Lucien Vale, envoy of the Chronos Empire, rode through the towering gates of Eldoria atop a sleek, black steed, its coat groomed to a mirror shine. His silver-embroidered cloak billowed behind him, catching the early afternoon sun like a banner of authority. Four knights flanked him—silent, disciplined, and clad in immaculate crimson cloaks, each one stitched with the unmistakable emblem of Chronos: a silver lion entwined with gears.
The guards stationed at Eldoria's gate bowed hastily, heads lowered, eyes averted. Not a single man dared to meet the envoy's gaze.
Despite the reforms King Arthur Tesla had enacted in recent months, the name Chronos still inspired fear in Keldoria. Not because the two nations were enemies, but because the balance of power between them was unmistakably one-sided. Chronos stood as a towering empire—militarily dominant, economically vast, and politically shrewd—while Keldoria, though proud, remained a much smaller kingdom still finding its footing.
