Yvanna Vellgard woke to the soft golden spill of morning light cresting over the silvered domes of Goldhaven. The sea breeze drifted through her balcony, carrying the scent of salt, citrus, and morning blossoms from the high courtyard gardens. It was coronation day.
Today, she would be crowned the first queen in two centuries and only the third female ruler in the long and storied history of the Gilded Dominion. The thought curled a smile onto her lips. She deserved this. She had worked for this, sacrificed for this. And unlike her male predecessors, her rise had not been paved with brute military conquests or shrewd merchant coups... not entirely. It had been the patient stitching of diplomacy, poise, and vision.
