Roaring hearth fires illuminated the high vaulted ceiling of Kovura Fortress's grand command hall, casting warm amber light across ancient stone walls.
Outside in the snow-covered courtyard, thirty thousand northern warriors and forty thousand southern spearmen shared roasted meat and hot tea together around roaring bonfires.
Inside the fortress, the supreme leaders of all five corners of the continent gathered around a massive relief map carved from polished black granite.
For the first time in sixteen years, the rulers who had once eyed each other with suspicion and bloodlust stood within arm's reach of one another.
At the head of the table stood Grand Zorath Zaka Asakana and his son Kaka, their heavy northern warplate still bearing scratches from the morning battle.
To their left stood General Zafaru, the Kai of the South, flanked by Elder Koru and the senior southern desert captains in polished bronze armor.
