Ash and Ambition

The forty-seventh dawn painted Kael El's empire in violet-gold streaks, a quiet glow washing over a 6,906-square-kilometer sprawl—nineteen territories fused into a titan of forest, plains, mesa, desert, swamp, jungle, tundra, crypt, molten wastes, steel flats, and now Dorn's ash plains. The major city thrummed, 115 buildings a fortress of Mist Core-lit walls, forges blazing as 1,838,000 subjects hauled ash-slick loot. Kael lounged in the Lord's Estate, the Stormforged Blade across his lap, EX: Dragonflame Reaver simmering, Stormhide Armor patched with Dorn's ash-forged steel. His flirty smirk shone, a cool dominance radiating—Dorn's fall had fueled a surge, and Torva's shadow crept closer.