章節 85: Thorngarde City

In a dark, stone-walled chamber deep within the Blackwood Forest, shadows danced around the flickering light of numerous torches mounted on the walls. The chamber was spacious, but the oppressive air made it feel smaller, more claustrophobic. The only sound was the quiet murmuring of cloaked figures, each adorned with a distinctive badge of the Order of the Twilight Serpent.

The room was arranged with a large, circular table at its center, and around it sat the leaders of the Order, their faces obscured by the deep hoods of their cloaks. At the head of the table sat the leader of the Order, an elderly Norman known as Aldric. His white hair was long and tied back, and his piercing blue eyes held an unsettling intensity, a sharpness that belied his age.

Aldric's presence commanded respect and fear in equal measure. He was tall, his posture regal despite his years, and his voice, when he spoke, was a low, resonant growl that filled the room.