The Imperial City revealed itself before sunrise, not as a distant settlement gradually coming into view, but as an overwhelming presence that seemed to rise from the horizon like a monument to ambition itself. Even from miles away, its layered walls and towering spires dominated the landscape with such authority that the surrounding plains appeared to bend toward it, as though acknowledging a force that had shaped the world around it.
Golden towers pierced the pale sky, their surfaces catching the earliest rays of dawn and reflecting them outward in soft, radiant glimmers. Massive gates stood embedded within the outer walls, reinforced with ancient stone and lined with metal that shimmered faintly under the morning light. Banners bearing the sigils of noble houses fluttered from every visible structure, their colors vivid and proud, announcing both allegiance and prestige in equal measure.
