The presses never stopped.
Day became night.
Night became morning.
Still the great enchanted machines thundered.
Ink stained hands.
Fresh parchment stacked shoulder high.
Workers shouted over the rhythmic pounding as bundles of newspapers disappeared into waiting wagons almost as quickly as they were printed.
Children waited outside the Solmere Herald offices hoping to buy a single copy before they sold out.
Merchants argued over distribution rights.
Couriers rode in shifts.
Within days, copies reached every major city of the United Kingdoms.
Through the newly established portal network, the Elven Kingdom received its own editions before the week was over.
By the second week, copies had quietly found their way into the Empire itself.
History traveled surprisingly fast when people wanted to read it.
The headlines grew more dramatic with every edition.
TEN THOUSAND MARCHED. FEWER THAN FIFTEEN HUNDRED RETURNED.
United Kingdom Forces Crush Imperial Invasion at Crescent Moon Canyon
Witnesses report that an invading Imperial army numbering nearly ten thousand soldiers was decisively defeated in Crescent Moon Canyon by the armed forces of the United Kingdoms.
Military officials declined to identify those responsible for the victory.
However, multiple independent witnesses describe approximately one thousand elite warriors supported by powerful magical beasts utilizing advanced battlefield tactics never before documented.
One merchant who observed the aftermath described it simply.
"The Empire walked into a trap they never even knew existed."
SLAVE GUILD IMPLICATED IN INVASION
Recovered documents from captured operatives indicate the Slave Guild provided false intelligence to Imperial leadership while orchestrating widespread propaganda campaigns throughout the Empire.
Officials further announced sweeping legal reforms.
Beginning thirty days after publication...
Slavery would be abolished throughout every territory of the United Kingdoms.
Any slave entering United Kingdom borders—
Whether willingly...
Or unwillingly...
Would immediately be recognized as a free citizen under United Kingdom law.
Those liberated would be offered sanctuary, employment, or safe passage elsewhere according to their own wishes.
Political scholars have already described the decree as one of the most significant legal reforms in modern history.
SAINT ZEE SAVES HUNDREDS
Eyewitnesses report that Saint Zephrial, as many have begun calling her, who is engaged to the merchant Jax Darquebane, personally led healing efforts throughout the night.
Hundreds of wounded Imperial soldiers survived because of her intervention.
One anonymous survivor stated:
"They destroyed us... and then they saved us."
Saint Zee declined to comment.
Not every newspaper agreed on the details.
Some claimed dragons had fought beside the United Kingdoms.
Others insisted an ancient hidden army had emerged from the canyon walls.
Several argued the battle had been won entirely through impossible magic.
Accuracy varied.
The conclusion did not.
The United Kingdoms had defeated the Empire.
Not everyone read the battle reports first.
Outside a modest stable along a trade road, an elderly man unfolded his paper with weathered hands.
A faded iron collar still circled his neck.
The lock had long since rusted away.
No one had forced him to keep wearing it.
He simply... never found the courage to remove it.
His eyes skimmed the headlines.
The battle.
The Empire.
The dragon.
Interesting.
But distant.
Then another article caught his attention.
His hands stopped moving.
SLAVERY TO BE ABOLISHED THROUGHOUT THE UNITED KINGDOMS
He read it once.
Then again.
Then a third time.
His fingers began trembling.
Any slave entering United Kingdom territory—whether willingly or unwillingly—shall immediately be recognized as free under the protection of United Kingdom law.
No individual may claim ownership of another person within United Kingdom borders.
The old man's vision blurred.
A single tear landed on the page.
For more than forty years...
Every law he had ever known had treated him as property.
For the first time...
A law recognized him as a man.
Slowly...
Almost fearfully...
His fingers reached toward the old iron collar.
He hesitated.
Then unclasped it.
The collar struck the ground with a soft metallic clang.
Travelers passing nearby glanced toward him.
No one laughed.
No one stopped him.
The old man simply stared at the collar lying in the dirt.
Then whispered to himself.
"...I'm free."
Inside a crowded tavern, another reader lowered his paper.
"You believe any of this?"
His friend shrugged.
"I don't know."
He glanced back toward the headline.
"...Still buying another sword."
Another merchant quietly folded his copy.
"If Solmere can stop ten thousand soldiers..."
He looked toward his wife.
"...I'm opening that shop."
She smiled.
"I was hoping you'd say that."
In the Elven Kingdom, King Aelthorin folded his newspaper slowly.
Across the table, Vaelrith leaned back comfortably.
"Thoughts?" the Spy Master asked.
The King chuckled.
"'One thousand elite soldiers.'"
Vaelrith laughed.
"I think that's my favorite part."
Aelthorin nodded.
"The truth is somehow even more unbelievable."
His eyes lingered on the article.
Ten thousand soldiers.
One canyon.
One victory.
Vaelrith tapped the page.
"That was him."
The King never looked up.
"Of course it was."
Back in Solmere, Merriweather burst into Brannic's forge waving a newspaper overhead.
"We made the front page!"
Brannic didn't even stop hammering.
"I'm fairly certain Jax did."
She thought about it.
"...Fair."
She eagerly pointed toward another paragraph.
"'The United Kingdom deployed one thousand elite soldiers in a perfectly coordinated assault.'"
Brannic snorted.
"Technically..."
He finally accepted the paper.
"...they're not wrong."
Far beneath Solmere...
Inside a warehouse hidden within dimensional space...
Grathok leaned back in an oversized chair reading the same article.
"'One thousand elite soldiers...'"
The troll laughed so hard the walls echoed.
"I sold the lad a warehouse."
He rubbed his chin in amusement.
"...Best investment I've ever made."
At the Darquebane estate, Nyxian finished reading the front page aloud.
Bunny's ears twitched.
"They think we have an entire army."
"They're not entirely wrong anymore," Llandra replied, looking at Jax.
Zee lowered her own paper, cheeks slightly pink.
"'Saint Zee?'"
She sighed.
"Really?"
Jax quietly sipped his tea.
Nyxian looked over.
"You're awfully quiet."
He shrugged.
"Good."
Bunny blinked.
"Good?"
"The more they believe we have an army..."
He calmly set his cup onto the table.
"...the fewer people will want to test whether it's true."
Nyxian grinned.
"Strategic misinformation."
Jax smiled.
"Embellishing competence."
The room erupted in laughter.
Llandra looked back toward the newspaper.
"They're overestimating us."
Jax smiled.
"They're still underestimating us."
The Vixens looked at him.
He nodded toward them.
"You three weren't even there."
A small smile crossed his face.
"And we have more people to fight for us today, than we did yesterday."
Hundreds of miles away...
A newspaper landed softly upon an enormous stone desk.
A woman's hand unfolded it.
She read the headline.
Her eyes never changed.
Neither did her expression.
When she finished...
She folded the paper with perfect precision.
Then rang a small silver bell.
A servant entered immediately.
Without looking up, she spoke.
"Summon the remaining eleven."
The servant bowed.
"At once, Your Majesty."
The door closed quietly behind him.
The newspaper remained on the desk.
The headline still plainly visible.
TEN THOUSAND MARCHED. FEWER THAN FIFTEEN HUNDRED RETURNED.