"Forty-seven rifts. Three days. This is madness."
Amariel spread maps across the war table, marking each rift location with red ink. They clustered around major cities and trade routes, places where maximum destruction would cause maximum chaos.
"It's strategic," King Tavian said, studying the pattern. He'd ridden through the night to reach headquarters when news broke. "They're targeting infrastructure. If these gates open permanently, trade collapses. Cities fall. Kingdoms fragment."
"Exactly what void entities want," Elaria said. "Chaos makes the barrier between worlds weaker. Makes it easier for more of them to cross over."
"So how do we stop forty-seven rifts simultaneously?" Captain Ryver asked. "We don't have the forces. Even combining all three kingdoms' mages, we'd be spread i
