After the grand doors opened, the first thing anyone heard were the footsteps. Heavy, deliberate, earth-shaking. Each step sent tiny tremors through the marble floor; one representative even looked at his wine glass as it rippled until it spilled over. A quiet dread washed through the hall as attendees held their breath, waiting for the fourth nominee to appear.
A massive figure entered—barely clothed in tattered leather shorts torn around the knees. His skin was an orange-red, rough like stone left under the sun for centuries. Short cropped black hair streaked with grey crowned his head, and his wide mouth looked capable of biting through bone. Bare feet slapped against the marble with slow, thunderous weight. Even Atlas stirred in his sleep at the presence of the giant. Behind him marched not a couple of guards but a full escort: ten armed soldiers from each faction, weapons drawn and aimed directly at him. No shackles bound him. None existed that could.
Lady Vorenna quickly opened the parchment before the hall erupted into chaos.
"My fourth nominee. First name: Garruk. Last name: Stoneborn. Species: Giantblood. Age: three hundred eighty-six. Height: 9'5". Resonance: Terra. Containment Zone: four acres of secured land outside the Sunborn Empire. Method of restraint: None. Reason: No existing shackles have proven strong enough to hold him; prisoner must be monitored in an open zone. Crimes: Public disruption, property destruction, repeated border violations, the annihilation of an entire Great Family Clan—his own Stoneborn clan—and the murder and cannibalistic consumption of his wife and daughter. Estimated Kill Count: one hundred twenty. Sentence: Sealing by the highest Resonance casters of all factions."
A hushed horror froze the room as Garruk walked to the dais. Then, in an instant, silence detonated into outrage.
"NOT HIM! ANYONE BUT HIM!" roared the Giantblood delegation, half rising from their seats.
"Murderer! Monster! You shouldn't even be breathing!"
"Vorenna, have you lost your mind?!"
Garruk didn't react. His expression remained blank—neither remorse nor malice, simply presence. Meanwhile Lorian leaned toward Lady Vorenna, hissing under his breath, "I lied when I said I liked you earlier. I mean it. A cannibal? A cannibal?! I refuse to be eaten by a man who looks like he bathes in gravel."
He glanced at Ako in her cage. She barely acknowledged the chaos.Lorian sighed dramatically. "I'm so sorry, little one. I'll have to sacrifice you. A noble offering from pet to owner."
"Shut up already!" Ako barked, baring her canines.
Lorian fake-sobbed, wiping an invisible tear. "Even my pet threatens to eat me… my life is suffering."
He opened his mouth to taunt Garruk, "Hey big guy! Yeah, you!" He has to shout over the chaos and also because Garruk is heads above him. The giant slowly turned his head. His eyebrow raised as Lorian continued, "You gonna eat me pal?"
Garruk shrugged his shoulders and whispered softly as his deep booming voice could manage. "No...I don't wanna."
"Well, good. As long as we have that understanding—" Lorian was cut off when the grand doors opened for the final time. Every gaze swung toward the entrance.
A tall woman stepped inside.
She was striking—silver hair like flowing metal, eyes a fierce burning orange, skin a deep warm brown. Her cloak was torn, her tunic rough, yet she held a regal posture that not even shackles could diminish. Only one Dark Elven guard escorted her.
Lady Vorenna spoke again, voice steady:
"My fifth and final nominee. First name: Seris. Last name: Vael'thryn. Species: Dark Elf. Age: one hundred thirty-two. Height: 6'1". Resonance: Veil and Vitae. Containment Zone: Albritiz Dungeon. Cell: 3007. Crimes: Aiding and abetting, unlawful assistance of Demon Clan refugees, the unlawful taming of dragons, conspiracy, and the murder of her own parents—the King and Queen of Umberspire State. Estimated Kill Count: two. Sentence: Death by public hanging in Umberspire."
Shock rippled through the hall in a wave.
"…Princess Seris?"
"They chose her?"
"She should be dead!"
"She murdered our sovereigns!"
Then the true outrage rose like a storm—shouts, curses, slammed fists. Seris ignored them all, with a cold expression, and her chin lifted as she took her place on the dais. She stood to Garruk's left, two spaces from Lorian who was openly staring at her with starstruck awe, and three from Ako's cage. Lorian exhaled like a man struck by divine revelation.
"Holy… moly. She is beautiful."
The Dark Elf section erupted louder. Lady Vorenna did not flinch.
"These four complete the Deathforged," she declared, her voice cutting cleanly through the uproar. "You may rage, you may curse, but these are the best candidates the Coalition can offer. The threat we face requires nothing less."
The Light Elven speaker slammed his staff against the marble, the crack echoing like a thunderclap.
"Order! ORDER!"He glared down at her. "Grand Arbitrator Vorenna… these are truly your chosen?"
"They are."
A long pause hung, thick as smoke.
"Then it shall stand," he said at last, defeated. "Address your… Deathforged."