Senate Report

Aric stepped into the Senate House. 

The entire building reeked of tension, smoke thick and presssin down with expectation. Grand columns lined the hall, leaving streched shadows across the walls adorned with murals of past emperors and battles won. 

Rows of high-backed seats spiraled upward, each filled by the most influential nobles in the empire. At the very center, in an elevated chair, sat his father, Emperor Xavier Valerian, flanked by his three sons—Valen, Sylas, and Darius—each eyeing Aric with varying shades of curiosity, contempt, and veiled calculation.

As Aric advanced to the center of the hall, Duke Thadrian Varys, Speaker of the Senate, raised his hand to silence the murmurs that had rippled through the chamber. Thadrian was a neutral figure, wielding power not by force or favoritism, but by holding sway over the secrets of every senator present. 

His gaze, penetrating and careful, settled on Aric.