"The Queen Who Watches From Afar"
Location: Inner Sanctum, Royal Arcane Chamber — Renvale Palace
The crystalline panels of the Royal Arcane Chamber shimmered with soft pulses of surveillance mana, each thread carrying fragments of simulated echoes from across the realm. At the center of the spell-weave, Queen Lysandra Renvale stood alone.
Her cloak of deep violet velvet swept around her like stormclouds caught in a ballroom. Though calm, her eyes—a mirror of Alicia's silver—narrowed with restrained concern.
She had been patient.
Too patient.
A new feed surged to the surface of the arcane mirror: Alicia, standing beside Jay Arkwell. The boy with fractured fate. The one who altered not only her daughter's tempo—but possibly the tempo of the world.
Lysandra's expression softened, just slightly.
> "You always did follow your heart, Alicia. Even when it broke protocol, even when it led to danger. Just like your father."
