Berlin, though an Elf himself, glanced only briefly at Velryss. The air between them grew still. For all their shared ancestry, the difference between light and dark Elves was a chasm of history and ideology.
Velryss did not greet him. She merely inclined her head to Darwa. Berlin, in return, ignored her completely and turned to the Emperor.
The seating was complete.
The five forces of power—the Star Empire, the Dark Elven Empire, the Mountain Dwarf Clans, the Forger Guild, and the Alchemy Association—were gathered at last. Not as enemies. Not as old rivals.
But not as architects of a shared future—no, that would be too idealistic.
Rather, as architects of a shared agenda, one driven by mutual profitability and strategic alignment.
But if only they knew…
