Aldric did not announce his claim with banners.
He announced it with law.
Across Veyl and beyond its fractured borders, the king’s decree unfolded simultaneously—etched into stone by court mages, spoken aloud by heralds whose voices carried unnaturally far, burned into the sky for a single heartbeat at dawn.
BY ROYAL DECREE:
ANNA OF EARTH IS DECLARED A PROTECTED SOVEREIGN ASSET OF THE CROWN OF VEYL.
ANY HARM DONE TO HER SHALL BE CONSIDERED TREASON.
ANY AID GIVEN TO HER WITHOUT ROYAL SANCTION SHALL BE CONSIDERED INSURRECTION.
And then, the final line—carefully chosen, devastating:
SHE SHALL BE BROUGHT TO COURT FOR FORMAL RECOGNITION.
The city did not erupt.
It fractured.
Noble houses split instantly—some kneeling, some recoiling. Merchant guilds froze trade routes. Border lords s
