The evening sky unfolded like a velvet tapestry streaked with lavender and gold, casting a celestial glow over the marble towers of Termona Palace. The structure itself, a marvel of Aquarene craftsmanship with arches shaped like ocean waves and walls veined with glowing sapphire inlays, shimmered beneath a constellation of hanging lanterns and opal chandeliers that refracted soft hues across every polished surface.
Within its hallowed halls, the elite of the Aquarene Nation had assembled—an eclectic sea of nobility, battle-hardened generals, foreign dignitaries adorned in ceremonial garb, high-ranking scholars, and gilded merchants whose very names shifted trade tides. The great hall pulsed with life, a vivid mosaic of status and ambition. Attendants in silk uniforms moved like clockwork, offering trays of luminescent wine and sea-spiced delicacies atop polished coral platters.
