Outside the grand hall, word spread like wildfire. Servants hurried from room to room, delivering orders that left no time for second-guessing. Within the course of an hour, the serene courtyards of the James estate turned into a place of organized chaos.
Armories opened wide, racks of spears and sabers dragged out into the bright morning light. Disciples came together in small circle, putting on breastplates that still felt cold from being stored away.
Iron buckles clanged, steel rang under the scrape of whetstones, and hushed incantations threaded through the air. Across the training grounds, formation masters set jade plates into precise positions, each one slotting into the lattice of runes that would anchor the clan's battle array when war was finally called.
