Nora POV
Two weeks after Embergate’s founding, dawn breaks over a settlement alive with portal-traffic. Nora awakens to Liana’s tiny paws padding across the earthen floors of their modest home. A Council of Gates meeting calls, with emissaries gathered—skyborn sirens, desert mystics, ice-steeled champions. Nora delivers her vision: this network will protect the realms and teach unity, not dominate it.
But tension underlies the gathering. A delegation from the Mage‑Prince challenges Nora’s authority: who oversees Embergate, and by what right? Calmly, Nora responds with grace and steel—she doesn’t hold power for herself, but for the people, guided by prophecy and love. She offers shared guardianship and transparency—inviting ambassadors to rotate in leadership roles.
As she speaks, Liana
