The silence in the antechamber was a thick, suffocating thing. Alaric's words, a brutal tapestry of truth and threat, hung in the air, stealing the breath from the lungs of the assembled leaders. He had not just offered them an alliance; he had offered them a choice between subjugation and annihilation.
Chieftain Kaelen of the Gryphon Riders was the first to find his voice, a low, dangerous growl. "You ask us to bend the knee, Lord Steele. To swear fealty. The Gryphon Riders have bent the knee to no man, no king, in a thousand years."
"And in a thousand years, have you ever faced a threat that could erase your entire race from the sky?" Alaric countered, his voice a blade of pure, cold reason. "Your pride is a luxury you can no longer afford, Chieftain."
