The cold morning light washed over the high stone stairwell, turning the scattered frost into glittering diamonds upon the dark steps.
Elder Morzan stood three paces above them, sneering with yellowed teeth as he dangled the bloodied Dire-Wolf Signet by its broken gold chain. His thick black bear-fur mantle draped heavily over his stooped shoulders, the charcoal velvet of his inner robes whispering against his withered ankles. He leaned his frail weight upon his carved Dashwood cane, his carnelian rings clattering against the polished wood as he relished the sight of the exhausted healer and her sleeping sovereign.
"Look upon your ruined realm, little Omega," Morzan mocked, his shrill voice bouncing off the granite walls like dry gravel. "Your science was too slow. The iron gates are bro
