[color=lightgray][center][h1][color=red]FLASHBACK[/color][/h1]

[img]https://i.imgur.com/clIHoiY.png[/img][/center]
[color=DDB775]Time:[/color] Morning of Sola 29
[color=DDB775]Location:[/color] Castle Drawing Room - End of Ducal Meeting
[color=DDB775]Interaction/Mention:[/color] [@FunnyGuy] Lorenzo
[hr]

Every step of King Edin Danrose echoed through the hall like the toll of a funeral bell, the sound heavy with impending doom. No herald announced him. No guard preceded him. None dared even breathe.

The instant he appeared in the doorway, all conversation shattered. Silence fell sharply, painfully, as nobles froze mid-sentence, their faces pale as wax. Edin's shadow stretched across the stone walls.

His gaze, hard and merciless, found his son immediately. King and Heir. Father and Son. The two faced each other, tension humming between them as if they had poised blades at each other's throats. Neither bowed. Neither blinked.

It was not anger that smoldered in Edin’s eyes, nor grief. Something darker, colder lurked there. 

It was the stare of a ruler seeing, for the first time, a rival where once there had been a boy. But Wulfric, carved from ice, did not flinch. His expression remained as calm and unyielding as marble.

The temperature in the drawing room may as well have dropped ten degrees.

The Dukes remained still, caught between them. No one dared interrupt. 

Edin’s chin lifted subtly, a silent, unmistakable declaration of dominance. His voice emerged, slow and deliberate, dripping with quiet menace. Finally, his voice broke the silence. [color=DDB775]“Your meeting has concluded.”[/color] The words were not a question. 

He let the silence return for a breath, then shifted his gaze toward the nobles in attendance.[i][color=DDB775]“Duke Edwards. Duke Petit. Duke Vikena.”[/color][/i]  Each name dropped like a hammer blow, echoing with implicit threat. [color=DDB775]“You shall each have audience with your King privately in the coming days. Prepare accordingly.”[/color]

He did not wait for acknowledgment. His gaze returned one final time to Wulfric, eyes narrowed slightly, his lips curling into a faint, dangerous smirk. Then, without another word, he turned sharply, cloak billowing like a dark omen as he strode away. [/color]