The heavy, metallic scent of polished profound-steel and the sharp tang of ozonic Qi saturated the air of the Violet Thunder Pavilion's primary war room. The chamber was a marvel of martial architecture, forged entirely from deep-earth lodestone and insulated with layers of sound-dampening acoustic arrays. In the center of the room rested a massive, circular table carved from a single slab of white jade, its surface intricately etched with the topographical layout of the Celestial Dragon Empire's eastern and northeastern borders.
