The night was quiet and clear, the cool wind moving freely across the open territory as the stars illuminated the stone walls of the Moonlight Palace. High above, the moon shone with a brilliant, untamed light, casting long shadows across the heavy iron gates of the capital.
The silence of the midnight watch was broken by the distant, rhythmic crunch of carriage wheels against the gravel highway. Two sentries stationed at the main gate straightened their postures, their hands resting instinctively on the hilts of their blades as a massive, heavily reinforced carriage rolled out of the dark and came to a halt.
The first guard squinted through the silver moonlight, his brow furrowing as he studied the foreign wood and the unique, gold-accented engravings on the vehicle's frame. "Who could this be?" he murmured, glancing back at his companion. "Have you ever seen that emblem before?"
