.
I had never been one of those men.