Dawn arrived over the Imperial City with a quiet, restrained cold that lingered in the air like the final breath of night unwilling to fade. The sky, washed in a pale silver hue, stretched endlessly above towering spires and distant palace domes, casting a soft, diffused light that gradually touched every surface below. Stone roads, still holding the memory of the night's chill, reflected the early glow faintly, while banners hung from high walls stirred gently in the morning breeze. It was a calm beginning—one that, to the untrained eye, might have seemed peaceful.
Yet beneath that calm surface, the city was already in motion.
