The monster council chamber pulsed with heat.
Torches burned against the walls, shadows writhing like restless beasts. A massive table of obsidian stretched across the center, carved with claw marks from centuries of arguments. Around it sat the lords of the monster nation—scaled, horned, furred, armored. Each carried the weight of their people, and each burned with the same unease.
The air was thick with anger.
"The settlements are gone!" roared Gorath, a giant bear-like beast whose fur smoked from the heat of his body. His claws scraped deep gouges into the table. "Hundreds of our kin wiped away like insects, and still we sit here, gnashing words instead of tearing throats!"
"Whose throats, Gorath?" hissed Malrix, the serpent lord, his body coiled across his chair, golden eyes flashing. "We don't even know who the enemy is."
