The afternoon sun bathed the imperial palace in a golden glow, casting long shadows across the stone-paved roads. The banners of the Bloodbane dynasty fluttered lazily in the warm breeze, their crimson fabric almost shimmering like molten fire. The clinking of armor and the rhythmic trot of hooves accompanied the two riders making their way toward the grand castle gates.
At the front, Imperial Marshal Seraphine Vaelbright sat tall in her saddle, with a clam refined expression on her face.
Her white and gold armor gleamed under the sun, her sapphire cape—embroidered with the sigil of her house—a blue rose flowed behind her, and her piercing gaze was locked on the path ahead.
By contrast, her younger brother, Ralph, with his blond hair and blue eyes, slouched ever so slightly on his own horse, his posture hovering somewhere between relaxed and outright disrespectful.
