Chapter 153: The March to Nirvana
Dawn came quietly to the West...soft, golden light spilling across the rolling hills of Victoria's domain. Her manor rose at the crest of one such hill, an elegant structure carved from stone and framed by climbing silvervine. The estate was a masterpiece of symmetry and pride, its archways etched with runes that pulsed faintly with protective enchantments. Behind the main house, tall black pines whispered against the wind, their tips catching the first slant of morning sun like spears of fire.
Victoria stood at the balcony overlooking the courtyard, a figure of poise and venomous grace. She was dressed in a long, fitted traveling gown of deep crimson trimmed with black fur, a mantle clasped at her shoulder by a silver crescent brooch. Her hair, dark as midnight and gleaming with oil, was braided tightly behind her, giving her sharp features a fiercer edge but that did nothing to dim her beauty.
