Didi knelt upon the damp cobblestones of the western palace avenue, pressing both bare palms firmly against the stone road.
Didi checked the stones for civilians before committing another Shard to the roadway's contested imperial circuit.
Crowned Frost surged outward from her fingertips in a brilliant sheet of silver-blue ice, creeping rapidly along the gutters and curbs.
The imperial labels hovering above the street—owner, weapon, property, and excess—flickered violently before dimming into complete silence.
She imposed no new titles and demanded no oaths of fealty, creating a neutral sanctuary where mortal names regained their independence.
"This road carries people under their own names!" she declared, her clear voice echoing between the shuttered townhouse facades.
"No person standing upon these stones becomes my subject or my property!" she proclaimed with unyielding royal authority.
