Rubedo swiped his hand across the polished obsidian of his command console. The massive altar of cosmic crystal hummed, its thick veins of violet energy pulsing in rhythm with his lingering frustration.
He closed the active map of Tarnstead and pinched the holographic projection, zooming out to view the entire Fourth Continent before dragging his focus westward toward the Gildreath Empire.
He tapped the [OMNISCIENT EYE] icon on his interface. The fog of war peeled back to reveal the captured Gildreath Palace.
Thousands of tiny blue dots swarmed the newly occupied capital, representing the Vanguard patrols securing the perimeter. But Rubedo ignored the armies. He zeroed in on a single, isolated blue dot located deep within the palace's heavily guarded medical ward.
He hovered his armored hand directly over the marker representing Julia Vance.
