With Kaedric Marraven on his side, Saelar solidified control over the Eastern Vale. News spread like wildfire: The Wolf of Velmor had knelt.
Saelar summoned his inner circle—Myrcella, Alicent, Bramir, and his new vassal, Kaedric—to a final meeting in Kelvorn before launching the next phase.
> "The Empress won't sit idle now," Bramir warned. "She'll send a purge legion."
> "Let her," Kaedric said coldly. "I'll teach them fear."
Myrcella brought reports from wavering noble houses.
> "House Galveryn and House Throsden are watching. If we strike the capital of Virelia, they may side with us."
> "Then we strike," Saelar said. "But not from the front. We bring war from within."
Alicent smirked. "You want chaos? Let me lead the distraction."
Saelar nodded.
> "Then we begin the Veil Operation—a coordinated assault of misinformation, political seduction, and elite assassinations. While they flail in the dark, we set the stage for Virelia's fall."
He turned to Kaedric.
> "And when the time comes—you'll lead the march through their front gates."
Kaedric nodded. "By your will, Sovereign."
Saelar raised a new banner—black silk stitched with twin daggers eclipsing a golden sun.
> "Let the Empire know… the Shadow Sovereign has risen."